THE EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION ON THE VISCOSITY OF STARCH PASTES AND OF LYOPHILIC SOLS

Abstract

The critical concentration of a starch paste is the limiting concentration above which structural flow is apparent. The inverse of the critical concentration, termed the effective volume, is the minimum volume of solution per gram of starch below which structural flow is apparent. The critical concentrations and effective volumes have been measured for series of pastes of acid-modified corn and potato starches, and the effective volume has been shown to decrease with increasing degree of modification. The specific viscosities per unit concentration of these pastes, at concentrations below the critical, increases linearly with the effective volume, and the proportionality constants found are compared with those derived from the equations of Einstein and of Hatschek. The effects of phase-volume ratio and ease of deformation of the dispersed phase on the viscosity of a system are discussed, and previous relations applied to experimental data obtained in the present instance. Residual structure below the critical concentration is discussed. Above the critical concentration, the viscosity is dependent on the rate of shear, and the equation F = KPn expresses the experimental data well, where F is the flow, P is the pressure, K and n are constants. For two starches investigated, within the range of concentrations used n has been found to increase linearly with the concentration c, dn/dc being dependent on the elasticity or deformability of the granules.The form of lyophilic colloids in solution is discussed and agreement is expressed with the conception of Haller that the long-chain molecules, owing primarily to the free rotatability of the valence linkages, are irregularly bent and tangled in solution, as opposed to Staudinger's conception of straight rigid chains. These molecules occupy on the average a form approximating to the spherical, and solvation is due chiefly to immobilization. A dextrin in solution was found to have a [Formula: see text] ratio close to that of a pasted starch, and the forms of the two are probably similar. A lyophilic sol is considered heterogeneous and similar in many respects to an emulsion, with a very highly deformable discontinuous phase. The viscosity of such a system is due to phase-volume relations, modified by the ease of deformation of the dispersed phase, and the particular characteristics of these important sols admit of explanation on this basis.