The FlameDisk® is the first ethanol product to be used exclusively for outdoor grilling, according to manufacturer Sologear, the Wisconsin-based company that invented the product. They market FlameDisk as “more eco-friendly than charcoal and lighter fluid because it features renewable ethanol. Ethanol is extremely clean burning and generates 90% fewer pollutants than charcoal. The FlameDisk®’s aluminum casing is also recyclable.”

Each FlameDisk utilizes one pint of locally produced corn ethanol. “We buy our ethanol from an ethanol manufacturer in 200 proof,” said Sologear president Chad Sorenson. “Then we convert it from a liquid into a solid with a special chemical process that we’ve developed. Nothing like this has ever been done to my knowledge.”

Sorenson says using ethanol for grilling purposes is just a small market compared to the transportation use of ethanol, “But it has a lot of significant potential with about 3.8 billion grilling occasions in the U.S. every year and we are already selling product overseas so we think over time this could be a significant new use of ethanol that may have not been considered prior to this.”

The recyclable packaging for the FlameDisk includes a corn emblem that Sorenson says signifies the product as corn-based and proclaims it’s eco-friendliness. “It assures consumers that this is a totally clean burning and safe fuel to use to cook your food,” he said. “Helping consumers that this is a natural fuel that comes from natural biomatter is useful.”

The FlameDisk is already on the market and available at a number of retail stores like Ace Hardware, Home Depot, and True Value with a suggested retail price of $4.99.

Listen to my interview with Chad here:

We actually tried out the product and found that it really works just like they say. Watch our FlameDisk demo here:

Next Step Biofuels has launched PowerPellets, a green fuel made from corn stover – all the leaves, cobs and stalks leftover after the corn is harvested – that burns like coal and will help with that state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard laws that require utilities to generate more of their power from renewable sources:

According to Next Step COO Russ Zeeck, PowerPellets solve the logistical and operational problems that have thus far prevented wide-scale use of biomass to generate electricity. “PowerPellets overcome the three major problems that utilities have had with biomass,” said Zeeck. “First, unlike raw biomass, PowerPellets are easy and affordable to ship and store. Second, unlike other pelletized biomass, PowerPellets are hard and friable which means they pulverize and feed just like coal; PowerPellets can be folded into a coal-fired plant’s operations with little or no additional capital. And, third, because Next Step makes PowerPellets from corn stover – America’s most abundant source of renewable biomass – there is a deep, reliable and price-stable supply.”

Next Step Biofuels says the PowerPellets were recently tested and found to do what was claimed of them during rigorous testing conducted at the Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota. The company is negotiating with several utilities to supply PowerPellets starting next year.

That famous line from the 1967 film “The Graduate” can be applied to the great potential in plastics from agricultural products. A recent study from the European Bioplastics and the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence estimates that “up to 90% of total plastics consumed could be replaced by bio-based polymers.”

A company called Cereplast expects the U.S. bio-plastics market to top $10 billion in sales by 2020. The company makes renewable plastics using starches from tapioca, corn, wheat and potatoes and plans to launch a family of algae-based resin products. They believe the potential market is enormous, since petroleum is used in nearly every product we buy from toys and toothbrushes to contact lenses and electronics.

According to Cereplast CEO Frederic Scheer, “This study found that in 2007, only 0.3% of global plastic production was bio-based. By 2013 we expect that overall bio-plastics manufacturing capacity will increase by approximately seven times current levels, which still barely taps the surface. Demand is huge and will increase exponentially according to all the indicators we are watching.”

With companies like Coca-Cola and Walmart turning to more environmentally-conscious plastic packaging, Scheer believes that biodegradable resins “can compete with their petroleum counterparts and help break the world’s addiction to oil.”

Farmers can not only provide food, feed, fiber, and fuel – but the bags and containers to carry it in!

Look at this – a dino made out of cornstarch-based building blocks colored with food dye that can dissolve in water. Amaizing! The product is EnviroBLOX™ by Cadaco Toys.

According to the company website, they are a safe and fun construction toy. No glue or magnet needed, simply moisten the blocks with a sponge and they stick together like magic. Create all kinds of fun designs; the opportunities are endless. Each set contains a book of suggested building designs. Best of all EnviroBLOX contain the following benefits to the customer:

- EnviroBLOX dissolve in running water like ice – no need to throw in the trash.

Is that cool or what?!

Farmers today are becoming more and more efficient and finding ways to better utilize our natural resources including the ones they grow.

Starting next year, all Frito-Lay multigrain SunChips (which are made with whole corn) will come packaged in the first fully compostable snack chip bag made from plant-based materials – that is, corn-based. According to the company, “the change is designed to significantly improve the environmental impact of its packaging.”

This month, the SunChips brand is taking the first step towards this transformational packaging. The outer layer of packaging on 10 ½ oz size SunChips snacks bags will be made with a compostable, plant-based renewable material, polylactic acid (PLA). By Earth Day 2010, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division plans to rollout a package for its SunChips snacks where all layers are made from PLA material so the package is 100% compostable. They even have a video on their website of the bag decomposing.

In addition, at a time when other food companies are keeping higher prices from last year intact, Frito-Lay recently began to add 20 percent more product into its take-home sized Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos and Fritos products, without increasing the price.

But wait – there’s more! On Earth Day this week, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay and National Geographic announced the launch of the Green Effect, a national initiative that encourages consumers to take their own small steps toward helping the planet. Consumers can submit their ideas on how to make their communities greener, for the chance to win one of five $20,000 grants that will help turn their green ideas into reality.

According to news release, the Green Effect initiative is the second collaboration between Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, and National Geographic. “Earlier this year, Frito-Lay and National Geographic teamed up to create a unique editorial supplement entitled, “Solutions for A Better World: A Lighter Footprint.” The supplement, which was polybagged with National Geographic magazine, detailed the world’s current dependency on fossil fuels and delves into the realities of alternative solutions including; solar energy, wind power, biofuels, recycling and water conservation.”

So munch a bunch of Frito’s SunChips today and feel good about it!

Corn-based diapers have apparently been around for a couple of years now, first made by a Swedish company called Nature Baby Care, but they are getting a bit more buzz lately. If you search around on the web, you will find a number of different brands of eco-friendly diapers and other websites specializing in places to find them – like Better Baby Bums, for example. You gotta love that name!

According to BBB, the Nature Baby Care diapers were “the first ECO-friendly high-performance diaper, based on new green technology, protected by a Swedish patent. The diaper is soft, thin, comfortable and with perfect sizing. It’s performance is as good as the best ”traditional” diapers. It has an exclusive 100 % chlorine free absorbent material and the material against the baby’s skin is based on corn instead of plastic like traditional diapers, 100% compostable, breathable and extremely kind for the baby. The packaging is 100 % compostable and based on corn.”

Then there are companies like Earth Baby, based (where else?) in California, which offers “compostable diaper service” utilizing corn-based diapers. They claim they have composted over 9,600 pounds of diapers to date – turning them into nutrient-rich top soil in as little as 14 weeks.

It gives new parents another alternative to cloth or traditional disposable diapers – and corn farmers a new use for their product!

Purdue University students Janie Stine, David Jaroch and Jessamine Osborne have created a corn-based biodegradable toilet paper called Nature’s Silk that took the $10,000 top prize in the 2009 Indiana Student Corn Innovation contest.

“We were sold on the idea of Nature’s Silk from the beginning,” said Osborne, a senior from Evansville, Ind., double-majoring in cell molecular development and genetics. “The idea is simple, but perfect. We couldn’t figure out why this product wasn’t already on the market.”

The other big winners in this year’s competition at Purdue to create new products out of corn and soybeans were soybean-based cupcake liners and biodegradable cork that can be made of both soybeans and corn. The competition drew a record 33 students on 12 teams—nine of which competed in both corn and soybean categories.

“The participation in both the corn and soybean competitions this year was outstanding,” said Mark Henderson, executive director for both the soybean alliance and corn marketing council. “Developing new uses for our crops, as well as building interest among students to work with both corn and soybeans, is essential in building demand for the crops. This is a top priority for our state’s corn and soybean checkoff programs.”

Other products in this year’s competition included a decomposable flowerpot, snow removal and de-icing solution, car wax, paint balls, disposable cups, biodegradable cigarette filters, hydroplaning solution, biodegradable shotgun cartridge casings and a biodegradable garden container.

Take the BASF booth, for example. They are showcasing a carpet in their exhibit made from corn polymers, and giving away plastic coffee cups made from 100 percent corn plastic, as Dan Westberg and Leon Duschene explain in this YouTube video.

“We’ve used these grants in the past for ethanol plant feasibility studies, a pilot project to turn PLA into milk bottles, marketing and business plans on distillers grains use as fertilizer, a project to test burning corn gas in corn dryers, and legal work to evaluate permits for livestock operations,” said Jerry Main, a grower from Fairfield and chair of the ICPB’s industrial usage committee.

Both new and established ventures are eligible for grants to pay for feasibility studies, business plan development, marketing plan development, engineering studies, legal fees and equity drives. Recipients can receive up to $25,000 on a 50-50 matching basis.

The application form is available on-line at the ICPB site. Completed applications will be evaluated by the Iowa Corn Industrial Usage & U.S. Production Committee, which will score them on criteria that include technical factors, business factors, management, potential economic impact on Iowa, viability, and risk.