Technical glossary
Starch and paper manufacturing technical glossary
Definitions of the terms used across tapioca starch supply and paper manufacturing, written for buyers, engineers and technical teams working with these materials.
- Pregelatinized Tapioca Starch
- Tapioca starch that has been cooked (gelatinised) and dried before supply, so it hydrates and builds viscosity in cold water without a further cooking step. Read the technical guide.
- Pregel Starch
- Common industry shorthand for pregelatinized starch. Also written pre-gelatinized starch or pregel tapioca starch; all describe the same cold-water-functional material. See our pregelatinized grade.
- Native Tapioca Starch
- Tapioca starch refined from cassava root without chemical or physical modification. Its granules are intact, so it must be heated above its gelatinisation temperature to thicken. Compare with pregelatinized starch.
- Cold Water Soluble Starch
- A starch that disperses and develops viscosity in ambient water. In practice this behaviour is achieved by pre-gelatinising the starch during manufacture.
- Tapioca Starch
- Starch extracted from the root of the cassava plant. It is valued industrially for high purity, bright whiteness, a neutral flavour profile and good film-forming behaviour. Product range and specifications.
- Modified Tapioca Starch
- Tapioca starch that has been physically or chemically altered — for example stabilised, oxidised or cross-linked — to change its behaviour under heat, acid or shear. Modified starch grades.
- Gelatinisation
- The irreversible process in which starch granules absorb water and swell above a characteristic temperature, losing their ordered structure and thickening the system.
- Surface Sizing
- Application of a starch solution to the surface of a formed paper sheet, usually at the size press or film press, to consolidate surface fibres, control porosity and improve surface strength. Surface sizing in the paper guide.
- Wet-End Starch
- Starch added to the fibre furnish before sheet formation, contributing to dry strength and to the retention of fines and fillers. Paper & packaging applications.
- Paper Coating
- Application of a pigment-based coating colour to the paper surface. Starch can serve as binder or co-binder, holding pigment to itself and to the base sheet while influencing coating rheology. Coating in the paper guide.
- Starch Binder
- A starch used to hold particles or surfaces together — pigments in a coating colour, fibres in a sheet, or components in a pellet or laminated structure.
- Packaging Board
- Heavier paper-based board used for cartons, cases and other packaging. Starch is applied for strength during converting and stacking, and to prepare the surface for printing. Packaging applications.
- Corrugating Adhesive
- The starch-based adhesive system used to bond fluting to liners in corrugated board. A pregelatinized fraction is commonly used as the carrier portion of the formulation.
- Brabender Viscograph
- An instrument used to record how a starch slurry's viscosity develops under a defined temperature and shear programme. Results are reported in Brabender Units (BU) at a stated slurry concentration. How we test each batch.
- Certificate of Analysis (COA)
- A batch-specific document reporting analytical results measured against the agreed specification for that shipment. Request documentation.
- Technical Data Sheet (TDS)
- The grade-level document stating the specification, test methods, typical values, packaging and storage guidance for a product. Request a data sheet.
Cite this resource
PREGEL WORLD. Starch and paper manufacturing technical glossary. Available at: https://pregelworld.com/resources/glossary
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