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TITLE
NAME
MATRIX NO.
: 107970
LECTURER
Biodegradable
Biodegradation is the chemical dissolution of materials by bacteria or other biological means.
Although often conflated, biodegradable is distinct in meaning from compostable. While
biodegradable simply means to be consumed by microorganisms and return to compounds
found in nature, "compostable" makes the specific demand that the object break down in a
compost pile.
The term is often used in relation to ecology, waste management, biomedicine, and the natural
environment (bioremediation) and is now commonly associated with environmentally friendly
products that are capable of decomposing back into natural elements. Organic material can be
degraded aerobically with oxygen,
or anaerobically,
without
oxygen. Biosurfactant,
an
Biodegradable matter is generally organic material such as plant and animal matter and other
substances originating from living organisms, or artificial materials that are similar enough to
plant and animal matter to be put to use by microorganisms. Some microorganisms have a
naturally occurring, microbial catabolic diversity to degrade, transform or accumulate a huge
range of compounds including hydrocarbons (e.g. oil), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pharmaceutical substances, radionuclides, pesticides and
metals.
unprecedented
insights
into
key
Starch
Starch or amylum is
a carbohydrate consisting
of
large
number
Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in cold water or alcohol. It
consists
of
two
types
of
molecules:
the
linear
the
molecules
Amylose
than
is
amylopectin
much
smaller
Hydrolysis
The enzymes that break down or hydrolyze starch into the constituent sugars are known
as amylases. Alpha-amylases are found in plants and in animals. Human saliva is rich in
amylase,
and
secretes
the
enzyme.
Beta-amylase
cuts
starch
into maltose units. This process is important in the digestion of starch and is also used
in brewing, where amylase from the skin of seed grains is responsible for converting starch to
maltose.
Chemical tests
Iodine solution is used to test for starch; a dark blue color indicates the presence of starch. The
details of this reaction are not yet fully known, but it is thought that the iodine (I 3 and I5 ions) fit
inside the coils
in the resulting
spectrum
in
resulting blue
present. Waxy
Starch indicator solution consisting of water, starch and iodine is often used in redox titrations:
in the presence of an oxidizing agent the solution turns blue, in the presence of reducing
agent the blue color disappears because triiodide (I3) ions break up into three iodide ions,
disassembling the starch-iodine complex. A 0.3% w/w solution is the standard concentration for
a starch indicator. It is made by adding 3 grams of soluble starch to 1 liter of heated water; the
solution is cooled before use (starch-iodine complex becomes unstable at temperatures above
35 C).
Each species of plant has a unique type of starch granules in granular size, shape and
crystallization pattern. Under the microscope, starch grains stained with iodine illuminated from
behind with polarized light show a distinctive Maltese crosseffect (also known as extinction
cross and birefringence).
Production Process
The production of potato starch comprises the steps such as delivery and unloading potatoes,
cleaning, rasping of tubers, potato juice separation, starch extraction, starch milk rafination,
dewatering of refined starch milk and starch drying.
Cleaning
Coarsely cleaning of potatoes takes place during the transport of potatoes to the scrubber by
channel. In addition, before the scrubber, straw and stones separators are installed. The main
cleaning is conducted in scrubber (different kinds of high specialized machines are used). The
remaining stones, sludge and light wastes are removed at this step. Water used for washing is
then purified and recycled back into the process.
Rasping of tubers
Most often the rasping of potato tubers is carried out with a rotary with a rotary grater. The
purpose of this stage is disruption of cell walls, which therefore release the starch. In practice,
potato cells are not entirely destroyed and part of the starch remains in the mash. Potato pulp
rapidly turns dark, because tyrosine presented in the potato is oxidised by polyphenol oxidase,
which is located in the cellular juice. Therefore, cellular juice must be separated as soon as
possible.
Starch extraction
After separation of potato juice the pulp is directed to the washing starch station, to isolate the
starch. Most used are stream-oriented washers. In these machines pulp diluted with water is
washed with a strong stream of water to flush out the milk starch. The mash smuggling with
water is a waste product dewatered potato pulp. Starch milk is contaminated by small fiber
particles (potato tissue fragments) and the remaining components of the potato juice thats
why it is called raw starch milk.
Dewatering of refined starch milk is carried out in two stages. In the first stage the excess water
is removed by means of a rotary vacuum filter. Secondly moist starch is dried, without starch
pasting. For this purpose a pneumatic dryier is used. In this device moist starch (with water
content 36 40%) is floating in strong and hot (160C) air flow and then dried during 2 3
seconds. Then, the starch is separated from hot air in cyclons. Due to short time of high
temperature drying and intensive water evaporation from the starch granules, its surface is
heated only to 40C.
Dried starch contains about 21% of water. During the pneumatic transport starch looses
additional 1% of water.
Received starch is storing separately in silos, in jute bags (100 kg) or paper bags (50 kg). There
are three kinds of starch: superior extra, superior and prima. Different sorts of starch depend on
degree of purity and whiteness. The differences between them are in an acidity and content of
mineral substances.
Table 1. Potato starch production characteristic.
Processing
87%
Water expenditure:
6.5m3/t
- washing
- technological
2.5m3/t
4.0m3/t
SO2 expenditure
Loss:
about 10%
8 9%
1.0%
The water which is used in starch production (dirty water) for transportation and cleaning
doesnt have to be totally clean. Thats why clarifier usage enables application of closed cycle
which noticeably reduces amount of cleaning water that is needed. On the other hand,
requirements for quality of technological water are the same as for drinking water
(microbiological and chemical contamination). In addition, this type of water should contain low
amounts of metals such as: Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn; which has bad influence on starch properties.
Waste products
Potato juice - is a liquid waste product separated from the potatoes pulp using centrifuges or
decanters. It contains about 5% of dry substance, including about 2% valuable protein, of high
nutritional value, minerals, vitamins and other. In modern starch plants separation of the juice
from the mash is used. We can get about 600 kg of coagulated protein from each 1000 kg of
potatoes. The final product contains about 80% protein (with the digestibility of about 90%),
2.5% minerals, 1.5% fat, 6% nitrogen-free substances and 10% water. Because of the full range
of the egzogenicamino acids the formulation is a valuable protein feed.
Potato pulp is a side product of washing the starch from the mash. It contains all non-starchy
substances insoluble in water (fragments of wall of cells) and bounded starch which cannot be
mechanically separated from the blended parties of potato. The pulp contains 30% of starch,
which is not extracted because of economical reasons. Thats why the pulp is often used in
animal feeding. The pulp contains a lot of water and inconvenient in transportation and storage.
Thats why it is really often dried and dehydrated.
Juicy water is a liquid side product obtained after refining of starch milk. It is ten times diluted
potato juice. Due to this fact, it is a sludge and it cannot be discharged to open water.
Industrial Application
Papermaking
Paper industry is one of the largest users of starch. Starch is, in fact, the third most prevalent
raw material component in paper, only surpassed by cellulose fiber and mineral filler.
Depending on the type of
paper
content
produced,
in
starch
the
final
used
in
paper
manufacture is generally
found in three application areas which are wet end internal sizing, surface sizing and coating.
The general components of paper machine are illustrated in Figure 1. In the paper making
process, a dilute suspension of fiber (0.5-1%) and chemicals are pumped to the head box which
feeds the fiber suspension evenly onto the moving wire conveyor belt. Large amount of water is
drawn away as the fiber suspension moves along with the wire conveyor belt. At the end of the
wire section, a moist sheet of paper is formed. It is then passes through a series of pressing
cylinders where more moisture is removed. The remaining water in the paper sheet is further
removed in the drying section where the sheet is passed over a large number of steam-heated
drying cylinders. At this point, the sheet is almost completely dry.
Way down in the drying section is the size press where a starch paste can be applied on the
paper sheet to improve surface properties. Following the size press, the sheet is dried again. If
coated papers are produced, the pigment coating may be applied at this point. In some cases,
the coating may be performed on an off-machine coater (not integral to the paper machine). The
paper is then passed through a vertical series of hot polished iron rollers (called calenders) to
smooth and polish the surface. The paper sheet is finally wound onto reels for further
processing if desired.
2. Surface sizing In the paper industry, the largest volume of starch is used for surface
sizing. Surface sizing is an operation in which paper runs through a sizing solution and
then through sizing rolls. These rolls press the sizing into the paper and remove the
excess from the surface of the paper. The main purpose of surface sizing is to improve
surface properties, to give a better writing and printing surface and to minimize linting.
The concentration of starch in a sizing solution can range from 2 to about 15%
depending on the type of size press machine and product requirements (Maurer, 2001).
Cooked unmodified starch is too high in viscosity for most sizing operation; thus the
viscosity of the starch paste is usually reduced. This can be done at the paper mill by
either enzyme or thermochemical conversion. However, these depolymerized starches
have tendency to retrograde or reassociate resulting in a less sizing performance.
Alternatively, preconverted or modified starches may be obtained from the starch
manufacturers. Oxidized starch is one of the most common modified starches for use in
surface sizing because of its good film forming characteristic and reduced tendency to
retrogradation. However, when the paper is recycled, oxidized starch which contains
negative charge can act as a dispersant and contribute to the loss of filler and the starch
itself to the waste water causing pollution problem. Substituted starches such as
acetylated starch, hydroxyethylated starch and cationic starch are gaining popularity in
surface sizing operation. Beside their benefits of reduced retrogradation, these starches
do not cause filler dispersion if the paper is repulped in the recycled process system.
3. Paper coating In paper coating, a layer of pigment, adhesive and other supplementary
materials is applied to the surface of paper. Coating provides whiteness, brightness,
gloss and opacity to the paper as well as a smoother and more uniform surface. Pigment
is the primary material for coating paper. The most commonly used pigments are clay,
calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide and talc. In paper coating operation, starch is used
as an adhesive or binder to bind the pigment particles to each other and to the paper.
Starches used for surface sizing as described above can be used as coating binder as
well. However, coating starches need to have lower viscosities than starched used in
other segments in the paper industry. This is because there is a need for the presence of
high amount of starch in coating formula to provide strong binding for the pigment and at
the same time the coating should still be leveled and applied as a film on the paper
surface. As previously mentioned in surface sizing section, the negative charge of
oxidized starch could contribute to the loss of pigment filler if the finished paper is
repulped; thus, the popularity of oxidized starch as a coating binder has been declined.
Hydroxyethylated starch is considered one of the best materials for use as coating
binders due to its excellent film forming properties and strong resistance to
retrogradation. However, higher cost usually limits its use in the conventional coatings.
native
starches,
plus
some
additive
such
the
slurry
sedimentation.
of
uncooked
starches
and
prevent
This
rest
of
the
uncooked
starch
in
glue
to
Clothing starch
Clothing or laundry starch is a liquid that is prepared by mixing a vegetable starch in water
(earlier
preparations
also
had
to
be
boiled),
and
is
used
in
the laundering of clothes. Starch was widely used in Europe in the 16th and 17th
centuries to stiffen the wide collars and ruffs of fine linen which surrounded the
necks of the well-to-do. During the 19th century and early 20th century, it was
stylish to stiffen the collars and sleeves of men's shirts and the ruffles of
girls' petticoats by applying starch to them as the clean clothes were being ironed.
Aside from the smooth, crisp edges it gave to clothing, it served practical purposes
as well. Dirt and sweat from a person's neck and wrists would stick to the starch
rather than to the fibers of the clothing, and would easily wash away along with the
starch. After each laundering, the starch would be reapplied. Today, the product is sold
in aerosol cans for home use.
Conclusion
Although the consumption of starch by the paper industry is presently high, many
synthetic
starch. With
an
properties
technology,
especially
their higher
met
by
Starch is an
increasing
demand
for
higher
paper
in papermaking
renewable resource. It is a natural polymer with high molecular weight that can be
chemically or physically modified to adjust its rheological characteristics and to provide
a specific performance. Furthermore there is a current global trend on consumer
consciousness to protect world environment which discourages the use of synthetic
materials in many applications
and
compounds.
up
paper
have
nanoparticles (Figure 2)
filler
2007).
Starch-graft-copolymer
promotes
new
their
This
product
industry.
For
recently
(Karvinen
been
et
al.,
produce new materials with properties that combine the advantages of natural and
synthetic polymers (Maurer and Kearney, 1998).
With a continuing progress in modification technology, the development of new
materials from starch with specialty characteristics seems to be unlimited. As a result,
the potential of starch as an important raw material in the paper industry remains
promising both at present and in the future.
References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch_production
4. http://www.tappi.org/Downloads/unsorted/UNTITLED---05AUGSO40pdf.aspx
5. http://www.thaitapiocastarch.org/article17.asp
6. http://www.cargill.com/products/industrial/papermaking/coating/
7. http://www.paperacademy.net/815/paper-chemical-additives/paper-starch-specialty-paper/
8. http://bioplast.com.hk/resin.htm
9. http://www.bioplast.com.hk/