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Submitted to: Patent Application
Publication Type: Patent Application Publication Acceptance Date: 5/7/2002 Publication Date: 5/7/2002 Citation: HOLT, G.A., LAIRD, J.W. COBY PRODUCTS AND A PROCESS FOR THEIR MANUFACTURE. 2002. U.S. PATENT 6,383,548. Interpretive Summary: A value-added process known as the COBY (Cotton Byproducts) process, developed at the USDA-ARS Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit in Lubbock, Texas, was patented (US Patent No. 6,383,548) in an effort to promote the technology. The technology requires expenditure for processing equipment that would require the protection offered by a patent that would allow facilities incorporating the technology an opportunity to recover expenditures in a competitive marketplace. The process is designed to produce several different products from byproducts from cotton processing facilities such as cotton gins, acid seed delinting plants, oil mills, and textile manufacturing plants. The process allows incorporation of other byproducts or ingredients that would enhance the final product. Final products include, but are not limited to, livestock feed, fuel, fertilizer, mulch, and building material for use in medium density fiber boards. Technical Abstract: A novel method for the treatment of cotton byproducts to yield value-added products while reducing the wear on processing equipment is described. In this process, cotton byproducts, or waste, are ground and compacted and treated with a gellable polysaccharide. The polysaccharide is gelatinized, either before or concurrent with the grinding and compaction of the cotton byproducts. The resultant byproducts exhibit significantly reduced abrasiveness, greatly reducing the wear on the equipment. |
