Claims
- 1. A method of making a binder comprising the steps of:
- obtaining stillage waste containing protein; and
- bringing the stillage waste to a paste consistency sufficiently viscous to apply to refuse with no particle larger than 18 mesh wherein the binder includes only stillage without added effective ingredients.
- 2. A fuel pellet formed of waste material comprising:
- a binder including only naturally occurring effective materials;
- waste material used as a filler for the fuel pellet;
- said binder containing naturally occurring protein;
- said binder and filler material being compacted to a specific gravity of at least 0.4; and
- said protein being cross linked to provide sufficient strength and being a naturally occurring protein from an agricultural product.
- 3. A method of making a fuel pellet comprising the steps of:
- obtaining stillage having within it a protein with a thermoplastic microstructure and linear polymers of a molecular weight of at least 2,000 linked with peptide linkages of at least 50 in number;
- bringing the stillage to a consistency sufficiently viscous to be applied to waste material with any particles in it reduced in size to at least 18 mesh; and
- forming the product into a fixed shape under conditions which apply sufficient heat and pressure to initiate polymerization without adding other chemically active materials.
- 4. A method according to claim 3 in which the step of forming the product into a fixed shape under conditions which apply sufficient heat and pressure includes the step of increasing the, stillage to a temperature of at least 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 5. A method in accordance with claim 3 in which the step of forming the product into a fixed shape under conditions which apply sufficient heat and pressure includes the step of increasing the pressure on the stillage to at least 20 pounds per square inch.
- 6. A method in accordance with claim 3 in which the step of forming the product into a fixed shape under conditions which supply sufficient heat and pressure includes the step of maintaining the product for a time in the range of one to six hours at a temperature of between 195 degrees Celsius to 140 degrees Celsius with a water content in the range of 1/8 to 1/3 the total weight of the mixture and with stillage in the range of between 1/4 to 1/2 the total weight of the mixture.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/261,685 filed Jun. 17, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,285, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/954,740 filed Sep. 29, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,871, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/659,453 filed Feb. 21, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,242, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/511,833 filed Apr. 13, 1990, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/173,921 filed Mar. 28, 1988, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/144,663 filed Jan. 12, 1988, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 06/712,518 filed Mar. 18, 1985, now abandoned and assigned to the same assignee as this application; and this application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/145,028 filed Oct. 28, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,670, which is a file wrapper continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/659,458 filed Feb. 21, 1991, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/503,135 filed Mar. 30, 1990, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/378,429 filed Jul. 11, 1989, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/144,663 filed Jan. 12, 1988, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 06/712,518 filed Mar. 18, 1985, now abandoned, and assigned to the same assignee as this application.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Divisions (2)
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Number |
Date |
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954740 |
Sep 1992 |
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Parent |
659453 |
Feb 1991 |
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Continuations (7)
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Date |
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511833 |
Apr 1990 |
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173921 |
Mar 1988 |
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712518 |
Mar 1985 |
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503135 |
Mar 1990 |
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378429 |
Jul 1989 |
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Parent |
144663 |
Jan 1988 |
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Parent |
712518 |
Mar 1985 |
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Continuation in Parts (3)
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261685 |
Jun 1994 |
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144663 |
Jan 1988 |
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659458 |
Feb 1991 |
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