Peak Labs paid IAPC for the process synthesis. NU will receive an intellectual property royalty over the next 10 years. It's IAPC's dedicated staff of 15 post-doctoral scientists, graduate students, technicians and undergraduates that produce these results, Hanna said. A collateral benefit is the experience Hanna's students gain working on real-world projects. Turning common agricultural waste products such as corncobs into a valuable commodity called microcrystalline cellulose is a typical example of IAPC alchemy.
Microcrystalline cellulose is a pharmaceutical filler and food thickening agent.
These producers make microcrystalline cellulose from scrap wood soaked in lagoon-like pools of acid. IAPC Researcher Vesselin Miladinov found a better way to make the product, using corncobs and much less acid in an environmentally acceptable process, Biby said. An Omaha company expects to commercially develop microcrystalline cellulose, and anticipates setting up shop in Cedar Creek with two to five employees. Printable, compostable plastics are another IAPC product providing an industrial, environmentally friendly use for corn. Entrepreneur Bill Brown, Grand Island, contacted IAPC because he wanted to make compostable, prepaid phone cards.