Biodiesel Byproduct May Be Used As Value-Added Ag Commodity

CattleNetwork.com
12/11/2008 7:50:00 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A byproduct of biodiesel may be used to support the production of an animal feed additive to enhance the performance and growth of dairy cattle.

Ohio State University Department of Animal Science researchers have received a $38,733 one-year grant from the Ohio Soybean Council to use crude glycerol to grow yeast -- a common feed supplement in dairy cattle diets. The researchers are evaluating whether or not glycerol can effectively be used to grow yeast and how that yeast stacks up to commercial varieties in quality and in price.

"The idea behind the project is to take what is considered a waste product and turn it into a value-added agricultural commodity," said Zhongtang Yu, a microbiologist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and principal investigator of the project.

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