Liquid Smoke From Rice Hulls

A couple of tons for the food flavoring market is not going to do much for the 136.000,000 tons of hulls. But reducing it to 20,000,000 tons of easily packaged biochar is a wonderful idea.  One could even charge the product with urea to remove all doubt regarding its value in soil remediation.

At a treatment level of around two tons per acre it becomes possible to thus treat ten million acres with bio char.  In ten years we would expect to see that much land at least to be fully charged with a five to ten percent biochar load.  Since even one such treatment is highly beneficial, much more land can be generally treated.

Rice hulls actually lend themselves to the biochar process since their size is regular with plenty of fine structure.  Thus a commercial fertilizer vendor should take up the task of commercializing this.

'Liquid smoke' from rice shows potential health benefits

by Staff Writers

Washington DC (SPX) May 13, 2011

http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Liquid_smoke_from_rice_shows_potential_health_benefits_999.html

Liquid smoke flavoring made from hickory and other wood - a mainstay flavoring and anti-bacterial agent for the prepared food industryand home kitchens - may get a competitor that seems to be packed with antioxidant, antiallergenic and anti-inflammatory substances, according to a new study in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. It is the first analysis of liquid smoke produced from rice hulls, the hard, inedible coverings of rice grains.

Mendel Friedman, Seok Hyun Nam and colleagues explain that wood from trees is typically used to produce liquid smoke, added to meat and other foods for a smoky taste. But other types of plants can also be burned to make the popular seasoning. Rice is a prime candidate, with 680 millions tons produced worldwide each year.

Hulls account for 136 million tons of that amount and often go to waste. The researchers wondered rice hulls could be put to good use in a liquid form as a food flavoring, and did the first studies needed to determine if rice hull smoke is safe enough for food use.

The scientists found that liquid smoke from rice hulls may be healthful. Their tests on laboratory cell cultures found that liquid rice hull smoke worked as an antioxidant that could help fight off diseases. It also helped prevent inflammation, which is associated with many different health problems did not trigger an allergic response.

"New food uses of a major agricultural byproduct may benefit the environment, farmers, and consumers," the report stated. "However, it is necessary to demonstrate that rice hull smoke is safe. The present study was designed to contribute to this assessment."

The authors acknowledge funding from the Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.