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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #211673
Title: Properties of Distillers Grains Composites

Author
item CHEESBROUGH, VANESSA - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item Rosentrater, Kurt
item VISSER, JERRY - SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Polymers and the Environment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/11/2008
Publication Date: 2/7/2008
Citation: Cheesbrough, V., Rosentrater, K.A., Visser, J. 2008. Properties of Distillers Grains Composites. Polymers and the Environment. DOI 10.1007/s10924-008-0083-x.

Interpretive Summary: Interest in renewable materials is growing, especially renewable energy. Their use of bio-based transportation fuels is of particular interest. The fuel ethanol industry is growing exponentially in the last few years, and concurrently, so has the generation of the industry’s main coproduct, Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS). The development of new uses for DDGS has become crucial to maintaining the economic viability of the growing fuel ethanol industry. To address this, the goal of this study was to determine the suitability of DDGS for use as a biofiller in low-cost composites. The effects of DDGS content, particle size, curing temperature, and compression on resulting properties, such as flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, water activity, and color were evaluated for two adhesive bases. The composites formed with phenolic resin were found to be greatly superior to glue in terms of mechanical strength and durability. The resin composites had maximum allowable stresses of 150-380 kPa. Glue composites, on the other hand, had values between 6 and 35 kPa. Additionally, glue composites exhibited relatively rapid microbial growth. In the resin composites, both decreased particle size and increased compression during forming resulted in increased mechanical strength. Incorporation of DDGS was found to increase flexural strength but decrease Young’s modulus. These results indicate that DDGS has the potential to be used in resin-based composites.

Technical Abstract: Interest in renewable biofuel sources has intensified in recent years, leading to greatly increased production of ethanol and its primary coproduct, Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS). Consequently, the development of new outlets for DDGS has become crucial to maintaining the economic viability of the industry. In light of these developments, this preliminary study aimed to determine the suitability of DDGS for use as a biofiller in low-cost composites. The effects of DDGS content, particle size, curing temperature, and compression on resulting properties, such as flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, water activity, and color were evaluated for two adhesive bases. The composites formed with phenolic resin were found to be greatly superior to glue in terms of mechanical strength and durability: resin composites had maximum fiber stresses of 150-380 kPa, while glue composites had values between 6 and 35 kPa; additionally, glue composites experienced relatively rapid microbial growth. In the resin composites, both decreased particle size and increased compression resulted in increased mechanical strength, while a moderate DDGS content was found to increase flexural strength but decrease Young’s modulus. These results indicate that DDGS has the potential to be used in resin-based composites to both improve flexural strength and improve potential biodegradability.