Physical and chemical properties of corn, cassava, and potato starchs

Starch-based plastic is developed for petroleum-based plastic material replacement. Thus, basic knowledge of starch properties is important. This research aimed to evaluate the physical and thermal properties of various potential starch, i.e. corn, cassava, and potato starch. Granule size, thermal property, and functional group of starch were determined by optical microsopy, DSC, and FTIR, respectively. Our results demonstrated that the properties of starch (e.g. granule morphology and thermal property) varied according to its different sources. Potato starch has a bigger granule size and lower gelatinization temperature compare to corn and cassava starch. This implied that the granule size of starch affected gelatinization temperature. The larger the granule size, the more easily the starch to be gelatinized.