Research Foundation News

October 4, 2016

Purdue innovation could provide a sustainable, high-quality, low-cost solution for animal feeds and home garden fertilizers

Thompson distillers Elizabeth Thompson, founder of Greater Innovations, holds up a sample of processed dried distillers’ grain solids (DDGS) the company is developing. Greater Innovations licensed a Purdue innovation that turns DDGS into a uniformly sized, low-cost and better-quality particle to be used as a bio-based carrier for feeds and organic fertilizers in gardens. (Purdue University photo) Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue-based startup has licensed an innovation that could develop dried distillers grain solids into a low-cost, higher-quality option as a bio-based carrier for animal and plant nutrients for feeds and organic fertilizers in home gardens and other commercial industry uses.  

Elizabeth Thompson, a graduate student in Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts, founded Greater Innovations to commercialize the technology. Greater Innovations is an overarching operating company that licenses Purdue technologies to take to market.

Thompson said there is a unique opportunity to expand the alternative uses of dried distillers grains, which is primarily used as a commodity livestock feed ingredient.

“Ethanol production is continuing as a source of alternative fuels, and the industry depends on both domestic and export markets to take all the volume of co-product, or dried distillers grain solids produced. Only so much of dried distiller’s grain solids can be used as a feed ingredient in the domestic livestock industry,” Thompson said. “Alternative uses for the product beyond this current application are needed.”

Greater Innovations licensed technology could allow dried distillers grain solids to be reduced to a uniform-sized particle, coated with water-based chemicals for home gardens or commercial size plots. These small particles can spread uniformly across an area and have the potential for time-release delivery.  

“Home gardeners could add this product to their garden beds or plots and with improvements in time-release capabilities, they will save time and money by not needing to reapply additional product,” Thompson said. “This product is also going to be more sustainable and create fewer environmental impacts, because even if it rains right after the product is applied, the chemicals are not going to be washed away into drainage systems or the ground water. In addition to home gardens, this product could also be a sustainable solution for golf courses or other commercial and municipal landscapes.”

Thompson said this innovation could also provide benefits not found in traditional animal feed market processes.

“This process allows feed pellets to be created in a size that is more palatable to animals; they can chew it more easily and it’s more energy efficient,” she said. “The grains could be used in a multitude of ways in animal feeds as a value added product.”

Technology used by Greater Innovations has been licensed through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization. Greater Innovations is a member of the Purdue Startup Class of 2016. Purdue has 27 startups based on Purdue intellectual property that were launched in fiscal year 2016.

Greater Innovations plans to develop different samples of the product in different sizes and various iterations for fertilizer. Thompson is seeking funding and partnerships to manufacture and take the product to market.

“I’m seeking initial seed funding to scale the manufacturing process so that I can begin testing end products in the intended target markets,” Thompson said. “I plan to continue to test the product and apply for grants as a way to build out research funding for additional applications down the road as the technology evolves.”

Thompson has worked closely with Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization accelerator located in the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship in Purdue’s Discovery Park, in starting her company.

“Everyone at Purdue Foundry, including the entrepreneurs-in-residence and all of the support staff, have been so helpful in this process. The Foundry is an incredible resource that I hope more people take advantage of,” Thompson said. “As a testament to this encouragement, my company stemmed from an opportunity that came up through the Innovation X initiative at Purdue, which provides qualified startups and established companies that are based in Indiana with an option to license Purdue University patented innovations with minimal upfront costs.”

For information on other Purdue intellectual property ready for licensing and commercialization, visit http://www.otc-prf.org. For more information about available leadership positions, investing in a Purdue startup or licensing a Purdue innovation, visit http://www.purduefoundry.com.

About Greater Innovations

Greater Innovations is an early-stage start-up company founded to commercialize sustainability-focused and related technologies in the state of Indiana.

About Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at innovation@prf.org


Purdue Research Foundation contact: Hillary Henry, 765-588-3586, hkhenry@prf.org

Source:  Elizabeth Thompson, thompsone948@gmail.com


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