This disclosure relates to a semi-humic material, and compositions comprising the same, obtained from leonardite ore and a non-humic organic carbon source and a process for obtaining the same. Also described are methods for maintaining more available nitrogen and phosphorus in the plant root zone and minimizing premature leaching and loss of the nitrogen and/or phosphorus into the atmosphere, surface waters and/or subsurface ground water.

A material pretreatment method using low-temperature extrusion and multienzyme synergistic degradation. A to-be-extruded material added with enzyme preparations and having a certain moisture content is blended before extrusion, the to-be-extruded material is fed into a screw extrusion device and is to be subjected to low-temperature extrusion treatment, multiple enzyme preparations are added in the material before extrusion, and starch, cellulose, protein and other substances in the material are degraded under the synergistic effect of the added multiple enzyme preparations in an extrusion process. Compared with the prior art, the yield of glucose and maltose converted from starch is improved, the residual oil rate of oil material meals is reduced, soluble substances of plant fiber materials are increased, and compared with the process of the traditional technology, the time needed in converting a protein material into a polypeptide material is shortened.

A method of synthesizing cellulose nano-crystals from date palm seeds includes providing washed and dried date palm seeds, milling the date palm seeds to a fine powder, adding a bleaching agent to the fine powder to separate cellulose from the powder, placing the cellulose in a container with an acid solution to form a mixture, heating the mixture, isolating cellulose crystals from the mixture, and reducing the particle size of the cellulose crystals in the solution to provide cellulose nano-crystals. The particle size can be reduced by adding the cellulose crystals to a quantity of water to form a solution, and ultrasonicating the solution at about 90% amplitude for about 45 minutes to form cellulose nano-crystals. The cellulose nano-crystals can have a size ranging from about 5 nm to about 100 nm.

The invention relates to fungal materials comprising fungal biomass, a polysaccharide-based matrix, a plasticiser (e.g. a polyol and/or latex), and an emulsifying agent. The invention also relates to methods of producing said fungal materials, and to uses of said fungal materials.

The present invention relates to a method of making a crosslinked thermoset resin. One embodiment of this method comprises: (i) separating a plant-derived flour mixture into a protein fraction comprising proteins and a carbohydrate fraction comprising carbohydrates; (ii) subjecting the carbohydrate fraction to an oxidizing agent to yield oxidized carbohydrates comprising aldehyde functional groups or both aldehyde functional groups and carboxyl functional groups; and (iii) reacting the oxidized carbohydrates with the protein fraction under conditions effective to crosslink the proteins, thereby yielding a crosslinked thermoset resin. The present invention also relates to a crosslinked thermoset resin and composites, nanofiber membranes, and adhesives comprising the crosslinked thermoset resin.

The present invention relates to a method of making a crosslinked thermoset resin. One embodiment of this method comprises: (i) separating a plant-derived flour mixture into a protein fraction comprising proteins and a carbohydrate fraction comprising carbohydrates; (ii) subjecting the carbohydrate fraction to an oxidizing agent to yield oxidized carbohydrates comprising aldehyde functional groups or both aldehyde functional groups and carboxyl functional groups; and (iii) reacting the oxidized carbohydrates with the protein fraction under conditions effective to crosslink the proteins, thereby yielding a crosslinked thermoset resin. The present invention also relates to a crosslinked thermoset resin and composites, nanofiber membranes, and adhesives comprising the crosslinked thermoset resin.

A process for treating crop kernels is comprised of the steps of a) soaking kernels in water to produce soaked kernels; b) grinding the soaked kernels; c) treating the soaked kernels in the presence of an effective amount of GH62 polypeptide having arabinofuranosidase activity or a GH43 polypeptide having arabinofuranosidase activity, wherein step c) is performed before, during or after step b).

Provided herein are methods for the removal of organic solvents from wet bagasse. The use of the methods result in dried bagasse that contains no more than 1 weight percent organic solvents.

Provided herein are methods for the removal of organic solvents from wet bagasse. The use of the methods result in dried bagasse that contains no more than 1 weight percent organic solvents.

A mycological biopolymer material is subjected to treatment in one or more solutions that work to enhance and/or retain the inherent material properties of the material. In one embodiment, the solution is an organic solution; in another embodiment, the solution is an organic solvent with a salt; in another embodiment, the solution is an organic solvent phenol and/or polyphenol; and in another embodiment, a series of such solutions is used.