Starch industrial production processes

The detergent industry is the largest user of industrial enzymes. The starch industry, the first significant user of enzymes, developed special symps that could not be made by means of conventional chemical hydrolysis. These were the first products made entirely by enzymatic processes. Materials such as textiles and leather can be produced in a more rational way when using enzyme technology. Eoodstuffs and components of animal feed can be produced by enzymatic processes that require less energy, less equipment, or fewer chemicals compared with traditional techniques. 

In 2002, approximately 2.2 billion bushels of corn were processed in the United States for the production of food, fuel, and industrial products. Of that 2.2 billion bushels, 19.22 million tonnes (757 million bushels) were used for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), glucose and dextrose, 6.34 million tonnes (250 million bushels) for pearl starch, 26.69 million tonnes (1051 million bushels) for fuel and beverage alcohol, and 4.75 million tonnes (187 million bushels) for cereals and other products (Corn Refiners Association, 2003). More than 50% of the com processed in the United States is done so using the corn wet milling process. 

Ce Ion Initiation. Initiation of grafting with Ce ions was introduced by Mino et al. 7. The process has been widely studied and even applied to industrial production of cellulose and starch graft copolymers. A mechanism is derived from model experiments with low molecular weight vicinal diols in acid aqueous solution. The first step (22) is OH OH... 

The thermostable CGTase produced by Jhermoanaerobacter sp. ATCC 53,627 is able to liquefy starch at pH 4.5 under standard industrial conditions. It is, therefore, unnecessary to pH adjust the dextrin solution prior to saccharification as is normally done in the industry today. Since there is no need for pH adjustment, significant process advantages are realiz. There is a substantial cost improvement with regard to chemicals, ion-exchange media, charcoal, etc. Also, unwanted by-product formation e.g., maltulose, colored products, base-catalyzed products are reduced. Consequently, these advantages will translate into real savings to the starch industry. 

The ethyl alcohol fermentation is of course an age-old process and is so well known that little need be said about it here. The acetone-butanol fermentation is perhaps the next most important industrial fermentation process, although starch in the form of maize has been largely used as the basic material more recently suitably treated molasses has been used. The fermentation, a relatively rapid process requiring about thirty hours, produces about 60 parts of butanol, 30 parts of acetone and 10 parts of ethyl alcohol. These products already have large uses in industry and other uses are being explored. One possibility is the use of butanol in motor fuel. Jean has described a fuel, called Jeanite, consisting mainly of butanol and ethyl alcohol, which shows some promise. Of course the admixture of ethyl alcohol with petroleum is well known and an increased use of this mixture is probable. 

Starches may be used directly as feedstocks, or in more technical uses in modified form (typically as starch esters and ethers), or simply converted to glucose syrups for use in industrial fermentation processes or for onward conversion to isoglucose (fructose). After use of unmodified starches in ethanol production, the largest industrial user of both unmodified and modified starches is the papermaking... 

In comparison to isolation of starches from other botanical sources, the industrial isolation of wheat starch is quite unique because different processing techniques may be employed.21,45,70 Kempf and Rohrmann54 described 15 different processes for industrial production of wheat starch and wheat gluten using wheat kernels or wheat flour as the raw material (Table 10.3). Only three of the processes in Table 10.3 are actually used. 

Table 10.3 Processes for industrial production of wheat starch and wheat gluten3...

While the major aim in industrial wheat starch production is to produce a refined grade of A-starch, the production of a purified B-starch may also have commercial significance because of its unique uses, as described later in this chapter. In Europe, a new process was developed to separate B-starch into two fractions a high-purity, small granular starch and a feed fraction.53 The process involves enzyme treatment followed by high-pressure treatment and purification on fine screens, separators and decanters. Large and small wheat starch granules are marketed in Japan.85... 

In the potato starch industry, the starch itself represents >90% of the sales value, while the co-products (fiber, protein and concentrated deproteinized potato juice) represent <10% of the sales value. Nevertheless, protein quality is becoming increasingly important to the economics of the total process. 

Some creative approaches to try to match the regular demand of a tapioca production process with the irregular supply of feedstock have been taken. Meuser et al.27 demonstrated that starch could be recovered from either cassava chips or pellets, although the starch is obtained at some sacrifice of quality. Nauta28 has proposed large silos for the storage of tapioca starch, similar to those used in the potato processing industry. At present, the primary supply of tapioca starch remains fresh roots. 

As a matter of fact, mankind knows polymers from ancient times, due to the existence of naturally occurring polymers such as latex, starches, cotton, wool, leather, silk, amber, proteins, enzymes, starches, cellulose, lignin, and others. The other type of polymers are synthetic polymers. Braconnot, in 1811, perhaps made the first significant contribution to polymer science by developing compounds derived from cellulose. Later, cellulose nitrate was obtained in 1846 by Schonbein, afterward in 1872, its industrial production was established. Besides, in 1839, Goodyear found out by accident that by heating latex with sulfur its properties were altered creating a flexible and temperature-stable rubber. This process is named vulcanization. 

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