Location: Cotton Ginning Research
Project Number: 3050-30600-001-011-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2026
End Date: Jul 31, 2028
Objective:
Develop and evaluate sustainable hydrothermal liquification technologies and strategies to valorize and identify new products produced from cotton and companion crops byproducts available in the Southwestern United States, improve process efficiencies and productivity, and improve agricultural production.
Approach:
Cotton and companion crop producers and processors across the United States—especially nut processors in the Southwest—are looking for ways to create extra income from their byproducts while using more sustainable practices. Farmers and processors in the region continue to face challenges in staying productive and profitable, particularly when dealing with the large amounts of post harvest waste that are usually returned to the soil or used as livestock feed.
The project will focus on conducting preprocessing and physical property evaluations, as well as screening studies to assess the suitability of cotton and companion crop byproducts for hydrothermal liquefaction under different process conditions. The goal is to optimize the process to achieve the highest product yields (hydrochar and bio oil).
The feedstocks to be tested include cotton gin byproducts, chile waste, and pecan, walnut, and almond harvest and processing residues. The resulting valorized products (hydrochar and bio oil) will be evaluated for their physical, chemical, and biochemical properties.