Wood Substitute Made From Corn Waste

Byproducts are often problematic. Recently, we reported on how the nitrous oxide byproduct of human waste is being explored as an alternative fuel for rocket thrusters. In another attempt to think of maximizing the total product and by-product of any process, University of Illinois researchers have developed a fiber board alternative comprised of corn stover. Inhabitat reports:

it is important to known that CornBoard is made from corn stover (corn husks and stalks), a byproduct that is generally left to decompose after harvest, in turn releasing more CO2 into the atmosphere.

The US has a major corn growing industry, and as such it produces a large amount of corn stover byproduct. In fact, it is estimated that for each acre of corn sown, 4,000 lbs of corn stover is left in the field afterwards. This is a huge amount when you consider that 86 million acres of corn are grown in the US each year.

The CornBoard is reported to be recyclable, and can be used in applications from housing construction to furniture making.

University of Illinois

[via: Inhabitat]