Value-Added New Materials from Byproduct of Corn Based Ethanol Industries: Blends of Plasticized Corn Gluten Meal and Poly ((epsilon)-caprolactone)

This study attempts to explore the value-added applications of corn gluten meal (CGM), the inexpensive byproduct from corn based ethanol industries. The byproducts, CGM, was plasticized using glycerol/ethanol mixture, denatured by the addition of guanidine hydrochloride (GHCl), and then blended with poly((epsilon)-caprolactone), PCL, a synthetic commercial biodegradable polymer. Extrusion followed by injection molding was adopted to fabricate the newly blended green materials. The processing conditions affected the performance of the blends. The GHCl modified corn gluten meal was characterized by IR spectroscopy. The developed materials were characterized through their thermomechanical, tensile, and Izod impact strength measurements. The effects of processing conditions on properties of blends were investigated. One of the promising outcomes of this research was that the GHCl modified corn gluten meal based bioplastic, on blending with PCL had a substantially higher percent elongation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed better compatibility of PCL with GHCl modified plasticized CGM. The percent elongation and impact strength of the blended material was found to be higher than high-density polyethylene (HDPE).