The NIU technology department is thinking “green” this semester by researching the use of a corn by-product as a biofiller in plastics manufacturing.

If its research is successful, it could aid in cutting the costs and dependence on foreign oil, increasing the market value of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) for farmers and creating a more biodegradable, earth-friendly plastic material.

Robert Tatara, an assistant professor of engineering and industrial technology, came up with the idea a couple years ago while talking with Norbert Ziemer of AgTech, a company in Belvidere interested in making industrial uses for common agricultural products.

What is DDGS?

Over 3 million tons of DDGS are produced in the United States every year. DDGS is a dry, flaky tan product left over after the corn plant is fermented to make ethanol. It is currently being used as a component of animal feed for cows and other farm animals, but would be in higher demand as a biofiller, material used to replace some of the resin used in plastics manufacturing.

DDGS is ideal for use as a biofiller because it provides an outlet for the agriculture industry to make more money off a product it already has and because of its fibrous make-up, Tatara said. DDGS is also cheaper than current biofiller products. A pound of DDGS sells for four cents while a pound of wood flour goes for five cents.

Once DDGS is determined to be useful as a biofiller, it will be refined, treated and packaged, and its price will increase. This increase will aid farmers by increasing the value of DDGS and its demand in the marketplace. Many products are made with fillers in them but this is the first time testing with DDGS as a biofiller.

The increase of DDGS production, due to the increase in ethanol production and the small demand for DDGS in animal feed, got Tatara thinking he could find a higher-value use for the product. With the help of two undergraduates; Nathan Chaney from the department of technology, Rob Olszewski from the mechanical engineering department, mechanical engineering graduate student Srikrishna Suraparaju, and grant money from the EPA, Tatara hopes to determine its usefulness by May 2006.

The experiments

The students are in charge of carrying out the experiments. Before the research team can determine whether the biofiller will work, the equipment must be calibrated, and they have to determine which ratio of DDGS to phenolic resin (plastic) to use. The research team spends at least three hours a week in the lab working to perfect their molding process.

Chaney slowly and patiently measures out the phenolic resin into a tensile mold of pure resin and inserts it into the compression mold, pumping a long handle until he reaches a predetermined pressure. As the plastic melts into shape, Olszewski monitors the computer to insure the pressure and temperature readings are coming in correctly. Chaney, with large leather utility gloves, removes the mold and allows it to cool and then passes the tensile bar to Suraparaju, who tests the bar for consistency.

The goal is to use the highest percent of DDGS possible to minimize the amount of resin needed and still have a useful product. By reducing the amount of resin needed, there also will be a decrease in the amount of petroleum used to create the resin. This will decrease U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

“Our generation is going to look back and wonder why we burned so much petroleum when it can be used for so many things,” Chaney said.