Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project includes small and medium sized farmers in the Mid-south who stand to benefit from the increased applicability of indigo as a high-value diversification crop, as well as textile manufacturers who benefit from a more consistent and higher purity natural alternative to synthetic dyes.The PI has presented at local events and symposiums on this research project and the overall business and market for all-American natural indigo. She presented at the Association of American Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) Annual International Conference in Savannah, GA in March 2015, a national textile colorists' conference. Bellos had a 1 hour conference presentation that reached about 100 people and presented briefly to the entire conference of about 400 people. The presentation was focused was on American grown indigo and its potential for use in the denim dye industry. The audience was primarily textile scientists, fashion brand representatives, researchers, textile mill workers, and fashion designers and marketers. The PI has met with at least 20 small and mid size farmers and farming organizations during this project period, both educating them on indigo production and identifying potential research and/or production partners. The PI also met with representatives from leading denim mills, brands, and independent fashion designers. The PI also presented at the 2015 Ag Innovation Showcase and the 2016 InvestMidwest Forum, both in St. Louis. These conferences brought attention to the opportunity for both farmers and investors to participate in the growing market and research opportunities in bio-based colorants for the textiles market. Changes/Problems:There have been five major changes to the project as originally proposed. 1) A major hurdle to the success of this project was the difficulty in direct seeding natural indigo. Over both planting seasons the natural indigo seed field germination was extremely delayed and/or incomplete. The contributing factors appear to be not only based on field conditions but do to the seed characteristics themselves. Our primary variety of indigo is extremely slow to germinate. In cases where seeds germinated, albeit slowly, there was already intense competition in the field by weeds. There needs to be a major advancement in indigo direct seeding methods in order for indigo to become a widespread commercial industrial crop for small or mid size farmers. Most small and mid-sized farmers of row crops in the SE US do not have mechanized transplant equipment or greenhouses to start transplants in, so improvements in direct seeding are a major new research priority that has emerged from this project. Conveniently, SCC is based in Middle TN where conventional tobacco "float bed" greenhouses are still operated by local farmers. Anticipating the challenges with direct seeding following our Y1 research, we were able to shift approach for the 2015 growing season. We worked with 2 tobacco growers and one commercial greenhouse to produce sufficient transplants and plugs for the 2015 season for both pilot production of the dye and preliminary transplant production research. This change in plans had 3 major outcomes: 1) SCC was able to validate that tobacco float beds are an appropriate method for starting robust indigo seedlings and start to develop some best practices around float bed cultivation of Japanese indigo; 2) SCC had sufficient plant biomass in the field for 2015 to complete the other critical Phase II research priorities; 3) SCC had an increase in budget expenses for agricultural production and an overall increase in the rate of expenditure, as transplant production and planting is much more costly than direct seeding. We worked with a research partner to identify key improvements and variables in mechanized direct seeding and will make plans to move forward with both improved transplant parameters to insure secure biomass supply, as well as for direct seeding for small and mid size farm research priorities in future years. 2) Originally, we proposed completing an overseas denim mill trial as part of this Phase II project. Based on conversations held during our our Phase I grant, we were unable to secure a committed US based denim mill partner for this Phase II project. However, due to consumer interest and market trends, we were able to get a US based denim mill to commit to a natural indigo trial during this project, in advance of our schedule. This has been a major milestone for the research project and a significant advancement toward the widespread adoption of natural indigo in commercial denim mills. This mill had a very successful pilot run and will help us project future market demand much more accurately. 3) Based on our Y1 results, improvements and changes have been made to the chemical extraction process and harvest method. These differ from the method originally proposed in the Phase II application. To accommodate these changes and those listed above, the company brought in some supplemental research partners and farmers to assist us in fulfilling the goals of the proposed project. 4) The changes to the chemical extraction process between Y1 and Y2, including moving away from milling technology and toward another extraction method, required changing chemical processors to enable more dedicated and consistent processing line to test the extraction technolgies at scale. Importantly, the comapny hired a dedicated chemical operations manager in order to move the extraction research from the lab benchtop into pilot scale more effectively and consistently under the guidance of an experienced chemical processing engineer. 5) To support the company's work with the USDA CATP-2 commercialization asssistance program, the PI and other researchers performed a much more through denim market research analysis than originally proposed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Stony Creek Colors has demonstrated significantimprovement toits indigo extraction process through optimizing extraction conditions, time from harvest to extraction, and other parameters resulting in indigo purities on the bench-top extractionsof 60% and up to 40% in pilot batches. This is a major improvement in indigo purity and a necessary step to ensure consistent dye conditions at the commercial denim mills. Causes of batch varibility have been identified relating to plant variety, growing conditions, harvest conditions, and process variability, all of which have led to more repeatable, predictable, and higher purity batches. Objective 2: SCC has worked with two seed production partners in the eastern and western U.S. to ensure stable and consistent seed supply. Agronomictrials were conductedat the SCC farm as well as in conjunction with farmers and research partners, to assess growing conditions, seasonal variability, and plant variety on overall indigo yield and other related measurements. High performing varieties have been identified and are being planted as the dominant variety within the 2016 crop. Objective 3: SCC worked with several farm production partners to identify and test equipment and improved methods for mechanized planting, crop maintenance and harvest through this project. SCC propagated over 200,000 indigo seedlings in 2015 and transplanted them to fields in order to meet the pilot denim mill and research requirements. The resulting plants were harvested 1 to 3 times each using a variety of high throughput mechanical harvesters which will be modified and utilized in further research projects. Objective 4: SCC validated its bench top extraction methods at larger scale pilot batches, developingproprietary pilot system and testing it with toll processors while operating a parallel pilot line at Stony Creek. SCC has proven that this method of optimized extraction is robust and scalable, and has elected to bring all critical processing in-house for the 2016 season. Objective 5: In 2015, Stony Creek Colors supplied dye for a proof-of-concept batch at the premier denim mill in the U.S. The resulting denim was awarded "Best-in-Show" at an international denim show, and ulitmately was released to brands in small quantities to validate market demand. By late 2015, denim garments made from this fabric were released to the public with exceptional reviews. The denim mill partner has guaranteed purchase of future indigo dye from Stony Creek Colors in exchange for limited market exclusivity, allowing the company to spread this crop to more small and midsize farmers. Objective 6: Stony Creek Colors has evaluated the "cost of revenues" related to planting, cultivating, and harvesting indigo crops as well as processing these crops to final product at industrial scale both in-house and at toll processors, and has developed a compelling business model based around the curated contract-farming of the cropalong with the build out of an in-house processing line. In 2016 the company began to execute to the associated business plan, planting out 45 acres of crop and leasing and outfitting an industrial facility near the dispersed farms which is capable of processing 20,000 pounds of biomass per day. Venture capital has been raised to pursue these goals, and the scale-up plan through2020 results in a very rewarding business. Objective 7: Stony Creek Colors has demonstrated the ability to produce commercial quantities of black walnut -based dye and is working with a garment dyehouse to validate commercial feasibility. Initial results are not as compelling as the business model for indigo, but balck walnut dyes remain a viable synergistic product which will utilize many of the same factory assets as deployed for the 8-month indigo processing season during the winter months.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Color With Life: Bio-based Colorants, Association of American Textile Chemists and Colorists Conference (Savannah, GA. March 2015)
|
Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The PI has presented at local events and symposiums on this research project and the overall business and market for all-American natural indigo. She presented at the Association of American Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) Annual International Conference in Savannah, GA in March 2015, a national textile colorists' conference. Bellos had a 1 hour conference presentation that reached about 100 people and presented briefly to the entire conference of about 400 people. The presentation was focused was on American grown indigo and its potential for use in the denim dye industry. The audience was primarily textile scientists, fashion brand representatives, researchers, textile mill workers, and fashion designers and marketers. The PI has met with at least 20 small and mid size farmers and farming organizations during this project period, both educating them on indigo production and identifying potential research and/or production partners. The PI also met with representatives from leading denim mills, brands, and independent fashion designers. Changes/Problems:There have been four major changes to the project as originally proposed. 1) A major hurdle to the success of this project was the difficulty in direct seeding natural indigo. Over both planting seasons the natural indigo seed field germination was extremely delayed and/or incomplete. The contributing factors appear to be not only based on field conditions but do to the seed characteristics themselves. Our primary variety of indigo is extremely slow to germinate. In cases where seeds germinated, albeit slowly, there was already intense competition in the field by weeds. There needs to be a major advancement in indigo direct seeding methods in order for indigo to become a widespread commercial industrial crop for small or mid size farmers. Most small and mid-sized farmers of row crops in the SE US do not have mechanized transplant equipment or greenhouses to start transplants in, so improvements in direct seeding are a major new research priority that has emerged from this project. Conveniently, SCC is based in Middle TN where conventional tobacco "float bed" greenhouses are still operated by local farmers. Anticipating the challenges with direct seeding following our Y1 research, we were able to shift approach for the 2015 growing season. We worked with 2 tobacco growers and one commercial greenhouse to produce sufficient transplants and plugs for the 2015 season for both pilot production of the dye and preliminary transplant production research. This change in plans had 3 major outcomes: 1) SCC was able to validate that tobacco float beds are an appropriate method for starting robust indigo seedlings and start to develop some best practices around float bed cultivation of Japanese indigo; 2) SCC had sufficient plant biomass in the field for 2015 to complete the other critical Phase II research priorities; 3) SCC had an increase in budget expenses for agricultural production and an overall increase in the rate of expenditure, as transplant production and planting is much more costly than direct seeding. We worked with a research partner to identify key improvements and variables in mechanized direct seeding and will make plans to move forward with both improved transplant parameters to insure secure biomass supply, as well as for direct seeding for small and mid size farm research priorities in future years. 2) Originally, we proposed completing an overseas denim mill trial as part of this Phase II project. Based on conversations held during our our Phase I grant, we were unable to secure a committed US based denim mill partner for this Phase II project. However, due to consumer interest and market trends, we were able to get a US based denim mill to commit to a natural indigo trial during this project, in advance of our schedule. This has been a major milestone for the research project and a significant advancement toward the widespread adoption of natural indigo in commercial denim mills. This mill had a very successful pilot run and will help us project future market demand much more accurately. 3) Based on our Y1 results, improvements and changes have been made to the chemical extraction process. These differ from the method originally proposed in the Phase II application. To accommodate these changes and those listed above, we brought in some supplemental research partners and farmers to assist us in fulfilling the goals of the proposed project. We are on track to meet our goals. 4) To support the company's work with the USDA CATP-2 program the PI and other researchers performed a much more through denim market research analysis than originally proposed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue with the proposed research plan but with a focus on improving mechanized harvest techniques, working with our in-house processing facility and with processing partners to improve batch to batch consistency, and determine wastewater processing.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The major goals of this project are to develop, pilot process and test new, plant-based blue and brown dyes for textile mills, while developing an small farmer based-vertically integrated supply chain for indigo and black walnut. This Phase II project will continue Stony Creek Color's success in Phase I in expanding the U.S. market for biobased natural colorants for the textile industry, while creating new and diversified sources of income for Southern U.S. farm communities. SCC has 7 Phase II Objectives along the indigo and walnut value chains: Objective 1: Improve extraction efficiency of indigo in order to create higher indigotin content natural indigo. The SCC research team has been conducting a range of indigo extraction experiments, including optimizing extraction conditions, time from harvest to extraction variables and other parameters. Purity of indigo on the bench-top extractions has increased to 60% and up to 40% in pilot batches. This is a major improvement in indigo purity and a necessary step to ensure consistent dye conditions at the commercial denim mills. The processing team is working to improve batch consistency and to identify any controllable causes of batch to batch variation. Additionally we are working with a third party toll processor (chemical manufacturer) to scale production with larger batch sizes. Objective 2: Secure and maintain quality indigo seed stock with high indican levels and optimize agronomic conditions for Middle Tennessee crop production. SCC is working with a commercial seed production partner to ensure stable and consistent seed supply. Agronomic trials are ongoing at the SCC farm as well as in conjunction with farmers and research partners. Objective 3: Increase fresh indigo biomass through farm-scale mechanized production. SCC has worked with several farm production partners to determine and test equipment and improved methods for mechanized planting, crop maintenance and harvest through this project. We propagated over 200,000 indigo seedlings in order to meet the pilot denim mill and research requirements. Objective 4: Validate new extraction method with commercial pilot extraction equipment. SCC has made good progress validating our bench top extraction methods work in larger scale pilot batches. We developed an in-house pilot system and testing our method with toll processors. We have proven our method of optimized extraction is robust and scalable. Objective 5: Market validation and proof of concept on development scale indigo ranges. SCC has made tremendous progress in our market validation. We are working with the best denim mill in the USA to run trials of natural indigo on denim fabric to prove our dyes are a competitive replacement for synthetic, imported indigo. Objective 6: Comparative economic analysis of the processing and manufacturing costs of optimized methods and develop financing plans for industrial scale up. Our exact scale up methods are not yet determined or quoted so we have not completed the comparative economic analysis for indigo crop production. Industrial scale up design is in progress and will be finalized prior to project end date. Objective 7: Black walnut extraction scale up to industrial processor. SCC is currently working with a garment dyehouse to test our pilot batch of black walnut extract. Results pending.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Color With Life: Bio-based Colorants, Association of American Textile Chemists and Colorists Conference (Savannah, GA. March 2015)
|