Starch Pros

April 08^th 2020

Ingredion to build an integrated modified starch facility in China more than doubling current capacity.

Company advancing its growth strategy in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, investing in a new modified starch complex to increase production capacity and expand its ingredient portfolio to meet growing customer demand.

Ingredion Incorporated, a leading global provider of ingredient solutions, today announced it will significantly expand its production capacity and capabilities in Shandong, China. With this investment, the Company will build a new, integrated native and modified starch facility adjacent to its existing Shandong facility. The expanded capabilities will provide additional service and supply benefits for its local and regional customers while further optimising its global supply chain network for specialty starches. The investment is expected to be complete by early 2022.

“We see strong demand for clean-label ingredients and specialty starches coming from our established and emerging food customers,” said Valdirene Licht, senior vice president and president, Asia-Pacific. “Chinese consumers are seeking healthier, more diverse, premium and convenient food options. This investment enables us to further strengthen partnerships with our customers as a well-positioned local supplier.  Ingredion’s local market insights, concept-to-launch expertise and technical and sales services will enable us to deliver consumer-preferred innovation on behalf of our customers.”

The new Ingredion Shandong facility complements the Company’s manufacturing network in Shanghai and is strategically located next to local farmers who provide high-quality raw materials, such as non-GMO corn. “This facility not only provides us with faster access to raw materials, it also allows us to effectively implement our sustainable agriculture program benefiting local farmers. We can produce high quality and diverse products that our customers require to meet the local market trends,” said Jacques Guglielmi, vice president and general manager, Greater China.

Source: https://apac.ingredion.com/meetingredion/news/INGRBuildsCNIntegratedModifiedStarchFacility.html

March 05^th 2020

This new kind of starch/cellulose plastic is made to degrade in seawater.

At five sites in the world’s oceans, plastic waste accumulates in large swirling gyres, the largest of which is three times the size of France. Millions of tons of plastic enters the oceans every year, damaging marine ecosystems, harming ocean animals and entering the human food chain.

Japanese researchers have developed a new kind of biodegradable plastic that could help. The material, reported in the journal Carbohydrate Polymers, is made from starch and cellulose, and could be a step towards a low-cost biodegradable plastic that can be mass-produced.

At the G20 Summit in Osaka last summer, member countries agreed to a framework called Osaka Blue Ocean Vision initiated by Japan, which plans to lead global efforts to reduce ocean plastic pollution to zero by 2050.

Biodegradable plastics, which break down in the environment into smaller harmless chemicals, already exist. But they are not as strong or water-resistant as ubiquitous commercial plastics like polyethylene. They also cost twice as much as petroleum-based plastics, and can also only be produced in small amounts.

Researchers at Osaka University made the new transparent plastic from cellulose and starch. Both are common, cheap natural biological polymers. Starch is found in corn and potatoes, while cellulose is the main component of plant walls. “Because these materials are cheap and the manufacturing process is simple, we can expect that the developed material will be put to practical use soon,” said applied chemistry professor Taka-Aki Asoh.

The plastic is a membrane made of starch that is reinforced with tiny, microscopic cellulose fibers. It is strong and does not swell in water. But it breaks down in seawater over time. “We have great expectations that our material will help solve the growing global problem of marine debris accumulation and have a major societal impact,” said Asoh.

Source: http://resou.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/research/2020/20200305_01

February 28^th 2020

South Africa’s Tongaat Hulett to sell starch business to Barloworld.

Tongaat Hulett, South Africa’s heavily indebted sugar producer, said on Friday it would sell its starch business to Barloworld for 5.35 billion rand ($351.10 million), including debt. Tongaat will use the proceeds to reduce its debt.

“This was a compelling offer for our starch business. Our number one priority is to ensure the long-term sustainability of Tongaat and a key element of this is paying down our debt as quickly as possible. Our agreement is to reduce debt by R8.1-billion by March 2021 and we have already met and exceeded the first debt repayment milestone agreed with our lenders,” Tongaat CE Gavin Hudson said in a statement on Friday.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/tongaat-hulett-divestiture/south-africas-tongaat-to-sell-starch-business-to-barloworld-idUSL3N2AS4SZ

February 21^st 2020

KIST researchers develop high-capacity EV battery materials that double driving range.

Dr. Hun-Gi Jung and his research team at the Center for Energy Storage Research of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Lee Byung Gwon) have announced the development of silicon anode materials that can increase battery capacity four-fold in comparison to graphite anode materials and enable rapid charging to more than 80% capacity in only five minutes. When applied to batteries for electric vehicles, the new materials are expected to more than double their driving range.

The batteries currently installed in mass-produced electric vehicles use graphite anode materials, but their low capacity contributes to electric vehicles’ having a shorter driving range than vehicles with internal combustion engines. Consequently, silicon, with an energy storage capacity 10-times greater than graphite, has drawn attention as a next-generation anode material for the development of long-range electric vehicles. However, silicon materials have not yet been commercialized because their volume expands rapidly and storage capacity decreases significantly during charge and discharge cycles, which limits commercialization. A number of methods have been suggested for enhancing the stability of silicon as an anode material, but the cost and complexity of these methods have prevented silicon from replacing graphite.

To enhance the stability of silicon, Dr. Jung and his team focused on using materials that are common in our everyday lives, such as water, oil, and starch. They dissolved starch and silicon in water and oil, respectively, and then mixed and heated them in order to produce carbon-silicon composites. A simple thermal process used for frying food was employed to firmly fix the carbon and silicon, preventing the silicon anode materials from expanding during charge and discharge cycles.

The composite materials developed by the research team demonstrated a capacity four-times greater than that of graphite anode materials (360mAh/g to 1,530mAh/g) and stable capacity retention over 500 cycles. It was also found that the materials enable batteries to charge to more than 80% capacity in only five minutes. Carbon spheres prevent the usual volume expansion of silicon, thereby enhancing the stability of silicon materials. Also, the use of highly conductive carbon and the rearrangement of the silicon structure resulted in a high output.

“We were able to develop carbon-silicon composite materials using common, everyday materials and simple mixing and thermal processes with no reactors,” said Dr. Jung, the lead researcher of the KIST team. He continued, “The simple processes we adopted and the composites with excellent properties that we developed are highly likely to be commercialized and mass-produced. The composites could be applied to lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESSs).”

This major KIST research project was conducted with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Choi Kiyoung) and was also a climate change response development project. The research results were published in the most recent issue of Nano Letters.

Source: https://eng.kist.re.kr/kist_eng/?sub_num=3694 and https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/nrco-krd022120.php

February 13^th 2020

South Africa – Tongaat Hulett to sell starch operations.

South Africa’s heavily indebted sugar producer Tongaat Hulett Ltd has entered negotiations on the potential sale of Tongaat Hulett Starch, it said on Thursday, without providing details on the talks.

The agriculture and agri-processing company is seeking to cut debts through selling assets, cutting jobs, raising equity and other measures aimed at boosting cash flow.

Tongaat said in January it had already met its first debt reduction milestone of 500 million rand ($33.5 million) as defined in its refinancing agreements with funders and assets disposal assessments were at an advanced stage.

At 0738 GMT, shares in Tongaat, which were voluntarily suspended from trade in June until earlier this month as it prepared to restate its financial results, were up 3.6% at 4.02 rand. ($1 = 14.9409 rand)

Tongaat Hulett Starch is Africa’s largest producer of starch, glucose and related products, according to Tongaat’s website. Its five mills make ingredients for alcoholic drinks, baking, jams, canned food and other products.

In the six-months ended Sept.30, the starch and glucose operations reported a flat operating profit of 306 million rand and grew sales volumes by 4.5% to 254,000 tons, benefiting from increased demand in the alcoholic beverages sector and continuing growth in the coffee creamer sector.

Source: https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN2070OW-OZABS

January 31^st 2020

AGRANA acquires US-based organic distribution company Marroquin Organic International.

Fruit, starch and sugar group Agrana is expanding its distribution activities in the starch segment with the acquisition of Marroquin Organic International Inc., a Santa Cruz, Calif.-based distributor of organic and non-G.M.O. ingredients.

Marroquin Organic International is a long-standing partner of Agrana with more than $20 million in annual revenue.

“Marroquin Organic International is a pioneer in the organic and non-G.M.O. food ingredient sector in the U.S. and enjoys a correspondingly high reputation in the market,” said Johann Marihart, chief executive officer at Agrana. “This acquisition is a perfect fit in terms of implementing our specialties strategy in the starch segment. Agrana possesses many years of experience in the production of specialty starches and is increasingly focusing on baby food and clean label starches, which have not been chemically modified.

The organic origins and non-G.M.O. status of our products are increasingly appreciated by customers and users alike, particularly in the U.S. where, with starch largely being based on genetically-modified corn, demand for non-G.M.O. starches is rising.”

Agrana’s starch segment offers a variety of products made from potato, corn and wheat. The company has three starch mills in Austria and two production sites in Hungary and Romania.

Source: https://www.agrana.com/en/media/press-releases/news-detail/?news=1669&cHash=1d9516ac6148c5a0fc77da85eaab1cfc