IN YOUR ORCHARD
THE ALMOND BOARD
From Shell to Shaker: ABC Leadership Participant Explores New Possibilities for Almond Shells When Connor Wagner applied to participate in the Almond Board of California (ABC) Almond Leadership Program, he was eager to expand his knowledge of the industry and develop deeper relationships with his peers. Little did he know that the program would give him the chance to engage in a project that could impact the industry for years to come.
For Wagner, the revelation happened during a Leadership program seminar at the University of California, Davis, which included a visit to West Biofuels in Woodland. “I thought it was really cool how they were torrefying almond shells and using that shell in other products,” he said. Torrefaction is a process in which almond shells are heated in a zero-oxygen environment, a process that evaporates moisture and decomposes cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. What’s left are torrefied almond shells (TAS) containing condensed stable carbon that can be used as a filler for compounds to make rubber, plastic, or composite products.¹ With his interest piqued, Wagner attended a presentation the next day led by Bill Orts and Delilah Wood of USDA’s Agricultural Research Services (ARS), who described the potential uses for torrefied almond shells. “Long term they said they’d like to see torrefied shells in car tires,” recalled Wagner, “and the whole rest of the day, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Bill and Delilah had to say.” From that moment on, Wagner was inspired to explore the use of TAS in rubber products for his Leadership program project (each participant is required to conduct a special project and present it at the end of the year). Getting the material in tires was a worthy ambition, but he needed a more niche application to validate the idea on a smaller scale. Wagner eventually landed on the idea of testing TAS in rubber shaker head pads used in almond harvesting equipment.
Wagner is a graduate of the 2019 Almond Leadership Program class. Photo courtesy of RPM Public Relations.
“Whey not” find higher value uses? Wagner saw this vision for almond shell use in part because of his background growing up on a dairy in Escalon – he had already witnessed the rise of a coproduct that went from worthless to valuable: whey. “Up until the late 1980s, dairy processors used to pour whey down the drain,” said Wagner. Regulation prompted the dairy industry to find new uses for whey, which now has thriving markets for lactose products and whey protein.
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