A&T Scientist Researches a Two-for-One Special

August 2, 1996

Greensboro, NC: Waste disposal continues to be a growing problem, as issues of water quality move toward the forefront of public attention. For these reasons, environmental scientists caution that if we are to enjoy our natural resources in the future, we must take immediate measures to preserve them.

At North Carolina A&T State University, a research scientist is studying ways of using agricultural by-products to address water quality issues. Dr. Chung Seo, a professor with the NC A&T School of Agriculture's Department of Human Environment and Family Sciences, believes that agricultural by-products, such as peanut shells, corn cobs and soybean hulls, can be used to treat water.

In a typical wastewater treatment system, petroleum-derived polymers, and to a lesser extent granular activated carbons, are used to remove metals at toxic concentrations from the water. However, because the nation's fuel supply is often a concern, alternatives to using non-renewable resources like coal and petroleum are in great demand.

"We hope to be able to solve two problems with one solution," said Seo. "Presently, water treatment plants are using non-renewable and rapidly dwindling resources to treat water, while farmers are searching for ways to dispose a renewable resource like peanut shells. Ideally, we would like to turn the farmer's waste into a useful material."

According to the North Carolina Peanut Grower's Association, North Carolina ranks fourth nationally in peanut production, producing approximately 240,000 tons on peanuts annually on an estimated 150,000 acres. The shells discarded from this crop amount to nearly 103,000 tons of waste.

Since corn and soybeans are also sizeable commodity crops in the region, Seo is testing corn cobs and soybean hulls, in addition to peanut shells.

"The crops grown in North Carolina and many other Southern states generate enormous quantities of waste, and because this waste has little or no value, disposing of it is often a problem for farmers," said Seo. "For this reason, any way of converting these by-products into useful, value-added products has great significance to our farmers."

Seo would like to see this waste used to remove metals from industrial and municipal wastewater. Metal contamination of wastewater is a serious and ongoing problem, since the contaminated water can easily find its way into both surface and ground water.

In a project endorsed by both the North Carolina Peanut Grower's Association and Virginia-Carolina Peanut Promotions, Seo is developing and enhancing the natural adsorbent properties of peanut, corn and soybean by-products so that they can be used in industrial and municipal wastewater process systems.

"By developing effective, stable adsorbents, we will be converting low-cost agricultural waste into value-added products. Our technology will increase the market value of the by-products, create a viable market for agricultural wastes, and increase the income of farmers," said Seo.

For more information, please call Dr. Chung Seo, NC A&T School of Agriculture, (336) 334-7933.