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PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
Nevertheless, there is still a great need to develop even less expensive, abundant bio- based adhesives to be employed in the manufacture of engineered wood products. The major feedstock used in ethanol production in North America is corn, with over 90% of the 226 operational ethanol plants utilizing corn exclusively (Liu 2011; Ethanolproducer.com 2017). Approximately 30% of the U.S. harvested corn acreage, representing 5,200 million bushels of corn, is used for ethanol production (Wisner 2015). Over 80% of the ethanol produced is derived from the dry-milling process (Kim HWDO 2008). Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) are the cereal by-product of the dry- milling process (Shukla and Cheryan 2001). Approximately 38 to 42 million metric tons of DDGSs are produced annually in North America (Clarizio and Tatara 2013). DDGS are a relatively low value by-product, are mainly used as an animal feed, and sell for about $0.03 to $0.05/lb ($0.06 to $0.10/kg) (Irwin 2017). Recently, DDGSs have been employed as a bio-filler blended with thermoplastic resin matrix ( HJ poly(lactic acid) (PLA)), high density polyethylene (HDPE), or thermoplastic starch to fabricate biocomposites (Tatara HWDO 2009; Tisserat HWDO . 2013a; Clarizio and Tatara 2013; Lu HW DO . 2014a; 2014b; Madbouly HWDO . 2014; Ju HWDO . 2016). However, our interest was to utilize the DDGS, not as a filler/reinforcement material, but as the matrix itself in the fabrication of biocomposites. Both zein ( | 96% protein) and corn gluten ( | 65% protein) have been employed as matrix resin material to fabricate biocomposites (Shukla and Cheryan 2001; Beg HWDO 2005; Samarasinghe HWDO 2007). DDGS contains | 25 to 35% protein, which suggests it could be employed as adhesive/resin to construct engineered wood products as a substitute for zein or corn gluten meal. This study investigated the possibilityof developing a DDGS-wood biocomposite product. The filler material chosen in this study was 3DXORZQLD wood (PW) derived from trees of 3DXORZQLDHORQJDWD S.Y. Hu, (Paulowniaceae) grown at the Paulownia Demonstration Plot, Fort Valley State University. This tree is an extremely fast-growing coppicing hardwood that is native to China and cultivated in plantations in China and Japan. PW is highly valued in the construction and furniture industries (Chinese Academy of Forestry Staff 1986; Joshee 2012). 3DXORZQLD trees can be established on marginal lands and have deep tap roots, which make them drought tolerant (Joshee 2012). PW is light-weight, insect resistant, pale colored, and heat resistant (Chinese Academy of Forestry Staff 1986; Ashori and Nourbakhsh 2009; Joshee 2012). 3DXORZQLD trees offer an inexpensive source of woody biomass for both energy and lumber, and their wood wastes could be employed in the fabrication of engineered wood products (Ashori and Nourbakhsh 2009; Joshee 2012). Juvenile 3DXORZQLD trees could be a likely source of woody biomass needed in the future. Hence, this study utilized PW derived from juvenile tree biomass ( LH 36-month-old). The influence of processing temperatures, pressures, wood filler particle sizes, and DDGS-filler dosage ratios on the flexural properties of DDGS/PW biocomposites were assessed. The flexural properties of DDGS/PW biocomposites were compared to industry standards for commercial composites ( LH PB, MDF, and HDF) to assess their potential commercial application. In addition, since SBM flour is commonly employed as a bio-adhesive in engineered wood products, the flexural properties of DDGS-PW composites to PRO-PW composites using various resin and wood dosages were also compared. As part of this study, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were also employed to assess the bonding nature associated with DDGS and wood particles.
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Tisserat et al . (2018). “DDGS - PW fiberboards” B io R esources 13(2), 2678-2701.
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