Corn starch (corn starch), also known as corn flour. Common name six grain flour. White slightly yellowish powder. After the corn is impregnated with 0.3% sulfurous acid, it is produced by processes such as crushing, sieving, precipitation, drying, and grinding. Ordinary products contain a small amount of fat and protein.
Strong hygroscopicity, the highest can reach more than 30%.
Application
Starch sugar
Starch sugar (glucose syrup, maltose syrup, fructose syrup containing 42% fructose, high fructose syrup containing 55% fructose, and medical crystalline glucose, etc.) is the product with the largest starch deep processing output. It is mainly a food additive, and it is also an industrial raw material. It is used as a raw material for downstream products, such as glucose, maltose, and high fructose syrup. These are used in food, and starch sugar can be made into sorbitol and amino acids. This is also the upstream raw material for downstream products, and the demand for this is also quite large. Compared with sucrose, starch sugar is still very competitive in terms of health care, practicality and cost, and this space is still very large.
Starch sugar is easily digested and absorbed by the human body and is an important nutrient. In addition, they have physiological functions that are beneficial to the human body that sucrose cannot. Glucose, maltose and fructose can be hydrotreated to obtain sorbitol, maltitol and mannitol respectively, which are collectively referred to as polysaccharide alcohols. Both pure fructose and polysaccharide alcohols have sweetener properties and are industrially produced. The metabolic pathways of pure fructose and polysaccharide alcohols in the human body are independent of insulin, so they can be used as special sweeteners for diabetics. Since they are not used by oral microorganisms, they do not cause dental caries, so they are very suitable for children's food, sugar-free chewing gum and sugar-free candy, and because they have a low energy value, they can be used to produce low-energy foods. , to prevent obesity. Functional sweeteners, which have been industrially produced, not only have the above advantages, but also directly enter the large intestine because they are not digested and absorbed by the human body, activate the bifidobacteria that are beneficial to the human body in the intestinal tract, and promote their growth and reproduction to inhibit the reproduction of harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract. , thereby protecting human health.
Polysaccharide alcohols have their own unique uses, such as the better heat preservation of sorbitol; the antihypertensive and diuretic properties of mannitol; the properties of trehalose that can improve biological stress tolerance; these properties plus the price advantage make It has broad market prospects in molecular biology, medicine, food industry, cosmetics industry, agriculture and other fields. In addition, microbial polysaccharides prepared by microorganisms also have great uses. For example, xanthan gum is widely used in oil drilling, medicine and food due to its good shear resistance, salt resistance, acid and alkali resistance, and high temperature resistance. . Microbial polysaccharide cyclodextrin has the characteristics of adsorbing or embedding various organic compounds, can maintain the natural pigment of food, control the fishy smell of aquatic products, prolong the fragrance retention time as the carrier of the essence, and ensure that the medicine is stable and not easy to decompose, etc. It also has great market potential. Other microbial polysaccharides and pullulan are promising products.
The production varieties of starch sugar in China are mainly maltose syrup, high maltose syrup and glucose, which account for more than 80% of the proportion of starch sugar.
Amino acid
Monosodium glutamate (sodium glutamate), lysine, citric acid
Lysine is an essential amino acid that cannot be synthesized in animals and must be taken from the outside world. It is called the first limiting amino acid, because its lack will affect the absorption of other amino acids. Therefore, with the development of feed industry and feeding industry, the demand for lysine is also increasing. My country is now the world's largest producer of lysine. In 2003/2004, China still imported a large amount of lysine from abroad. After that, China became an exporter. And the total amount of lysine in the world is 700,000 tons. The export of China's lysine also brings a certain development space to China's lysine industry.
Monosodium glutamate (sodium glutamate) is an umami agent widely used in the catering industry and cooking seasoning. Asians have a soft spot for MSG, and in some countries, the per capita annual consumption has reached more than 1 kilogram. China is a big producer of monosodium glutamate, the output ranks first in the world, and the per capita annual consumption is only 0.5 kilograms, but it is not the lowest figure.
Amino acids produced from starch as raw materials include isoleucine, arginine, and succinic acid. The world demand for amino acids is growing rapidly. Organic acids produced from corn or starch include citric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, itaconic acid, and oxalic acid. Among them, the output of citric acid is relatively large, and citric acid is widely used in the food industry, pharmaceutical industry, washing industry, textile industry, and cosmetics industry. The application of citric acid in the non-food industry is expanding day by day. Increments at a rate of 5%. China's citric acid production ranks first or second in the world, but its export volume ranks first, with an annual export of about 200,000 tons. In the past, the production of citric acid in China mainly used dried potatoes as raw materials. Due to the high yield of corn raw materials, the Taihua factory has switched to corn raw materials. From the perspective of the industry, there is a trend to switch to corn raw materials. Lactic acid is mainly used in the food industry, accounting for about 50% of the total lactic acid. The world demand is 130,000-150,000 tons, still growing at a rate of 5-8%. Many countries have developed poly lactic acid biodegradable plastics, and lactic acid has a large potential market for growth. Other organic acids are also generally developing trends.
Modified starch
Modified starch is the use of physical, chemical and enzymatic means to change the properties of natural starch to meet the needs of applications in all walks of life. The amount and scope of modified starch are very wide. China has produced pregelatinized starch, acidified starch, oxidized starch, etherified starch, esterified starch, cross-linked starch, grafted starch, etc. There are more than 70 varieties in petroleum, medical, construction, agricultural feed, daily chemical and other industries. Among them, the paper industry has the largest application amount, accounting for about 50-60% of the total, mainly used as wet end additives, interlayer or surface sprays, surface sizing agents and coating adhesives. They significantly improve various physical strengths of paper, improve quality and grade, reduce wood pulp ratio, improve retention rate of fine fibers and fillers, improve ash content, whiteness and opacity of finished paper, reduce wet end breakage, reduce Three waste discharge, and improve printing performance.
The application of modified starch in the food industry can make processed food maintain high viscosity stability under high temperature, high shear force and low pH conditions, maintain its thickening ability, and can also make processed food at room temperature or low temperature preservation process In order to avoid water separation, the transparency of starch paste is improved by denaturation, so it can improve the appearance of food and improve its gloss. Therefore, modified starch can be added in the production of instant food, meat products, seasonings, yogurt, soup, candy, jelly, frozen food, bean paste, crispy snacks, snack foods, etc. to improve product quality.
Modified starch is used in a large amount in the textile industry, mainly used in silk yarn sizing and printing paste. In the petroleum industry, modified starch is mainly used in various occasions for oil drilling fluid, fracturing fluid and oil and gas production. In short, modified starch has a wide range of applications, strong specificity, and many varieties. It is a product with great market potential and continuous development.
Medicine
As far as the pharmaceutical industry is concerned, starch is the most important raw material for the antibiotic industry, because almost all antibiotics are produced by starch fermentation, such as penicillin, cephalosporin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, and streptomycin, which sell very well. And various aminoglycoside antibiotics, etc., are all fermented and extracted by industrial microorganisms using starch as a substrate. In addition, another important use of starch is as a pharmaceutical excipient. In the early days, most of the tablets produced by pharmaceutical factories in various countries used corn starch as a filler and a binder.
Food processing
Starch as a raw material can be directly used in vermicelli, vermicelli, meat products, ice cream, etc., and the demand is stable.
Beer
The application of beer syrup will have great development in the future. In 2002, China's beer output was 23.8 million tons, and in 2004 it reached 29 million tons, ranking first in the world (the United States was more than 23.2 million tons in 2003). Beer syrup can be directly added to the wort, which simplifies the production process and at the same time can increase the sugar content of the fermentation broth. For example, if it is increased from 11% to 16%, the production capacity can be increased by more than 20%, which creates conditions for increasing production in peak seasons. , China's beer output in 2007 is expected to exceed 70 million tons, the industry's demand for starch increased to nearly 700,000 tons, is expected to increase the consumption of 200,000 tons in 2008.
Papermaking
Due to high cassava prices and Thailand's restrictions on cassava exports, the use of cornstarch in the paper industry has increased.
Other uses
1.Cornstarch has a unique appearance and texture when mixed with water or milk, and is often mixed with powdered sugar as an anti-caking agent.
2.Cornstarch is often used as a coagulant for foods such as puddings. Cornstarch is commonly found in ready-made pudding mixes on the market. Simple cornmeal pudding can be easily made with ingredients such as milk, sugar, cornmeal, and flavor enhancers using a double boiler.
3.Cornstarch is also used as a thickener in Chinese and French dishes. The "thickening" (also known as thickening sauce) in Chinese cuisine is generally made from cornstarch and water.
4.Cornstarch also has a variety of uses in the manufacture of environmentally friendly products. For example, in 2004 Japan's Pioneer released a Blu-ray disc made of cornstarch, which degrades naturally.
Special features
Cornstarch with water has a strange property: it hardens when hit quickly, but not when hit slowly. Mix cornstarch and water at a weight ratio of about 3:2 and stir evenly. Increase or decrease the amount of water as needed. This shear-thickening fluid called "Oobleck" is a non-Newtonian fluid.
Demonstration method
1. Pour out about 5mL of the finished product into the palm of your hand, and rub with both hands to form a solid ball in the shape of a ball. After about half a second, the ball will quickly "melt". "And back in the liquid state, repeatable kneading movements demonstrate this special property.
2. Put about 50~100mL of the finished product in the disposable paper cup. The disposable paper cup or plastic cup is used for light weight and convenient operation. First, gently tilt the paper cup to show the participants the liquid finished product inside the paper cup. Quickly splashing the finished product inside the paper cup on the audience can impress the participants.
3. Put about 50~100mL of the finished product in a disposable paper cup, first tilt the paper cup gently to show the participants the liquid finished product inside the paper cup, then turn the disposable cup upside down but shake it up and down quickly and walk for a distance before placing the cup. Back to positive, at this time, because the non-Newtonian fluid generates force against rapid shear stress changes, the finished product in the cup will not be spilled.
4. Put a few liters of the finished product in a large shallow basin. The participant can quickly run over the finished product in the shallow basin without sinking. If the walking speed is slow, it will sink into the finished product.
5. Put 50~100mL of the finished product on the vibrating membrane of the audio speaker facing upwards, turn on the low-frequency sound wave vibration of a certain volume, and observe the distortion of the finished product.
Nutritional analysis
1. Corn is recognized as the "golden crop" in the world, and its content of fat, phosphorus and vitamin B2 ranks first among cereals
2. Cornmeal contains linoleic acid and vitamin E, which can reduce the cholesterol level in the human body, thereby reducing the occurrence of arteriosclerosis
3. Cornmeal contains more calcium and iron, which can prevent high blood pressure and coronary heart disease
4. Modern medical research shows that cornmeal is rich in glutathione, which is an anti-cancer factor. It can combine with a variety of foreign chemical carcinogens in the human body to make it lose its toxicity and then be excreted through the digestive tract. in vitro. Kibble cornmeal is high in lysine, which inhibits tumor growth
5. Cornmeal also contains trace element selenium, which can accelerate the decomposition of oxides in the human body and inhibit malignant tumors
6. The rich dietary fiber in cornmeal can promote peristalsis, shorten the time for food to pass through the digestive tract, reduce the absorption of toxic substances and the stimulation of the colon by carcinogens, thus reducing the occurrence of colon cancer.
