Ethanol co-products eyed as fillers in plastics

By Dairy Herd news source (Thursday, June 19, 2008)

A coproduct of ethanol production could be used as a non-petroleum-based filler in plastics. USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their cooperators base this theory on recent preliminary studies.

The ethanol co-product, distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS), has a high fiber content and a molecular structure suitable for binding. These are two attributes that make it a candidate as a filler in plastics, according to Kurt Rosentrater, ARS agricultural engineer.

Rosentrater is based at the ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D.

He conducted the research with Robert A. Tatara, a professor at the Northern Illinois University Department of Technology.

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