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The Science Behind Starch: Unveiling the versatility of this natural resource
What is Starch?
Like, the paper and board applications (used for wet-end addition, size press, and surface coating as well as in the production of recycled paper); and textile applications (used to ‘size’ and stiffen textiles and help enhance mechanical strength and resistance to friction wear; and increase moisture resistance.
Starch from Food Waste
Food waste refers to a complex biomass comprising of starchy, fatty, and cellulose materials.
Due to concerns about growing environmental pollution and its dangerous aftermath, experts around the globe are working on strategies that focus on reducing environmental waste including food waste; and encouraging reuse or recycle of waste products. Besides, production of high-value products from waste is necessary, especially all the more so if the wastes were previously of zero value.
One of the ways focuses on extraction of starch from food waste (corn, maize, potato, etc). The extraction of starch from food waste involves
- Crushing of maize or corn or potato into a paste.
- Soaking the crushed pieces in a bowl filled with water.
- Squeezing of resultant mixture carefully and properly with the paste crushed three to four times, after an interval of 30 minutes. Later, the paste is sieved and the cloudy water collected in separate bowl.
Finally, the water is vaporized resulting in starch from food waste.
Bio-Plastics from Starch Research Paper
According to a study report, around 4 percent of the total petroleum reserves in the world are used for the preparation of plastic. However, in recent years, petroleum resources are getting unexpectedly exhausted. Besides, in the past few years’ oil prices have become volatile and unpredictable due to rising political tensions in North Africa and Middle East, recognized as the major oil producing nations.
Add to this, plastics, once considered to be the most popular commodity, have become a liability, due to their propensity to cause the degradation of the environment. With environmental degradation and improper waste disposal reaching alarming levels in recent years, there has been intense search for alternatives to plastic. Apart from helping to protect the environment, the search for alternatives can also alleviate the immense stress put on conventional sources of energy, from producing plastics.
A recent Bio-plastic from starch research paper has described Bio-Plastics as biodegradable and environment-friendly. The paper further revealed that bio-plastics provide an efficient way to replace the conventional plastics; and pinpointed starch as a source for producing bio-plastics.
Bio-plastics are derived from biological resources like starch from cassava, corn, rice, tapioca, wheat, etc, all of which are easily available in abundant quantities.
Starch Polymer
A Starch Polymer is a polymer of hexa-carbon monosaccharide-D-glucose that can be abundantly found in corn seeds, potato tubers, and the roots and stems of other plants. It comprises of D-Glucopyranosis polymers bound by 1, 4- and 1, 6-glycoside links; the links are formed between the first carbon atom (C1) of one molecule and the fourth (C4) or sixth (C6) of the second atom.
The aidehyde group on one side of the starch polymer is always free as a result of which the starch polymer always possess at least one reducing tip with the other end of the starch polymer an irreducible tip.
The overall structure of D-Glucose can exist in both open chain and ring forms with the ring configuration ascribed to D-Glucopyranose. The pyranose ring is a thermodynamically stable structure that constitutes the sugar structure in the solutions.