Whole plant utilization

Munck L. 1995. New Milling Technologies and Products Whole Plant Utilization by MilUng and Separation of the Botanical and Chemical Components. In Dendy, DAV (editor). Sorghum and Millets Chemistry and Technology. St Paul, MN American Associeition of Cereal Chemists, pp. 223-281. 

Munck, L. 1995. New milling technologies and products Whole plant utilization by milling and separation of the botanical and chemical components. Chapter 8 in Sorghum and Millets Chemistry and Technology. D.A.V. Dendy (ed.). American Association of Cereal Chemists, St. Paul, MN. 

The objective of the research reported here was to develop sensitive bioassays which utilize near-whole plant systems of appropriate target aquatic weeds and which require little space and low volumes of incubation medium. Such bioassays could be used to help identify active fractions of chromatographically partitioned allelochemicals and could also be used in prinary screening procedures for newly synthesized agrichemicals. 

The next generation of biofuel processes should differ from the first in (a) utilizing the whole plant as a feedstock and (b) the use of non-food perennial crops (woody biomass and tall grasses) and lignocellulosic residues and wastes (woodchips from forest thinning and harvest residues, surplus straw from agriculture). 

This extraction method utilizes an aqueous acetone system to extract proanthocyanidins from whole plant tissue. Acetone is preferred over other extraction solvent systems (most notably methanol) because of its ability to solubilize proanthocyanidin-containing material that is insoluble in methanol. 

First, laypersons discovered the utility of whole plant drugs or herbs. 

Applications that can bum whole tires include a few cement kilns, large dedicated tires-for-fuel boilers, and some experimental applications in utility boilers. Applications that can use TDF include most cement kilns, many thermal decomposition units, boilers at pulp and paper plants, utility plants, and other industrial facilities. 

The data presented in Table 2.1.1 clearly illustrate the advantage of transformation technologies utilizing the whole plant material and not only the oil or sugar and starch fraction. 

Moreover, lignocellulose is not edible and could theoretically be utilized without any impact on food production. The cellulose and hemicellulose fraction of lignocellulose may serve for the production of cellulosic ethanol, which could be produced via acid or enzymatic catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose, followed by further fermentation to yield ethanol. Alternatively, the whole plant can be gasified to yield syngas, followed by methanol or dimethyl ether synthesis or Fischer-Tropsch technology that produces hydrocarbon fuels. Furthermore, controlled (bio-)chemical transformations to novel fuel compounds based on cellulose, hemicellulose, or lignin are possible, and numerous recent publications emphasize intense research in this direction. 

The classic conditions that induce photoinhibition— transfer of plants to PFDs exceeding their growth PFD and additional environmental stresses (Powles, 1984) — are all conditions under which whole plant sink strength is likely to be temporarily or permanently limiting. Shade-acclimated plants are likely to possess a low sink activity level matched by the low rates of carbon flow from source leaves to the sink tissues of the plant under the low growth PFD. Upon sudden transfer to an increased PFD, the production of carbohydrates likely exceeds the plant s capacity to export and utilize these increased levels of carbohydrates. We have observed that during photoinhibitory treatments... 

Pinch Point Analysis (PPA) is an extension of the second principle of Thermodynamics to the energy management of the whole plant. PPA deals with the optimal structure of the heat exchange between the process streams, as well as the optimal use of utilities. Among benefits we mention ... 

The utilization of cell cultures as routine toxicity screens sust be augmented by whole plant studies to establish that the cell cultures not grossly over or underestimate the phytotoxicity of a xenobiotic. As an adjunct to whole plant studies they provide information as to the changes that structural modifications of a basic molecule may have on phytotoxicity to the whole plant. Perhaps one of the most valuable purposes the cell cultures serve is to provide information as to whether or not cell cultures of different species grown under identical conditions can tolerate a specific xenobiotic (25). 

We have Isolated single, nuclear, dominant mutations In whole plants of the small crucifer Arabldopsls thallana which confer a high level of resistance to a sulfonylurea herbicide. The ease and rapidity with which such mutations can be Isolated using A.thallana suggests that the approach may be of broad utility for studies of herbicide resistance and mode of action. 

The following case study will demonstrate that engineering of chromatography equipment is not a stand-alone exercise and often needs to consider the whole plant design, as dependences between the different process steps and bottlenecks in utilities system might affect the size of the equipment. 

Kenaf is now being grown in several countries where the bast fiber is used for geotextiles and the pith is going into sorbents for oil spill clean up and animal litter. The production of pulp and paper from kenaf is growing, but it is only used for limited types of papers at present. The utilization of the whole plant of both jute and kenaf is under consideration for structural and nonstructural composites. Automotive interior door panels are now produced in Germany and the United States out of jute and kenaf bast fiber in combination with thermoplastics. 

In many pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industries, a section or whole plant can be revamped to convert a batch process into a continuous process by making use of the PI equipment described earlier. This could lead to an improved yield, quality, and a reduced footprint and utilities. A few examples are presented to illustrate the possibilities. 

A variety of analytical strategies are utilized for metabo-lome studies [20]. These studies are directed to analysis of all or chosen (targeted) primary and secondary metabolites present in a whole plant or its selected organs ... 

The Pearl GTL plant consists of more than 80 separate process units for 2 separate production trains and common utilities. Modeling the whole plant and creating a complete virtual planf was neither considered feasible nor a requirement and the approach was therefore to make a fit-for-purpose MPDS. Approximately 35 units of 1 single train were identified as requirement for testing, validation, simulation studies and operator training. These units form the heart of the plant and include all major process and utility systems. Despite this reduced fit-for-purpose modeling scope the Pearl GTL MPDS is still one of the largest simulators in the world. 

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