A Virginia Tech professor has developed a process that can transform wood chips, corn stems and other agricultural refuse into edible starches.
Professor Y.H. Percival Zhang, who studies biological systems engineering, said that plants everywhere consist of cellulose which has the same chemical formula as starch, but use different linkages between the glucose units.
According to his research, if the beta bonds are converted into alpha bonds, the coarse cellulose turns into a soft, powdery substance like corn starch and becomes edible.
Zhang has decided to produce this starch in a factory called a biorefinery and has revealed that the ultimate cost of it may be nearly zero.
According to his method, any plant material from weed to wood can be turned into food.
