Nonfood Industrial Applications

Uses. Currentiy, the principal use of lactic acid is in food and food-related applications, which in the United States accounts for approximately 85% of the demand. The rest ( 15%) of the uses are for nonfood industrial applications. The expected advent of the production of low cost lactic acid in high volume can open new applications for lactic acid and its derivatives, because it is a versatile molecule that can be converted to a wide range of industrial chemicals or polymer feedstocks (1,6,20). 

Uses. Currently, the principal use of lactic acid is in food and food-related applications, which in the United States accounts for approximately 85% of the demand. The rest ( -15% ) of the uses arc for nonfood industrial applications. 

Since around 1800, the mechanism of fermentation has been studied in a scientific way. It started when German scientist Erxleben discovered that yeast induces fermentation. Louis Pasteur, a French scientist, made many contributions to microbiology. He explained that bacteria produce lactic acid, which then conserves the food. Pasteur also noticed that unwanted fermentation can be stopped by heat treatment of the substrate (pasteurization). This technique is still widely applied today to treat milk or fruit juices. Actually, the production of neat lactic acid was also the first nonfood industrial application of fermentation. 

Citms oils and essences are unstable to heat, light, oxygen, and metals. Thus, they should be stored under appropriate conditions in order to avoid compositional changes that lead to their quality deterioration. Citms oils and essences are widely used in food and nonfood industries. Applications in the health-related areas are forthcoming. 

D. Myers, Past, Present and Potential Uses of Soy Proteins in Nonfood Industrial Applications, World Conference on Oilseed Technology and Utilization, 1992. 

The vegetable oil obtained from flaxseed has been used for many centuries, and flax cultivation dates back to a few millennia (Henriksen and Robinson, 1996). Phylogenetic analysis has indicated that flax was initially domesticated for oil instead of fiber (Allaby et al., 2005). This ALA-rich oil has unique properties that are useful for food and non-food applications. Eood-grade oil can be obtained by cold-pressing and commercialized as flaxseed oil. Alternatively, extraction with solvents can be performed when the oil is used for nonfood industrial applications. In this case the oil is often referred to as linseed oil ... 

Nonfood industrial applications are advancing with - wheat gluten as binders, adhesives, coatings and bulking adjuvants as a consequences of largely enhanced - wheat starch production as well as development of - wheat gluten derivatives. ... 

Tapioca starch consumption in industrial applications has been more related to economics than to any unique functionality. While some performance characteristics of tapioca starch are advantageous in several applications, it is generally used in nonfood applications close to the supply points, such as in Brazil, India and Southeast Asia. Non-food consumption of starch in North America and Europe is primarily from readily available sources in these areas, i.e. com, wheat and potatoes. 

For the most part, the greatest percentage of lecithin is used in foods. The second highest use is in animal feeds, followed by industrial applications. Paints and other coatings consume a major portion of the nonfood lecithin. Pharmaceuticals, including dietary supplements, and inks and cosmetics, however, also consume significant portions. 

Sneader, W., Drug Prototypes and Their Exploration, John Wiley Sons, Chichester, U.K., 1996. Kinghom, A.D. and Seo, E.-K., in Agricultural Materials as Renewable Resources. Nonfood and Industrial Applications, Fuller, G., McKeon, T.A., and Bills, D.D., Eds., ACS Symposium Series No. 647, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 1996,179. 

Sunflower is primarily grown for edible oil delivery with typical vegetable oil uses in food products. Nonfood uses include manufacturing of paints and coatings, plashcizers, lubricants, and oleochemicals. Special high oleic acid cultivars were bred for industrial applications [10]. 

The global starch production in 2010 was of more than 70 Mio mto of primary starch, of this, historically 32% are dry, native and modified starches and 68% are refined liquid starches. °° Global starch consumption is projected to reach 133.5 Mio mto by the year 2018, driven primarily by the diversity and sheer number of end-use applications in both food and nonfood industries, including native and modified starches, but also the large volume of starch that is converted into syrups for direct use as glucose and... 

A small part of produced starch is used in the nonmodified form. Most of the starch, irrespective of its botaitical origin, is processed into modified starch preparations that are characterized by different properties and find many applications in the food production but also in many branches of the nonfood industries [45, 86]. According to data of the AAF (Association des Amidonniers et Feculiers), in 2008 in Europe, 56% of products of starch origin was designed for food production, whereas those applied for the nonfood purposes constituted 43% [3]. 

Lactic acid is commercially used in food, beverages and industrial applications, as well as in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. It is also the monomeric precursor for polylactic acid (PLA). Market growth in the industrial applications segment is expected to result primarily from lactic acid-based biodegradable polymers for food and nonfood packaging, bottles and fibre applications, and lactate esters [16]. 

The cereal seeds, tubers, starch storage roots, and bean/pea seeds are directly consumed as food in human diet or animal feed and are used as a source of starch. Extracted starch can be used to produce starch derivates or hydrolyzed to produce soluble sugars, food additives, or glucose syrup. Also, extracted starch can be used for other applications in nonfood industries (Nghiem et al. 2011). For example, it is used as a thickener and as a source of renewable raw material for bioethanol production. The major source of starch for the world market is cornstarch holding more than 80 % of the market, but wheat, potato, cassava or tapioca, and to a lesser extent rice and sweet potato starches are also commercialized (Thomsen et al. 2008). 

Agricultural Material as Renewable Resources, Nonfood and Industrial Applications, Fuller G., McKeon T.A. Bills D.D.Eds., ACS Symp Ser., 1999,... 

These few application examples in the nonfood industrial sectors can be easily extended by a long range of specific actual uses. Some other examples are as an antidusting agent on sandy roads, viscosity enhancer in brick production, mosquito control systems and asphalt rheology. 

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