Starch is the most abundant reserve polysaccharide in plants. Today, the main sources of starch extraction are tubers, roots and seeds, primarily from maize, tapioca, potato, wheat and rice. Starch can easily be extracted with high purity, resulting in a white, tasteless and odourless powder. These good organoleptic properties makes it an interesting resource for manifold applications, not only in human food and animal feed, but also as feedstock for non-food industrial applications such as pulp and paper, adhesives and bioethanol. Starch is also biodegradable and can exhibit thermoplastic behavior.
Starch is used in food, cosmetics, paper, textile, and certain industries, as adhesive, thickening, stabilizing, stiffening, and gelling (pasting) agents. Starch consists of amylose and branched amylopectin molecules in molar ratios of 15% - 25% and 85% - 75%, respectively.
Maize starch is most commonly used as a thickening and gelling agent, it is also use to produce many organic chemicals. It is an effective binder andhelps in achieving the right degree of clarity structur. It is also used to achieve chewiness in gums.
Starch production in India is highly fragmented, with a variety of manufacturers with small to large capacities offering different sources, grades and derivatives of starch. It is estimated that around 1.56 million tonne starch and derivatives were manufactured by about 30 producers in India.Thus, as an entrepreneur this project offers an exciting opportunity.
Few Indian Major Players are as under
• Anil Bioplus Ltd.
• Tirupati Starch & Chemicals Ltd.
• Sunanda Agro Products Ltd.
• Spac Starch Products (India) Ltd.
• Riddhi Siddhi GlucoBiols Ltd.
• Rai Agro Inds. Ltd.
