Structural and physicochemical characteristics of taioba starch in comparison with cassava starch and its potential for ethanol production

Author(s)

Cutrim Farias, Flavia de Aquino ^[1] ; de Souza Moretti, Marcia Maria ^[2] ; Costa, Mariana Souza ^[2] ; BordignonJunior, Sidnei Emilio ^[3] ; Cavalcante, KianySirley Brandao ^[1] ; Boscolo, Mauricio ^[3] ; Gomes, Eleni ^[4] ; Landi Franco, Celia Maria ^[2] ; da Silva, Roberto ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Fed Inst Educ Sci & Technol IFMA, Av Getulio Vargas, BR-65030005 Sao Luis, Maranhao - Brazil

^[2] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Inst Biosci Letters & Exact Sci, Dept Food Engn & Technol, Cristovao Colombo 2265, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP - Brazil

^[3] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Inst Biosci, Dept Chem & Environm Sci, Cristovao Colombo 2265, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP - Brazil

^[4] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Inst Biosci Letters & Exact Sci, Dept Biol, Cristovao Colombo 2265, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS; v. 157, DEC 1 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Starch is an important raw material in the fermentation industry for producing ethanol, which can then be used as renewable biofuel or as a basis for food, drink and pharmaceutical uses. Many tropical starch-producing plants are poorly exploited. Taioba (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) is a subsistence agriculture plant that has high starch content in its tubers but there have been few scientific studies for ethanol production to the present. The objective of this work was to evaluate the structural and physicochemical characteristics of taioba starch and its potential for ethanol production by comparing it to cassava (Manihot esculenta) starch, a well-known and commercially exploited plant. The starch content in the taioba and cassava were 65 and 80 % (DW), which had an amylose content of 21.80 and 23.65 % (DW), respectively. However, taioba starch had a lower proportion of short branched chains (DP 6 -12), a higher proportion of intermediate branched chains (DP 13 - 24 and 25 - 36) of amylopectin (which are associated to the long term-retrogradation), smaller granule sizes and more densely packed and ordered crystals than cassava starch. It also had higher gelatinization temperatures and enthalpy change, lower peak and breaking viscosities, and a higher final viscosity compared to cassava starch. The hydrolysis (liquefaction and saccharification) reached 52 % and 50 % after 24 h, for cassava and taioba respectively. Maximum ethanol productions were 56 and 48 g/L, productivities were 0.67 and 0.56 g/L/h, yields were 0.49 and 0.46 and fermentation efficiencies were 96 and 90 %, for the cassava and taioba starches respectively. This study has improved understanding of the properties of taioba starch, as well its potential as a raw material for ethanol production. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/16482-5 - Purification and immobilization of beta-glucosidase from Thermoascus aurantiacus using supermacroporous cryogels and application in bioprocesses
• Grantee: Roberto da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Regular Program Grants