Corn an Wheat Processing products
Corn Processing: Corn Starch
Corn starch is a cereal starch that is low in ash and protein content. A versatile additive, it suits the needs of several industries. Corn starch controls the aesthetics, moisture, texture, consistency and shelf-life of food products. It improves processing and finished food quality and ensures a consistent final product. Due to its versatility, economy, availability and flexibility, corn starch is used in food, textile, pharmaceutical, paper and adhesive industries.
Food
Corn starch finds application in the food industry as thickener for sauces, gravies, puddings and pie fillings. In bakeries, it helps to make wheat flour soft and lends a good texture. Corn starch imparts a reasonable strength in the manufacture of ice cream cones and sugar wafer shells. In several baking recipes, it is also used as a dusting agent. Its inert property helps in the preparation of baking powder and as a dressing agent in salads. Corn starch is important in determining the texture of many foods, which makes it vital to both consumers and food manufacturers. This is a major factor governing the acceptability and palatability of most food products in the food industry.
Textiles
Unlike other kinds of starch, corn starch does not thin down substantially while sizing. It is easily transformed into a smooth paste within an hour under pressure cooking. This makes its application in the textile industry widely popular. Its viscosity ensures uniform pick-up and penetration into the interstices of yarn to ensure good weaving.
Corn starch is used in textile finishing to alter the stiffness or feel of fabrics, to modify appearance and to add weight. It is also used in conjunction with thermoplastic or thermosetting resins to obtain a permanent finish.
Corn starch is also used for back filling. This type of finish increases stiffness and capacity by filling the interstices of the weave with a starch mixture. Fabrics thus prepared are used in window shades and in book binding.
Starch is used in the textile industry in a number of ways:
- As an adhesive in size mix, to strengthen warp yarn and improve resistance to abrasion while weaving.
- In finishing, to change appearance after it is bleached, dyed and printed.
- In printing, to increase consistency of printing paste.
- As a compound in finishes, to glaze and polish sewing thread.
Pharmaceuticals
Corn starch is most suited as a vehicle for tablet compression in the pharmaceutical industry. Since it is free from pathogenic bacteria, its use is now extended to other areas like vitamin stabilizing and as a dusting powder in the manufacture of surgical gloves.
Paper industry
Corn starch is used for beater sizing and surface sizing in the paper industry. It increases paper strength, lays surface fuzz and increases stiffness and rattle of paper. It also improves appearance and eras ability, inhibits ink penetration and forms a hard, firm surface for writing or printing, and to prepare the sheet for subsequent coating. Corn starch is also used to improve the writing and printing characteristics of sheets like bond, ledger, envelopes, charts, etc. In calender stacks, it is used to enhance surface characteristics like scuff resistance and printability.
Adhesives
Corn starch is used as an adhesive in pigmented coating for paper board. Such kind of coating enhances printability and gives a glossy and a fine appearance to paper.
