redOrbit: A patented Michigan State University process to pretreat corn-crop waste before conversion into ethanol means extra nutrients don’t have to be added, cutting the cost of making biofuels from cellulose. The AFEX (ammonia fiber expansion) pretreatment process, developed by Bruce Dale, University Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering and materials science, uses ammonia to make the breakdown of cellulose and hemicellulose in plants 75 percent more efficient than when …