Alpha-Cyclodextrin Production from Corn (Chemical Precipitation)

Product

Alpha-Cyclodextrin. Alpha-Cyclodextrin is a polysaccharide derived from six units of glucose linked end to end via α-1,4 linkages. As all cyclodextrins, it appears as white, water soluble solid with minimal toxicity. It is a multifunctional compound, marketed for use as a fiber ingredient, an odor or flavor masking agent, as emulsificant agent, and for medical and healthcare applications. Cyclodextrins are products of the enzymatic degradation of starch from vegetable materials.

Raw Material

Corn. Corn is available at relatively low and steady prices, it has high starch content, is easily stored, transported and handled. Such characteristics led naturally to the development of several processes to recover its starch and to process it into several industrial products. Most industrial processes make use of the shelled corn, which has been stripped from the cob during harvesting. The shelled corn is converted to other products through milling and refining. Corn milling processes can be divided in two main groups, wet milling and dry milling. In the wet milling, the corn kernel is milled in such a way that its components can be separated in an aqueous medium. In the dry milling the components of the kernel are separated using screening and air classification, but the fractionation is less efficient. Wet milling is generally used to produce high quality corn starch at high yields along with its by-products used in the animal feed (corn gluten meal and corn gluten feed) and food (corn oil) industries. Dry milling is widely used in the production of fuel Ethanol by fermentation of raw corn starch, other uses include the brewing and cereals industries.