Cassava and Starch Technology Research Unit -...

To this end, the Cassava and Starch Technology Research Unit was established in 1995 through the cooperation of the government agencies, including the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency and Kasetsart University as well as private sector bodies; the Thai Tapioca Development Institute (TTDI). The unit is located at the Kasetsart Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Product Improvement Institute (KAPI), Kasetsart University.

The main objectives of the unit are to strengthen and support the industrial competitiveness of the cassava and starch industry by conducting research relating to cassava and starch, coordinating technological transfers to the industrial sectors and developing highly capable human resources. The main research focus of the unit is to serve as a strong base for technology and application development, with an emphasis on basic and applied researches that have both a direct and an indirect impact on the cassava and starch industry. The unit’s current research focuses on four areas: the characterization of cassava and starch properties, technological improvements of the starch manufacturing and modification processes, and the industrial application of cassava and starch.

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Cassava and Starch Technology Research Unit

National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

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Characterization of Cassavaand Starch Properties

This research area emphasizes the characterization of the strengths and weaknesses of cassava starch properties for industrial usage. Our researchers also work to evaluate factors affecting cassava starch qualities. Studies by the unit look at the effects of both genetic (varietal) and environmental (rainfall, planting and harvesting period) factors on the biochemical and physicochemical properties of cassava roots and extracted starches. The processing of cassava starch can also affect its qualities for instance, the application of sulfur dioxide and drying can increase the granular stability of starch. Our research also extends to the characterization of cassava root and starch qualities in new varieties such as Huay Bong 60, a variety developed by Kasetsart University in collaboration with the Thai Tapioca Development Institute. The development of suitable methodology for determining the physicochemical properties of cassava and starch is also a point of interest. This work includes the comparison of field and laboratory methods of estimating starch content in cassava roots, the determination of cyanide content, and the examination of the molecular structure of starch. Our expertise in this research area is also extended to the evaluation of the properties of starch derived from other domestically available sources such as rice, yam, canna, sago, sweet potato and taro. The characterization of various starches provides us with a better insight into the correlation between the structural and functional properties of starch, which in turn is vital for developments in its modification and application.

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Characterization of Cassavaand Starch Properties

This research area focuses on improving the efficiency of starch processing, both in terms of technology and in terms of quality upgrades. Although the application of sulfur water is essential in the production of cassava starch, the end product is left with sulfur residues, and thus requires further modification before it can comply with some regulations. Our researchers have therefore worked on optimizing the application of sulfur dioxide in the starch production process using sodium metabisulfite. We have also worked on the introduction of advanced de-watering techniques using high pressure filtration in the production processes for both cassava and rice starch, resulting in better yields and lower energy consumption. We have recently conducted an ozonation trial in a cassava starch factory, successfully demonstrating that this process can lead to a whiter end product and a lower cyanide content.

The unit is also collaborating with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi to help starch factories establish benchmarks for water and energy consumption, while maintaining an acceptable quality of finished products. Thanks to its competence in measuring starch quality, the unit has also helped at least 26 factories set up quality control systems for the starch production process.

Technology Improvements in the Starch Manufacturing Process

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Development of Starch

Modification This research group aims to improve and alter the properties of cassava starch through a range of modification techniques, whether physical, chemical or biotechnological, with the eventual aim of boosting the value and utilization of cassava starch. Our researchers have developed a small-particle cassava starch by introducing acid and ball-milling treatments to native starch, which can be used as an innovate replacement for fat in a number of products. We have also worked on a hydrothermal treatment to improve the retrogradation and gelation properties of cassava starch. The resultant heat-moisture treated cassava starch looks promising as a replacement for corn starch and rice flour in some food products. Moreover, we have discovered that a significant improvement in the cold water solubility of cassava starch can be achieved by the carboxymethylation of starch under specific conditions. The extent of cassava utilization is also greatly enhanced through the use of enzymatic techniques, yielding starch hydrolysate with varying degrees of hydrolysis.

The unit has gained a reputation for its expertise and experience in this field, and is currently working on the production of glucose syrup from cassava chips, starch and pulp, which can be used as a carbon feedstock to produce valuable chemicals through the fermentation process such as fuel ethanol and lactic acid.


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Industrial Application

of Cassava and Starch This research area focuses on the development of cassava and starch applications in both the food and the non-food industries. Examples of the application of modified starches developed by the unit can be seen in products including low-fat salad dressing made from small-particle cassava starch and a noodle-like product made from heat-moisture treated cassava starch. In addition, the unit has developed the process of making low-cyanide cassava flour from high cyanide cassava varieties for application in various food products. Our researchers have also developed a process for the production of ethanol, an environmentally friendly alternative renewable fuel, from cassava chips and roots. This process, which we have developed in conjunction with the Thai Liquor Distillery Organization (Excise Department) uses a process known as Simultaneous Liquefaction, Saccharification and Fermentation (SLSF) – a one step process, based on the enzyme hydrolysis of uncooked cassava chips and the yeast fermentation of sugar syrup.

Inspired by the problem of serious environmental damage from plastic waste, our research group is also interested in the development of starch-based biodegradable plastic. A blend of cassava starch with synthetic biodegradable polymers, such as polycaprolactone and polybutylene succinate, using a high-pressure extruder is more biodegradable and less ecologically harmful than traditional plastics. The unit has developed a formula (stating specific starch types and starch forms, i.e. granular or gelatinized, plasticizer etc.) and processing conditions which result in a final product with acceptable mechanical and biodegradable properties. Again using the unit’s expertise, we are able to evaluate the biodegradability of the blend using a lab-scale composting reactor system under aerobic conditions, along the lines stipulated by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).

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Thailand

• The Thai Tapioca Development Institute (TTDI) under the Patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhon

• The Thai Tapioca Trade Association (TTTA)

• The Thai Tapioca Flour Industries Trade Associations

• The Thai Tapioca Starch Association (TTSA)

• North Eastern Tapioca Trade Association

• Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce

• Ministry of Industry

• Ministry of Energy

• Liquor Distillery Organization, Excise Department, Ministry of Finance

Collaborative Network

Abroad

• Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, USA

• Federal Centre for Cereal, Potato and Lipid Research, Germany

• Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Cracow, Poland

• Sugars Laboratory, Department of Applied Biological Science, Fukuyama University, Japan

• The National Institute of Bioscience and Human Technology, Japan

• Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yunnan Province, China

• Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

• Hanoi University of Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

• Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Montpellier, France

• International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia

• International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA

Our research program has benefited from extensive collaboration with other academic and research institutes located both in Thailand and abroad, together with the industrial sector:



Award

Research StaffKlanarong Sriroth, Ph.D., Director(Engineering, Technical University of Berlin, Germany)

Kuakoon Piyachomkwan, Ph.D.(Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, USA)

Kunruedee Sangseethong, Ph.D. (Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, USA)

Ajinomoto Lecture Award 2007 in Biotechnology from Thai Society for Biotechnology and the Ajinomoto Foundation (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Klanarong Sriroth)

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Sunee Chotineeranat, Ph.D.(Product Development, Kasetsart University, Thailand)

Publications2004

- Charles, A.L., Chang, Y. H., Ko, W.C., Sriroth, K. and Huang, T.C. 2004. Some physical and chemical properties of starch isolates of cassava genotypes. Starch/Stärke, 56: 413 – 418.

2005

- Charles, A.L., Sriroth, K., and Huang, T.C. 2005. Proximate composition, mineral contents, hydrogen cyanide and phytic acid of 5 cassava genotypes. Food Chem, 92: 615 – 620.

- Piyachomkwan, K., Wanlapatit, S., Chotineeranat, S. and Sriroth, K.

2005. Transformation and balance of cyanogenic compounds in cassava starch manufacturing process. Starch/Stärke, 57:71-78.

- Sangseethong, K., Ketsilp, S. and Sriroth, K. 2005. The role of reaction parameters on the preparation and properties of carboxymethyl cassava starch. Starch/Stärke, 57: 84-93.

- Vatanasuchart, N., Naivikul, O. and Sriroth, K. 2005. Molecular properties of cassava starch modified with different UV irradiations to enhance baking expansion. Carbohydr Polym, 61: 80 – 87.

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2007

- Khunae, P., Tran, T. and Sirivongpaisal, P. 2007. Effect of heat-moisture treatment on structural and thermal properties of rice starches differing in amylose content. Starch/Stärke, 59(12): 593-599.

- Koroteeva, D. A., Kiseleva, V. I., Sriroth, K., Piyachomkwan, K., Bertoft, E., Yuryev, P. V. and Yuryev, V. P. 2007. Structural and thermodynamic properties of rice starches with different genetic background. Part I. Differentiation of amylopectin and amylose defects. Int J Biol Macromol, 41(4): 391-403.

- Tran, T., Piyachomkwan, K. and Sriroth, K. 2007. Gelatinization and thermal properties of modified cassava starches. Starch/Stärke, 59(1): 46-55.

2008

- Bertoft, E., Piyachomkwan, K., Chatakanonda, P. and Sriroth, K. 2008. Internal unit chain composition in amylopectins. Carbohyd Polym, 74(3):527-543.

- Koroteeva, D.A., Kiseleva, V.I., Krivandin, A.V., Shatalova, O.V., Błaszczak, W., Bertoft, E., Piyachomkwan, K., Yuryev, V.P. 2008. Structural and thermodynamic properties of rice starches with different genetic background. Part 2. Defectiveness of different supramolecular structures in starch granules. Int J Biol Macromol, 41(5): 534-547.

- Pongjanta, J., Utaipattanaceep, A., Naivikul, O. and Piyachomkwan, K. 2008. In vitro starch hydrolysis rate, physico-chemical properties and sensory evaluation of butter cake prepared using resistant starch type III substituted for wheat flour. Malaysian J Nutri, 14(2):199-208.

- Timbuntam, W., Sriroth, K., Piyachomkwan, K., Tokiwa, Y. 2008. Application of bipolar electrodialysis on recovery of free lactic acid after simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of cassava starch. Biotechnol Lett, 30(10):1747-1752.

- Tran, T., Thitipraphunkul, K., Piyachomkwan, K. and Sriroth, K. 2008. Effect of starch modifications and hydrocolloids on freezable water in cassava starch systems. Starch/Stärke, 60(2): 61-69.

- Yotsawimonwat, S., Sriroth, K., Kaewvichit, S., Piyachomkwan, K, Jane, J.L. and Sirithunyalug, J. 2008. Effect of pH on complex formation between debranched waxy rice starch and fatty acids. Int J Biol Macromol, 43(2): 94-99.

2009

- Pongjanta, J., Utaipattanaceep, A., Naivikul, O. and Piyachomkwan, K. 2009. Debranching enzyme concentration effected on physicochemical properties and α-amylase hydrolysis rate of resistant starch type III from amylose rice starch. Carbohyd Polym, 78(1):5-9.

- Pongjanta, J., Utaipattanaceep, A., Naivikul, O. and Piyachomkwan, K. 2009. Effects of preheated treatments on physicochemical properties of resistant starch type III from pullulanase hydrolysis of high amylose rice starch. Am J Food Tech, 4(2):79-89.

- Sangseethong, K., Lertphanich, S. and Sriroth, K. 2009. Physicochemical properties of oxidized cassava starch prepared under various alkalinity levels. Starch/Stärke, 61(2):92-100.

Publications

Cassava and Starch Technology Research Unit -...

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