Liquid Absorbing Products Made From Cornstalks

Liquid Absorbing Products Made From Cornstalks CROPS Miscellaneous “We’ve spent the past five years developing this product and after a lot of refinements and mechanical alterations we’ve finally got it right ” says Matthew Coy of Clean Plus Inc CPI about the company’s absorbent products made from cornstalks CPI worked with researchers at the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute NRRI to produce their Drip Trap granules They can absorb 6 times more than traditional clay and chemical absorbents but they weigh only 1/6th as much That’s a huge benefit for shipping warehousing and even for the end users Coy explains that cornstalks make the ideal absorbent because their cell structure contains lignin a naturally-occurring glue substance that attracts hydrocarbons the main ingredient in oily spills Drip Trap granules quickly soak up those spills like a sponge absorbing nearly 1 gal of liquid if the granules are scattered an inch thick over one square foot “We’re very pleased with how well the product works ” Coy says “but the development took far longer than we anticipated We started out thinking that the stover could be ground and then pelletized into small particles and that would be it Unfortunately the pelletizing process crushed the cell wall and destroyed the lignin which left the pellets with the same absorbent quality of clay ” Coy says that CPI and NRRI research eventually designed a mechanical alteration process that incorporates two proprietary ingredients and a process called pan disc agglomeration That process injects raw stover and the ingredients into an angled spinning disc where they’re sized adhere to each other and eventually form small super-absorbent granules “This is a very exciting product not just for our company but for the industry as a whole ” Coy says “It’s better than products already out there it’s lighter and easier to handle and we’re making it from cornstalks which is easily sourced ” Drip Trap is also available in absorbent mats pillows and socks at prices comparable to other products on the market Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Matthew Coy Clean Plus Inc 138 East Main St West Concord Minn 55985 ph 507 527-2233; www cpidivisions com

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