Some Properties of Chemical Cross-Linking Biohydrogel from Starch and Chitosan.

Chemical cross-linking was developed to prepare starch and chitosan-based hydrogels. First, the precursor of starch was synthesized through the reaction of carboxymethylation with sodium monochloroacetate, and then chitosan was grafted by using methacrylic acid as cross-linker. In this research, sago and cassava starches were used and mixed with chitosan, and the effect of methacrylic acid concentration was investigated to determine the grafting parameters and hydrogel characteristics.

Improvement of microwave-assisted hydrolysis of cassava pulp and tapioca flour by addition of activated carbon.

The superior effects of addition of activated carbon were evidenced for microwave assisted hydrolysis of starches in cassava pulp and tapioca flour under hydrothermal conditions varying irradiation temperature (160-230°C at 5min), duration of heating time (5-18min at 210°C) and amount of activated carbon at 0.5-2.0:1:20 of activated carbon:solid:liquid ratio.