Project Number: 3620-41000-114-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Jun 16, 2004
End Date: Jun 15, 2009

Objective:
The overall goal is to develop processes to enhance the conversion of cereal crops into value added polymers and chemicals, and thus generate expanded markets for cereals and reduce dependence on petroleum.

Approach:
Investigate the effects of stirring during cooling on the rheological properties of hot dispersions prepared by jet cooking starch in both the presence and absence of non-starch additives. Further investigate the structure, properties and end-use applications of spherocrystals formed in slowly-cooled solutions of jet-cooked starch. Modify laboratory techniques to permit commerical scale-up of processes used for deposition of thin starch coatings onto plastic surfaces and modification of these coatings by graft polymerization. Prepare starch esters having low to high degree of substitution and controlled substitution patterns with high efficiency and minimal byproducts. Characterize structure-property relationships and identify applications. Prepare new, inexpensive hydrophobic starches by reaction of starch with unsaturated hydrocarbons and characterize utility as adhesives. Prepare starch graft copolymers by reactive extrusion.