Abstract: A method for producing hydrogen from a plant source is disclosed. The method includes contacting a crude carbohydrate material obtained from the plant source with water and a catalyst at a temperature and pressure sufficient to decompose at least a portion of the crude carbohydrate material to form a vapor mixture of gases including hydrogen, and separating hydrogen from other gases present in the vapor mixture.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the use of “green” or relatively benign solvents such as ethanol, ethanol/water, isopropyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol/water, ethyl lactate, acetone, butanol, isoamyl alcohol, or ethyl acetate to extract phytosterols from wet corn fiber. The resulting oil product contains free phytosterols and free fatty acids.

Abstract: A method for the production of ethanol and a modified animal feed is provided. The method replaces the starch in known corn-based animal feed with biomass fiber treated to make it more digestible by animals. The process includes wherein the pericarp and germ are removed from the corn kernel and processed for by-products. The starch and protein are also removed and separated. The starch is then fermented and distilled to ethanol and stillage. The bioavailable modified animal feed comprises the pericarp and germ removed from corn kernels and optionally by-products of the pericarp and germ processing, and lignocellulosic materials. The modified animal feed may optionally include energy materials such as animal and vegetable fats, vegetable soapstocks, or glycerin, and combinations thereof.

Abstract: A process for extracting the water soluble fiber from corn fiber hulls is provided comprising the steps of subjecting the corn fiber hulls to a destarching process, a dewatering process, and exposing the destarched and dewatered corn fiber hulls to a thermochemical treatment to obtain a water-soluble non-caloric corn fiber. A water-soluble non-caloric corn fiber composition is disclosed comprising a destarched corn fiber hull produced by subjecting corn fiber hulls to a non-alkaline destarching process to obtain a destarched corn fiber, dewatering said destarched corn fiber hull, and exposing said destarched and dewatered corn fiber hull to one or more thermochemical treatments to obtain a water-soluble non-caloric corn fiber. Foods and a pharmaceutical comprising the water-soluble non-caloric corn fiber composition are disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel animal feed or food additive that may be made from thermochemically hydrolyzed, solvent-extracted corn fiber hulls. The animal feed or food additive may be made, for instance, by thermochemically treating corn fiber hulls to hydrolyze and solubilize the hemicellulose and starch present in the corn fiber hulls to oligosaccharides. The residue may be extracted with a solvent to separate the oil from the corn fiber, leaving a solid residue that may be prepared, for instance by aggolmerating, and sold as a food additive or an animal feed.

Abstract: This invention is directed to the transformation of the flavinogenic yeasts, Pichia guilliermondii and Candida famata, and mutants thereof, by electroporation (electrotransformation) and by spheroplast transformation. The invention is also directed to nucleic acid constructs such as vectors, plasmids, and ARS sequences which transform flavinogenic yeasts, and mutants thereof, at a high level and in a stable manner so as to result in stably transformed yeast host cells which express/produce recombinant products. This invention also is directed to flavinogenic yeasts, Pichia guilliermondii and Candida famata, and mutants and temperature sensitive mutants thereof, which produce or overproduce riboflavin.

Abstract: The invention includes methods of processing plant material by adding water to form a mixture, heating the mixture, and separating a liquid component from a solid-comprising component. At least one of the liquid component and the solid-comprising component undergoes additional processing. Processing of the solid-comprising component produces oils, and processing of the liquid component produces one or more of glycerol, ethylene glycol, lactic acid and propylene glycol. The invention includes a process of forming glycerol, ethylene glycol, lactic acid and propylene glycol from plant matter by adding water, heating and filtering the plant matter. The filtrate containing starch, starch fragments, hemicellulose and fragments of hemicellulose is treated to form linear poly-alcohols which are then cleaved to produce one or more of glycerol, ethylene glycol, lactic acid and propylene glycol. The invention also includes a method of producing free and/or complexed sterols and stanols from plant material.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process for extracting sterols from a high solids, thermochemically hydrolyzed corn fiber using ethanol as the extractant. The process includes obtaining a corn fiber slurry having a moisture content from about 20 weight percent to about 50 weight percent solids (high solids content), thermochemically processing the corn fiber slurry having high solids content of 20 to 50% to produce a hydrolyzed corn fiber slurry, dewatering the hydrolyzed corn fiber slurry to achieve a residual corn fiber having a moisture content from about 30 to 80 weight percent solids, washing the residual corn fiber, dewatering the washed, hydrolyzed corn fiber slurry to achieve a residual corn fiber having a moisture content from about 30 to 80 weight percent solids, and extracting the residual corn fiber with ethanol and separating at least one sterol.

Abstract: The invention includes methods of processing plant material by adding water to form a mixture, heating the mixture, and separating a liquid component from a solid-comprising component. At least one of the liquid component and the solid-comprising component undergoes additional processing. Processing of the solid-comprising component produces oils, and processing of the liquid component produces one or more of glycerol, ethylene glycol, lactic acid and propylene glycol. The invention includes a process of forming glycerol, ethylene glycol, lactic acid and propylene glycol from plant matter by adding water, heating and filtering the plant matter. The filtrate containing starch, starch fragments, hemicellulose and fragments of hemicellulose is treated to form linear poly-alcohols which are then cleaved to produce one or more of glycerol, ethylene glycol, lactic acid and propylene glycol. The invention also includes a method of producing free and/or complexed sterols and stanols from plant material.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the use of “green” or relatively benign solvents such as ethanol, ethanol/water, isopropyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol/water, ethyl lactate, acetone, butanol, isoamyl alcohol, or ethyl acetate to extract phytosterols from wet corn fiber. The resulting oil product contains free phytosterols and free fatty acids.

Abstract: This invention is directed to the transformation of the flavinogenic yeasts, Pichia guilliermondii and Candida famata, and mutants thereof, by electroporation (electrotransformation) and by spheroplast transformation. The invention is also directed to nucleic acid constructs such as vectors, plasmids, and ARS sequences which transform flavinogenic yeasts, and mutants thereof, at a high level and in a stable manner so as to result in stably transformed yeast host cells which express/produce recombinant products. This invention also is directed to flavinogenic yeasts, Pichia guilliermondii and Candida famata, and mutants and temperature sensitive mutants thereof, which produce or overproduce riboflavin.

Abstract: A method of detecting, identifying, and enumerating microbes in biological and non-biological samples includes the steps of combining the sample with a triggerable chemiluminescent compound specifically susceptible to the initiation of chemiluminescent decomposition by at least one microbial enzyme in the sample and detecting and integrating light emission over an extended period of time as an indication of the presence, identification, or enumeration of the microbes in the sample.