2002 Annual Report
Research
Converting Minnesota Biomass Including DDGS to Bio-Polymers
Roger Ruan, Professor
R. Vance Morey, Professor
Paul Chen, Senior Research Associate
Xuejun Pan, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Xiangyang Lin, Research Fellow
Hanwu Lei, Research Assistant
Fei Yu, Research Assistant
Funding Source
AURI; Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station
Objective
The objective of this project is to evaluate the properties bio-polymers
made from Minnesota-grown biomass such as corn stover, corn fibers, beet
pulp, soybean hulls, sunflower hulls, distiller’s dried grain (DDG)
and distiller’s dried grains with soluables (DDGS) using a process
developed by us. The process will convert fibrous residues, DDG, and DDGS
into bio-polymers such as polyurethane and polyesters.
Project Description
Minnesota produces many biomasses that can be used to produce bio-polymers.
Among them are corn stover, corn fibers, beet pulp, soybean hulls, and
sunflower hulls. In an ongoing project funded by AURI, we are testing
a new bioconversion technology we developed with corn stover, beet pulp,
soybean hulls, and sunflower hulls. Our preliminary data shows that the
biomass is good feedstock for the new process. More experiments have been
planned to optimize the process to address the difference among the biomasses.
While we continue to study these lignocellulosic materials, we are looking
into other biomass, such as Distiller’s Dried Grains (DDG) or more
often distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS). DDG and DDGS
are co-products of the distillery industries. Most (~98%) of the DDGS
in North America comes from plants that produce ethanol for oxygenated
fuels. The remaining 1 to 2% of DDGS is produced by the alcohol beverage
industry. This project will help evaluate the suitability of this biomass
for making biopolymers and develop processing variables for converting
this biomass.
Results
Preliminary results indicates that liquefaction of DDGS required more time than lignocellulosics, probably due to the high protein content in the materials. A trial using the obtained bio-polyols as adhesive to make a solid sheet from DDGS granules suggests that there is a great potential to use Minnesota lignocellulosics and DDGS to produce a wide range of biodegradable consumer and industrial commodities.