Plywood adhesives derived from distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS) incorporating 2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate

ABSTRACT Distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a byproduct of corn ethanol production, are currently used primarily as an alternative animal feed thanks to its high protein content and low cost. Previous research has developed a protein‐based bioadhesive from DDGS. However, the adhesive does not possess the appropriate properties to compete with synthetic adhesives and other bio‐based adhesives. In this study, a bioadhesive is prepared from DDGS and hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) is incorporated to improve the bonding strength and moisture resistance. The greatest increase in lap‐shear strength was observed in the adhesive containing 50% of the acrylic resin. Water resistance was absent from the original DDGS adhesive, but established upon the inclusion of HEA. HEA was found to self‐polymerize under the hot‐pressing conditions and form a co‐continuous phase with the protein adhesive derived from DDGS. The strength of the adhesives was adequate for bonding plywood panels. More work must be done to further enhance the performance of the adhesives for wider applications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 45689.