Starch
"Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store. It is the most common carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in large amounts in such staple foods as potatoes, wheat, maize (corn), rice, and cassava."
"Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in cold water or alcohol. It consists of two types of molecules: the linear and helical amylose and the branched amylopectin. Depending on the plant, starch generally contains 20 to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin.[1]Glycogen, the glucose store of animals, is a more branched version of amylopectin."
(Wikipedia, Starch, 5/12/2011)
Natural /Renewable /Sustainable Polymers
Polymers /Resins
Starch /Cotton Composites
Starch Nanopaticles
Recent Journal Articles
Thermoplasticization of High Amylose Starch by Chemical Modification Using Reactive Extrusion
(589-597) Journal of Polymers and the Environment 19 #3 (2011)
Stagner et al. Michigan and Brazil, synthesized modified thermoplastic high amylose starch (MTPS) by reactive extrusion in the presence of maleic anhydride (MA) as an esterification agent in a twin-screw extruder. The concentration of MA added varied from 2 to 6 wt% (of starch + glycerol), and the free-radical initiator, 2,5-bis(tert-butylperoxy)-2,5-dimethylhexane, also called Luperox 101, varied from 0.1 to 0.5 wt% (of starch + glycerol). The modified high amylose corn starch (20 or 30% glycerol) could be pelletized and gave pellets that were more transparent than thermoplastic starches not modified with maleic anhydride. The MTPS samples presented higher melting temperatures compared to TPS samples. The soxhlet studies indicated that the plasticizer, glycerol, was chemically linked to the starch. (RDC 8/23/2011).