Corn construction refers to the use of

corn (maize) Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

. The tassel, leaf, silk, cob in husks, and the stalk are the parts of corn. According to the Michigan Department of Agriculture, "corn can be made into fuel, abrasives, solvents, charcoal, animal feed, bedding for animals, insulation, adhesives, and more. The kernel is used as oil, bran, starch, glutamates, animal feed, and solvents. The silk is combined with other parts of the corn plant to be used as part of animal feed,

silage Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage p ...

, and fuels. Husks are made into dolls and used as filling materials. The stalk is used to make paper, wallboard, silage, syrup, and

rayon Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose f ...

(artificial silk)."Michigan Department of Agriculture
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History

Corn has long been used in manufacturing. There were a number innovations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the early 1900s. For example,

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

's conceptual

Model U A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

car featured tires with corn-based filler and a corn-based fabric roof. The

Corn Palace The Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in Mitchell, South Dakota, United States. The Moorish Revival building is decorated with crop art; the mu ...

, a building in Mitchell, South Dakota, is decorated with murals and designs made from corn and other grains.

Materials

Husks

The outer

husk Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...

of corn can be used to make corn husk

doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

txalaparta The txalaparta ( or ) is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone. In some regions of the Basque Country, (with ) means "racket", while in others (in Navarre) has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely relate ...

musical instruments, and other crafts. Husks are used as the wrapper for tamales. It is also used in South American countries as a cigarette rolling 'paper'.

Corncobs

Corncob A corncob, also called corn cob, cob of corn or corn on the cob, is the central core of an ear of corn (also known as maize). It is the part of the ear on which the kernels grow. The ear is also considered a "cob" or "pole" but it is not fully ...

s, the core of corn ears, are very absorbent. They have been used to make inexpensive

smoking pipe A smoking pipe is used to inhale the smoke of a burning substance; most common is a tobacco pipe, which can also accommodate almost any other substance. Pipes are commonly made from briar, heather, corn, meerschaum, clay, cherry, glass, porcela ...

s, and to transport various materials. Ground corn cobs make an effective blasting media, are friendly to the environment, and delicate while maintaining abrasive capacity. Corncobs are increasingly being used as a low-cost,

environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...

material for houses.

Cornstarch

Goodyear BioTRED tires are made using a biologic polymer derived from

cornstarch Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or soups, ...

as the filler.

Corn kernels

Corn kernel burning stoves have found increasing popularity following the rise in natural gas and fuel oil prices. Large corn furnaces are capable of heating any size building, and fueling generators to produce electricity. Corn kernels are a natural pellet, which makes corn less expensive and more readily available than wood byproduct pellets. Manufactured pellets sold out in 2005, while corn is readily available for a much better price. Heat savings go up to 75% over natural gas or fuel oil.

Plastics

Recently, corn has been used to make

biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradati ...

containers. Corn can be used to create non-

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

, which is often

compostable Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...

References

{{corn Maize Building materials