Corn starch is obtained from maize. Corn starch is useful in the food, textile, pharmaceutical, and other industries.
Raw material
The major raw material is maize, which is cultivated in almost all the states of the federtation.
Market prospects
The demand for corn starch is huge in Nigeria and the world over. Its need cuts across numerous manufacturing industries, such as food and beverage, textile, pharmaceutical, paper ad pulp, chemical, packaging, automobile and many more manufacturing industries.
Process:
- Gathering: Maize, which is the major raw material is gathered.
- Cleaning: the raw material is cleaned to remove impurities like stones, broken curbs, etc.
- Steeping: the cleaned raw materials are steeped in large tanks of warm water containing acid and Sulphur dioxide.
- Milling: soften corn are wet milled in a pool of water.
- Settling and decanting: the milled product is allowed to settle under gravity and thereafter, the water is decanted to obtain tick slurry of corn mass.
- Centrifuging: the starch in the slurry is separated from protein.
- Dewatering: the starch is dewatered to form starch cake.
- Granulating: the starch cake is further broken down into smaller pieces to increase its surface area for effective drying.
- Drying: at this point, the starch cake is transferred to the flash dryer for proper drying.
- Milling: the dried corn starch is transferred into hammer mill be further broken down into the desired particle size.
- Packaging: the starch is packaged properly in an air tight and moisture impermeable packaging material, and at this time it is ready for sale.
Machinery and equipment
- Aspirator
- Water tanks
- Degermer
- Hammer mill (Wet)
- Vibro-sieve
- Hydraulic press
- Granulator
- Flash dryer
- Hammer mill (dry)
- Packaging machine
- Labels
- Cartons, etc.
Note:
The estimated total cost of investment depends on the capacity you wish to install. With less than N500,000 you can conveniently venture into this lucrative business.
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