High Performance Products for Poultry Biowaste Processing

Surface water quality impacts associated with intensive, largescale poultry production are significant and pervasive in many parts of the country. Production Specialities, Inc. (PSI) has developed process technology for converting waste (poultry litter and manure) into commercial eneefty and chemical products. While major technical problems have been successfully resolved, economic perforamcne of a commercial scale processisng facility remains an issue and will be assessed in the commercial scale demonstration project that is currenetly underway. To insure commercial development of the process technology all opportunities for making high or higher value products muste be pursued. Production of high purity ligninstreams that can be used as an asphalt additive and impart improved performanc and increased product lifetime to petroleum asphalt products represents such an opportunity. Petroleum asphalt consumption in the U.S. amounts to approximatley, 30 million tons annually for roadway construction and maintenance. Extending the life of asphalt roads could have significant positive impact on U.S. petroleum consumption and the Federal budget. The problem will be addressed by separating a natural, complex biopolymer from selected biomass feedstocks. The biopolymer will be used in asphalt formulations, and evaluated for its perforamcne as an antioxidant in standard laboratory tests for asphalt. Small quanities of biomass materials (including agricutural residues) will be processed to generate "pound" quantities of refined lignocellullosic additive material. This addative material will be blended with two candidate petroleum asphalt feedstocks to produce sample materials for laboratory evaluation (binder tests) which will be used to project asphalt pavement perforamcne and life span. Successful development and deployment of this technology will allow biomas derived products to effectively dispace abouth 3 million tons of petroleum that is currently used for asphalt formulation annually in the U.S. The maintenance for asphalt roadways could be reduced by 1/3, saving the U.S. taxpayer approximatley $2 billion, annually. The creation of this product and development of this market will benefit biorefineries by improving their economic viability and expanding thsire product slate to inculde a value-added product that will be readily accepted into existing markets. In addition, the balance of trace would be improved by as much as $600 million due the amount of foreign oil, displaced by biomas derived productgs. Successful devekionebt if the proposed technology will allow indigenous renewable resouces to displace approximatley 3 million tons of petroleum products, and create a market for poultry waste processing products.