An emerging energy storage technology
could soon have an unexpected ally, thanks
to research at Montana State University:
the pulp leover from processing sugar
beets into sugar.
Backed by a $1.7 million grant from the U.S.
Department of Energy, a team of scientists
will study how the byproduct of the starchy
root crop can be refined into cellulose
nanocrystals that show promise for improving
how heat is captured and recycled in a variety of
industrial seings. e project also includes two
federal labs and North Dakota State University,
with MSU receiving $353,000 of the funding.
Explore Potential of Sugar Beet
Byproduct to Enhance
Energy Storage Technology
"is is a totally new application of
cellulose nanocrystals," said Dilpreet
Bajwa, professor in the Department
of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of
Engineering, who is leading the MSU effort.
Bajwa, an expert in the tiny, extremely
hard particles derived from breaking down
biomass, previously found that the nanocrystals
significantly increase the efficiency of certain
salts used to absorb and store heat. e salts,
which melt when heated, can store much more
heat per a given volume than materials like water.
ey are commonly used in power plants that
MSU Researchers
Marshall Swearingen
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