SBIR Phase II: Production of Bio-adhesive from Animal Waste

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a technology to transform swine manure into sustainable alternatives for petroleum-based adhesives, with a first opportunity in the asphalt market. This project builds on a successful Phase I effort as well as a prior Innovation Corps award. The major socio-economic impact of the technology will be in rural areas, as it will allow pig farmers to alleviate the burden of manure management and create a new revenue stream. This project also offers a novel approach to develop low-cost, durable, and eco-friendly construction adhesives, reduce the cost associated with manure management and lagoon maintenance, create new manufacturing and engineering jobs, and reduce our dependence on petroleum resources. Current practices for handling manure release carbon to the atmosphere, either from manure storage or anaerobic digestion of manure. In contrast, the proposed technology sequesters carbon in bio-adhesives, while passing nutrients to the effluents, bio-char, and grey water, which can then be used as fertilizer. The Phase I research results have shown that bio-adhesive is more durable, lower in cost ($0.50/gallon, as compared with $2.00/gallon) and more eco-friendly (lower volatile organic compound levels) than many petroleum-based adhesives. The core technology to be developed further in this effort uses thermochemical liquefaction to convert swine manure to bio-oil, followed by the polymerization of bio-oil to produce bio-adhesives. This technology will eventually enable use of the six billion gallons of swine manure that are generated annually in the U.S. to supply about 88 million barrels of bio-adhesive. As a result of the Phase I effort, a study of the effects of heating rate on the yield and quality of bio-adhesive was completed; this in turn, helped ensure that the conversion process takes place successfully, thereby addressing one of the main scale-up challenges. The resulting data were used as an input for the design of a pilot bio-reactor, including central heaters and a heat exchanger. After the design phase, the team began the fabrication and assembly of this bio-reactor, and followed up with multiple trials. In the Phase II project, building on these successful trials, we will complete the troubleshooting of the bio-reactor while finalizing the design and construction of the oil separation and polymerization column, and sampling valves. These items will permit a fully-realized pilot plant by the end of this project.