Insights into the Thermo-Mechanical Treatment of Brewers’ Spent Grain as a Potential Filler for Polymer Composites

Abstract

This paper investigated the impact of twin-screw extrusion parameters on the properties of brewers’ spent grain. The chemical structure, antioxidant activity, particle size, and color properties, as well as the emission of volatile organic compounds during extrusion, were investigated. The main compounds detected in the air during modifications were terpenes and terpenoids, such as α-pinene, camphene, 3-carene, limonene, or terpinene. They could be considered as a potential threat to human health and the environment. Changes in the chemical structure, antioxidant activity, and color of materials after modification indicated the Maillard reactions during extrusion, which resulted in the generation of melanoidins, especially at higher temperatures. This should be considered an exciting feature of this treatment method because modified brewers’ spent grain may improve the thermooxidative stability of polymer materials. Moreover, the impact of the brewers’ spent grain particle size on color and browning index used to determine the melanoidins content was investigated. The presented results show that proper adjustment of extrusion parameters enables the preparation of brewers’ spent grain with the desired appearance and chemical properties, which could maximize the efficiency of the modification process.

More than just a beer—the potential applications of by-products from beer manufacturing in polymer technology

“…Considering that production of the one hectoliter of beer uses 20 kg of malt, around 6.2 kg of dry BSG is generated. Such values are typical for the most popular beer style worldwide-light lager [34]. Other beer styles, especially those characterized by higher original gravity, require higher malt loadings, even up to 45 kg for strong stouts or porters [35].…”

“…Modifications should be aimed at enhancing the interfacial interactions with polymer matrices by the change of their hydrophilic character. Such an effect could be achieved by thermo-mechanical treatment resulting in non-enzymatic browning in the caramelization process and mostly Maillard reactions, as presented in our previous works [34,173]. It is also essential that melanoidins show noticeable antioxidant activity, which can be very beneficial for the oxidative stability of polymer composites [174].…”

“…Keeping in mind the size of the global beer production, almost 12 million tonnes of brewers' spent grain is generated worldwide. The biggest producer, China, accounts for over 2.3 million tonnes, followed by the USA with 1.3 million tonnes, while European production generates around 2.6 million tonnes of BSG [34].…”

Properties of High-Density Fiberboard Bonded with Urea–Formaldehyde Resin and Ammonium Lignosulfonate as a Bio-Based Additive

“…The production of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and high-density fiberboard (HDF) panels, with a total global production of more than 105 million m 3 in 2019, is the second largest worldwide, preceded only by plywood manufacturing [ 3 ]. The transition to circular, low-carbon bioeconomy, growing environmental concerns, and strict legislation related to emission of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as free formaldehyde from wood-based panels, have posed new requirements related to the development of environmentally friendly wood-based panels [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], optimization of lignocellulosic resources [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], and use of alternative raw materials [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].…”

Применение Отходов Пивоварения В Ресурсосберегающих Технологиях

“…Изучена кинетика обезвоживания ПД и влияние трех различных методов сушки: сушки в печи (OD), сублимационной сушки (FD) и вакуумной микроволновой сушки (VMD) на содержание белка и функциональность ПД. Анализ качественных характеристик чипсов показал, что микроволновая сушка наиболее приемлема с точки зрения сенсорных характеристик продукта [23].…”