PROCESSING OF POTATO STARCH ON PLASTICS PROCESSING MACHINES

Starch as an organic material with macromolecular structure has many properties comparable to usual plastic materials. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture starch products with polymer processing machines by the same methods as synthetic polymers. In addition of special plasticizer native potato starch has been processed to granules and films with different extruders. The granules were taken as feed material for experiments of the production of samples with an injection moulding machine. The mechanical properties of the produced specimens proved to be on a satisfactory level. By the suitability of the widely distributed screw machines for starch processing it is possible to substitute synthetic polymers by starch for special applications without high inital costs. Detailed knowledge about the suitable processing methods is an important condition for that.