Ethanol by-product may be used to stabilize Iowa roadbeds

The Grow Iowa Values Fund, Iowa Highway Research Board, Grain Processing Corp. of Muscatine and Iowa State University’s Office of Biorenewables Programs have jointly funded and resourced a $93,775 project to study the use of lignin, a byproduct of corn ethanol production, in Iowa road construction. Natural Iowa roadbeds are less stable than desired and lignin’s properties as a roadbed binding agent are the subject of the research.

Lignin is the subject of research on microbes found in the gut of the Asian Longhorned beetle, whcih can break down  the lignin which protects trees from insects and is a barrier to cellulosic ethanol production.

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