Tapioca starch industrial applications

As a native starch, lipids and protein residuals are significantly lower than they are in many other commercial starches. These properties of tapioca starch have been utilized in many industries and further enhanced by means of physical and/or chemical modifications which give close control of its properties to fit the needs of customers in process and product applications. However, tapioca starch is regarded as a specialty starch outside of its local production area. 

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. 

Both waxy maize and waxy sorghum are varieties recently developed they have a high content of amylopectin and find their major application in the food industry, in competition with tapioca and potato starches. 

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). 

The Californian-based company Cereplast claims that its biopropylene resin is an industry first and could replace traditional polypropylene in the vast majority of applications. These bio-resins replace a significant portion of petroleum-based additives with materials such as starches from tapioca, com, wheat, and potatoes, meeting the demand from consumers and manufacturers for sustainable plashes. Also notable is Cereplasfs already exishng line in compostable resins in which bio-based starch products, such as corn, wheat, and potato starches, replace nearly 100 percent of petroleum-based additives. This results in products that will compost in commercial facilities within 180 days, leaving no chemical residue. 

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