Corn starch in industry
libre 8
Much has already been said about how cornstarch is used in food.
Corn starch is also used to make dextrin and dextrin glue.
Dextringlue is used to lubricate the back of stamps and postal envelopes; it is also used by amateur photographers.
Dextrin is also widely used in the paper and textile industries, in the production of paints and leather, and even in mechanical engineering. All packaging and labeling machines in the food industry are still operated exclusively with dextrin glue. It dries quickly and glues paper and cardboard well.
Dextrin is obtained by frying starch with a small amount of hydrochloric acid. As a result, starch turns into a water-soluble powder of dark cream or pale color.
In the Central Research Institute of the starch-paste industry has recently developed a new method of production of acid-free corn dextrin. The fact is that dextrin made with hydrochloric acid causes corrosion of equipment. Therefore, it was proposed to replace hydrochloric acid with potassium-aluminum alum. Alum dextrin, as it turned out, has even greater adhesive power than acidic.
Apparently, to completely abandon starch dextrin in the coming years will not be possible, and with the consumption of some corn starch for these purposes will have to put up with.
But in all other cases of technical use of starch it is necessary to introduce more boldly synthetic substitutes, which the chemical industry produces in increasing quantities and which are not inferior in quality to products made from food raw materials.
For example, in its time "Economic Newspaper" reported about an interesting experience of Chernivtsi textile mill, where instead of food starch used for finishing fabrics a new synthetic substance - polyacrylamide.
Polyacrylamide is well soluble in cold water and even surpasses starch in a number of properties.
It can be expected that in the near future the chemical industry will be able to offer other synthetic substitutes for food raw materials, and corn starch and other food raw materials will be used only for nutrition
