Tapioca starch is not only for household consumption. It is also used as a raw material for products in number of industries, as follows:

1. 1. Food and beverage industries: tapioca starch is used to increase strengthening, add viscosity, and concentration in numbers of food and beverage industries. It is used wither in the pure form or processed form. For examples:

• Bread, wheat noodles, and rice noodles use tapioca starch as a replacement to reduce production costs, since it is more cost effective than other types of starch
• Condiments and canned foods use cross-linked starches as a thickener. Only a small volume of starch is applied
• Hard candies use hydroxyethylated starches to hardening the candies.
• Ice cream needs starch to maintain its strength after being shipped and prevent it from collapsing.
• In addition it is used as a binding agent in animal feed. Pregelatinized alpha starch is used for the production of eel feed.

2. Sweetener industries tapioca starch accounts for about 80 percent of the raw material for sweetener products, such as glucose and fructose syrups. These products are used in the beverage industry as well as canned fruits, jams and others.

3. Textile industry tapioca starch is used in up to three stages of the production processes

• Oxidized and hydroxyethyl starches are used to dousing thread in order to reduce friction and fraying. This increases flexibility of the thread.
• Pregelatinized starch ether is used in the printing on fabrics to achieve better color consistency and dirt protection during the printing process.
• Tapioca starch is used to endure printing on fabrics in the final finishing process

4. Paper industry tapioca starch is added in the preparation of pulp before it is pressed into sheets. This increases concentration and increases the elasticity of the paper. At this stage, starch fills in the pores, smoothes paper surface and prevents spreading ink on the surface when writing. Oxidized starches, acid modified starches, and cationic starches are used in these processes, along with modified hydroxyethyl and starch phosphate esters in order to increase strength and thickness of some types of papers, such as for calendars and cardboard boxes

5. Glue industry tapioca starch is the most important raw material in the production of both dry and wet glues. When it comes into contact with hot water or chemicals, it becomes sticky and stays sticky. Tapioca starch used for glues must be pure with low acidity.

• Dextrin is the glue made from tapioca starch with fast-reacting agents added. This produces three types of glue: white glue, yellow glue, and English glue
• Oxidized starch is the glue produced by adding diluted sodium hydrochloride to the starch, Many industries use glues produced from tapioca starch, such as textile, paper, ink, stamp, and envelope, casting, paint and plywood industries

6. Plywood industry used tapioca starch in combination with glue. This is an important process in the production of plywood. After the wood is dried, it enters into the machine that spread the glue over the entire surface of the sheet.

7. MSG and lysine industries use tapioca starch as a source of carbohydrate. One kilogram of MSG uses approximately 2.4 kilograms of tapioca starch.

8. Medical industry uses tapioca starch as filler, both in capsule and tablet.

9. Biodegradable materials tapioca starch is combined with biodegradable plastic compound that is further used to produce various types of products such as bag, container, etc.

These diverse applications make the undeniable note that cassava is the very important crop for Thailand agriculture and the development of industrials in general. No matter what form it may take, the benefits remain unchanged.

Products from Cassava Roots

Section I   : Cassava chips & Pettets

Section II  : Peel & Pulp - Mushroom

Section III : Tapioca starch

1. Direct Consumption
----l Cooking
----l Tapioca Pearl
----l Noodle
----l Dessert
2. Modified Starch
----l Acetylated : Sauces, Frozen Food, Instant Soup, Pastries, Glue
----l Cross-linked : Salad Dressing, Canned Food, Sauces, Paper, Textiles
----l Oxidized : Candies, Instant Soup, Salad Dressing, Paper, Textiles
----l Cationic : Paper, Textiles
----l Alpha : Animal Feed, Mosquito Coil, Sauces, Dessert
3. Sweeteners
----l Glucose/Dextrose : Candies, Beverages, Canned Food, Medicine, Creamers
----l Fructose/High Fructose Syrup : Beverages, Pastries, Dessert, Candies, Sauces, Condiment
----l Sorbitol : Toothpaste, Cosmetics
4. Amino Acid & Derivatives
----l Monosodium Glutamate
----l Lysine : Animal Feed
5. Organic Acid
----l Citric Acid
6. Alcohol
----l Ethanol