The ultimate goal of the proposed project is to commercialize a technology developed (and patented) through joint USDA/industry funding. This technology embodies formulations and processing conditions for value-added use of cereal straw, corn stalk and other fibrous agricultural residues in fiber cement boards for siding and backerboard applications in building construction. The subject technology replaces processed wood fibers with milled straw, corn stalk (and other residues) as reinforcement in cement boards. The availability of straw (more than 50 million tons/yr of straw can be harvested without lasting damage to soil), the high value of milled straw in our application, and the market potential of residue fiber cement boards promise to raise profitability of farming operations and provide new economic opportunities in rural areas. Residue fiber cement boards complement highly desirable attributes (strength, durability, dimensional stability, workability, fire resistance and aesthetics) with an attractive cost structure, which make them quite competitive in the multi-billion dollar siding and backerboard markets. Wood fiber cement boards have found use primarily in three major application areas: siding, roofing, and backerboard. The proposed project will: (1) develop a comprehensive business plan for the commercialization effort; (2) establish engineering and management resources for pilot-scale production and field demonstration of the technology; and (3) produce residue fiber cement board at pilot scale, and implement field evaluation and demonstration projects. The first task (business plan development) covers: (a) elaboration of the customer (building products distributors) and end-user (building contractors) needs and constraints; (b) analysis of major markets and competititors; ©) development of marketing/sales plan; (d) development of manufacturing/engineering plans; and (e) development of human resources plan. The second task involves build-up of the resources needed for pilot-scaled production and field evaluation/demonstration of the technology in Task 3.
Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications of Research: Siding, roofing and tile backerboard markets in the United States consume 300 million m /yr (3 billion 2 ft /yr) of board products; the share of fiber cement in these markets almost doubled from 1994 to 1999. 2 The growing market share of fiber cement in building construction can be attributed to its desirable performance attributes (mainly durability characteristics), workability, ease of maintenance, and competitive cost position. Our preliminary economic analysis suggests that building construction markets can consume 1 billion ft /yr/yr of residue cement boards in the United States, yielding gross sales of $600 2 million/yr and accounting for 2 million tons/yr consumption of straw.
