July 28, 2020
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture CARE grant awarded to K-State grain scientist
Submitted by Monica Macfarlane
Yonghui Li, assistant professor in the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University, has been awarded nearly $300,000 from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to lead a research/extension project in support of advancing solutions to address critically important problems in U.S. agriculture.
The three-year project, "Development of an Innovative Technology for Value-added Production of Antioxidants From Corn Distillers' Grains," is sponsored by an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive, or CARE, grant from the U.S Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture and seeks to address the critical need to explore new and value-added uses for the 60 million tons of distillers' grains generated by the corn biofuel industry each year.
Specifically, the project's research is aimed at developing a technology that enables the production of high-performance antioxidants from corn distillers' grains and establishing an extension program for the potential adoption of the new technology. The new technology will add value to distillers' grains, enhance the economic viability of current biofuel productions, and provide end-users with healthier antioxidant options. Co-investigators include Carlos Campabadal-Teran and Dan O'Brien, both from K-State; and Haibo Huang, Virginia Tech.
The project was one of 16 proposals awarded a Critical Agricultural Research and Extension grant by NIFA this year. In total, more than $4.7 million was invested by NIFA in user-inspired projects focused on bringing together researchers, extension experts and practitioners to find solutions that can be rapidly adopted by the agricultural community. Critical problems impede efficient food and agricultural systems at local, regional and national scales. Work supported by this federal investment enables partnerships and close coordination across the entire spectrum of food and agriculture on efforts to yield practices that meet pressing needs.
"Through this project, we will develop new technology that utilizes massive biofuel byproducts and adds value to agricultural origin materials," Li said. "The value-added production of peptide and phenolic antioxidants from distillers' grains will ultimately enhance the economic viability of fuel ethanol productions from corn and other grain feedstocks."
The research project is designed to accomplish the following key objectives: extract peptide and phenolic antioxidants from corn distillers' grains and outreach to stakeholders especially antioxidant producers; evaluate antioxidant performances in food, pet food, and feed systems and outreach to antioxidant end-users; and conduct economic analysis of the new process and outreach to technology adopters and other stakeholders.
"The work funded by this project will support K-State's research and education goals by providing graduate and undergraduate researchers training in the interdisciplinary areas of grain chemistry, bioprocessing, and techno-economic process and imparting advanced knowledge and hands-on skills for the future workforce," Li said.
Recently, Li led a related study that received a total of $116,070 in support from the Kansas Corn Commission since 2017 along with support received in part by K-State grain science and industry new faculty startup funds. This previous study generated substantial useful results that led to this USDA grant to advance and potentially implement this new technology. K-State Innovation Partners has filed a patent — application US20200140913A1 — on behalf of Li's team related to this prior study.