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

Abstract

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world, and its popularity is continuously growing. Currently, global beer production is estimated at around 2 billion hectoliters. Nevertheless, the increasing production capacity implicates the rising issue of generated by-products—brewers’ spent grain, spent hops, spent yeast, and wastewater. They are generated in massive amounts, so having in mind the current pro-ecological trends, it is crucial to look for their utilization methods. Among the possibilities, particular attention should be drawn to polymer technology. This sector can efficiently use different lignocellulosic materials, which could be applied as fillers for polymer composites or sources of particular chemical compounds. Moreover, due to their chemical composition, brewing industry by-products may be used as functional fillers and additives. They could be introduced to enhance the materials’ resistance to oxidation, microbes, or fungi. These issues should be considered especially important in the case of biodegradable polymers, whose popularity is growing over the last years. This paper summarizes the literature reports related to the composition and potential applications of the brewing industry by-products in polymer technology. Moreover, potential directions of research based on the possibilities offered by the brewing industry by-products are presented.

Mater-Bi/Brewers’ Spent Grain Biocomposites—Novel Approach to Plant-Based Waste Filler Treatment by Highly Efficient Thermomechanical and Chemical Methods

“…For modification temperatures of 180 and 240 °C, it increased to 87.0–87.6%, confirming the increased antioxidant activity of BSG resulting from performed modifications, as shown in our previous work [ 51 ]. The above-mentioned Maillard reactions result in the generation of melanoidins, compounds characterized by potent antioxidant activity, which may enhance the oxidative resistance of polymer composites [ 34 ]. Previous work [ 29 ] reported a similar effect when dealing with poly(ε-caprolactone)/brewers’ spent grain composites.…”

“…Like other plant-based materials, it is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin [ 33 ]. Currently, it lacks a broader industrial use despite its high volume of production, which is almost 12 million tonnes globally [ 34 ]. Our previous works on PCL-based composites investigated their applications as fillers for polymer composites [ 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

A screw extrusion-based system for additive manufacturing of wood: Sodium silicate thermoset composites

“…The manufacturing of these products generates 84 million tons of sawmill residues per year. 11 While many examples of using natural material in general AM exist, [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] using the aforementioned sawmill residues in emerging construction AM techniques has had little scientific study.…”

A spatial distribution effect of almond shell bio filler on physical, mechanical, thermal deflection and water absorption properties of vinyl ester polymer composite

“…In addition, brewers' spent grain can be used as a filler material to fabricate polymer composites because it contains cellulose and lignin. 13 Several studies highlight the usage of bio fillers as possible filler in making polymeric components. Stalin et al 14 studied the effect of the addition of polyalthia longifolia seed on the mechanical properties of the vinyl ester matrix.…”

“…Recent bio fillers, such as walnut, 10 Polyalthia longigolia , 11 and Syzygium cumini particles, 12 are also used as fillers in the production of polymeric composite materials. In addition, brewers' spent grain can be used as a filler material to fabricate polymer composites because it contains cellulose and lignin 13 …”