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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

globeandmail.com: Food or fuel? New technology offers both

globeandmail.com: Food or fuel? New technology offers both: "Food or fuel? New technology offers both IAN HARVEY Special to The Globe and Mail October 30, 2007 at 6:38 AM EDT In the 'food vs. fuel' debate about global crop usage, fuel may be winning.

Millions of bushels of corn are being diverted to ethanol production as gas-hungry countries scramble to offset the soaring cost of crude oil. As a result, grain and food prices are rising - a sign that quenching our thirst for fuel may spur hunger pangs along the way.

Chris Carl, founder and president of Toronto-based Bio-Extraction Inc. (BioExx), believes his company has a solution: A proprietary oil-extraction process that could hold the key to maintaining the balance between food and fuel needs.

Conventional oil-extraction methods for grains and other plants use petroleum-based solvents such as hexane and require high temperatures (up to 140 degrees) that denature the protein materials, rendering them unusable. The BioExx process, however, produces both oils and proteins.

The extracted oil - whether from corn, canola or soybeans - can be marketed for biofuels, while the protein can be sold as fish meal for the booming fish-farming market or as additives for animal feed."

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