Production of tapioca
Type of products
Tapioca Starch
Tapioca starch is a fine, white powder extracted from pulped
tapioca roots. Its many uses include substitution for potato
and cornstarch. It is an important raw material in manufacturing
sago pearl, monosodium glutamate, fructose, glucose and dextrose.
Tapioca starch is mixed with pharmaceuticals to make capsules
and tablets, and is also used to make pet products. It is used
in the textile industry for yarn sizing, and in the paper industry
for paper pressing, flattening and polishing. It is an essential
raw material for glue manufacture.
According to the Thai Tapioca Flour Industries
Trade Association (1999), 40 percent of Thai tapioca starch
remains in the domestic market (600,000-800,000 tons) and
60 percent is exported (700,000-900,000 tons).
Tapioca Chips
Tapioca chips are chopped, sun-dried cassava. Tapioca
chip factories are small-scale enterprises, typically located
close to plantations, with simple equipment, mainly a chopper.
2-2.5kg of fresh root (with 25% starch content) are required
to produce 1 kg of chips (14% moisture content). Chips are
sold to pelleting manufacturers who either directly export
the chips/pellets or sell to traders.
Chips are transformed into pellets to
reach more uniformity and not to create air pollution caused
by dust carried in chips. Nakhon Ratchasima has the highest
chip and pellet production in Thailand. Production of chips
in this province is greater than the entire chip production
in Indonesia. In this province, Bangkok market pellet prices
are used as the standard trading index. The high carbohydrate
content of cassava chips is of value for biotechnological
conversion, and this utilization will secure a continued future
for the cassava chip industry.
Tapioca Pellets
The pellet industry began a few years after the start
of cassava exports to the EU (around 1967). Development of
this product was stimulated by a need to improve the uniformity
in shape and size of cassava chips required by compound feed
producers/users. In addition, during transportation, loading
and unloading of chips, the dust generated caused serious
air pollution, placing pressure on European importers to improve
the nature of cassava products handled by the ports. Production
of pellets involves pressing chips, in an extruder, through
a large die. The heat and moisture in chips helps in the formation
of a pellet-shaped product, known as a soft pellet. Later
processes involved steam grinding extrusion to create strong
pellets on cooling – these were known as hard pellets. Exports
of hard pellets began in 1981, by 1987 hard pellets dominated
pellet production in Thailand, and by 1989 were virtually
the only pellet product exported to Europe.
Raw materials for pellet manufacture (cassava
chips) are purchased from chip factories - pellet factories
do not produce chips. Purchase price is directly dependent
on the export price of pellets in Bangkok. The quality of
the chips is also an important consideration. The standard
quality of chips is:
Moisture content – max 16%
Sand – max 4%
The sum of moisture content and sand should
not exceed 20%. Moisture content exceeding 16% attracts a
price penalty, but no reward is given if the moisture is less
than 16%.
There are approximately 200 pelleting
factories in Thailand, with a total capacity of about 10 million
tons per year. However, the EU quota is only 5 million tons,
and this is the sole market for this product. Factories are
therefore working at only 50% of their capacity (3-4 months
in year).
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