Applications

For over 50 years corncob products have been used for hundreds of diverse applications.

The most important characteristic of corncob products is their absorbency—their capacity to hold up to four times their weight in fluid. This absorptive quality enables corncob products to be used to absorb finishing fluids, oil and water in industrial applications and to clean up industrial or environmental spills, and it also makes the corncob products excellent carriers for vitamins and antibiotics in animal feed or as carriers for herbicides and pesticides in lawn care products. 

The abrasive quality of corncob products makes them valued for their use as industrial abrasives to polish such varied items as jewelry, nuts and bolts, or golf club heads. In addition, research has led to unique uses for corncob products such as a component of drilling fluids used in the oil and natural gas drilling industries, and as a dietary component for the cultivation of Mediterranean fruit flies. 

Corncobs, as well as other biomass resources, have the potential to be transformed into valuable bioproducts for industrial and consumer use. Compelled by environmental concerns and the desire to reduce the use of imported oil, government and private research is producing technological advances that continue to redefine the potential for corn and its components to be converted into products as diverse as structural materials, chemicals, fabric and fuels.

A partical list of corncob applications include:
Abrasives for hand soap……absorbents for degreasing……activated charcoal source……animal feed ingredient......animal bedding......anti-sticking agent for hot steel sheets......asphalt shingles and roofing......bee smoking……blast cleaning of motors......generators......bridges......machinery and heavy equipment......log homes……building materials......bricks and ceramics......cardboard production......carpet cleaner compound......carrier for fats......cat litter......cavity filler for taxidermy and cadavers......cellulose source......chemical waste absorbent......choline chloride carrier......clean......polish and dry metal......plastic or glass parts including: ball bearings......eye glass frames......golf club heads......computer chips......metal fasteners......metal stampings...... concrete component......corncob pipes......cosmetics formulation......deburring......deflashing......drilling fluid additive......dry cleaning furs......drying plated parts......feedstock for the chemical industry......foundry applications......fuel......fungicide carrier......furfural source......glue and adhesive filler......heavy metal removal from wastewater......herbicide carrier......incineration......industrial absorbents and dryers......industrial filters......imitation maple syrup......insecticide carrier......lignin source......medium for fruitfly and mosquito abatement programs......metal finishing......molded furniture component......mulch......mushroom compost......oil spill absorbent......packaging material......paper production......pesticide carrier......plasterboard......plastic extender or filler......pressed logs......rubber compounds and tires......sludge solidification......slurry brick manufacturing......smoking meats......fish and cheese......soft grit blasting......soil conditioner......spill clean-up......sweeping compounds......vitamin and pharmaceutical carrier for animal feed......waste absorbent......xylitol source......xylose source