Bio-Adhesives From Switchgrass

Filed in archive Energy, Environment and Ecology , Food and Agriculture , Microbiology on October 4, 2006

Because (biofuel) ethanol production from grasses such as switchgrass or alfalfa is not as efficient as from corn, scientists are focusing on another fermentation side-product, which researchers believe might even be more valuable than ethanol: glycocalyx, a glue-like substanced produced by microorganisms to adhere to cellulose fibers.

"Because glycocalyx works so effectively at holding organisms to cellulose material, we found that we couldn't get the glue off of the fibers without destroying the glue," Weimer says. "So, we took the entire fermentation mixture - the glue, plus the bacteria, plus the rest of the cellulosic biomass - and used it as an adhesive."

When tested as a wood glue, it was found out that the bio-adhesive is not durable under wet conditions, but may be mixed with a petroleum-based resin. For some applications, mixtures in which up to 73 percent of the resin was replaced with the bio-based adhesive have been found efective.
According to the researchers, further refinements will still have to be made to make an economically-viable bio-adhesives for industrial applications, but the potentials are promising. Read the feature report from the University of Wisconsin.

[Photo: UARK]