Abstract
ABSTRACT The objective was to study the starch extraction process of the peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth.) fruit focused on increasing yield and in preserving the quality characteristics the extracted product. Two experimental designs are carried out in order to investigate the effects of NaOH and NaHSO3 concentrations, as well as the decantation time, on the yield of starch and on product color. Firstly, a 23 full factorial design provided a linear model with 95% of confidence, indicating major tendencies for optimization. Secondly, a 22 central composite design rendered a quadratic model which allowed the maximization of yield (it 9.0% higher) without compromising the color of the product. The maximum yield of 23.90%, validated with triplicate experiments, is considerably higher than the yield of starch from other fruits reported in literature.
Highlights
Starch is extracted from the edible part of cereals, tubers, roots, rhizomes and fruits
As NaHSO3 is a salt derived from an acid, a saline hydrolysis reaction may have occurred with the NaOH, producing water and reducing the concentration of NaOH
The design of experiments and the response surface methodology indicated main and interacting effects allowing the optimization of the yield of extraction from the peach palm fruit
Summary
Starch is extracted from the edible part of cereals, tubers, roots, rhizomes and fruits. It is the main source of energy stored in higher plants and provides 70 to 80% of the calories consumed by humans (LEONEL et al, 2003; AGUILERA et al, 2009) as thickener, colloidal stabilizer, gelling agent, glue, adhesive, among others (LEONEL & CEREDA, 2002). Are the greatest consumers of this raw material. This multipurpose polymer is used in a large number of processes, especially in the cosmetics, pulp and paper, chemical, textile and pharmaceutical industries. Research institutions and industries are becoming more interested in identifying native starches with specific characteristics, as well as improving the extraction process towards greater purity and yield (LEONEL, 2007)
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