Researchers at the University of Illinois are working to take pig manure from the university’s hog farm and using it to make a binder for asphalt. It not only replaces the currently used binder made from petroleum, it is infinitely recyclable. In the audio clip below, Professor Yuanhui Zhang, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander about the USDA-funded project, which also creates a bio-fuel that can be used for transportation. Another by-product of the process is fertilizer, and a U of I researcher is currently growing vegetables using that nutrient.
This is not the Yellow Brick Road. It's a project at the University of Illinois to turn pig manure into asphalt.
