EFFECTIVENESS OF WASHING STARCH IN A

DEVICE BATH-SUBSTRATE-FLOW (BSF) USING

SURFACTANTS AND -AMYLASE
E. Jurado-Alameda* ; D. Altmajer-Vaz; R. C. S. C. Valle
Department of Chemical Engineering University of Granada - Spain

* ejurado@ugr.es

INTRODUCTION
The cleaning process in the food industry is considered a critical operation. It requires specific protocols and chemical agents to leave the surfaces
physically and microbiologically clean and to eliminate hygiene problems and obstructions in the equipments [1].
The efficacy of the cleaning process depends on a combination of factors: the properties and concentration of the dirt, the properties of the
substrate, the characteristics of the washing vessel, temperature, detergent formulation, hydrodynamic forces and the duration of the process [2,3].
In detergent formulation, enzymes contribute to the highly efficient removal of stains, enhancing the action of surfactants and improving the
performance of the washing process [4], with the advantage that the washing conditions are milder than with enzyme-free detergents [5].
Amylases are the second most frequently used kind of enzyme in detergent formulation [6] and -amylases are predominantly used for this
application.
The present work had as subject to Removal of starch soil from different substrates was evaluated at various temperatures using Bath-SubstrateFlow (BSF) with two surfactants and -amylase.

Bath-Flow-Substrate (BSF) device

Is a laboratory device for evaluation of cleaning process that
simulates a dishwashing machine. This equipment enables the
evaluation of the removal of different soils from any kind of substrate
with different detergent solutions and washing conditions, such as
temperature, flow rate and substrate [7].
1. Stirred tank
containing the
washing solution,
Washing tests performed with glass spheres with a diameter of 3
(E3) and 6 mm (E6) and discs of expanded polyurethane with a
diameter of 8 mm and 2 mm of thickness (D)

2. Peristaltic pump
3. Packed column
where the soiling
agent is
deposited

Temp.

water

(C)

4. Paddle stirrer.

BSF Device

amylase
(20L/L)

LAS

LAS

1g/L

2g/L

Washing test
Soiling agent : gelatinizated commercial maize starch gel (8% p/w)
Substrate: glass spheres with a diameter of 3 and 6 mm (70 grams of
beads) and discs of expanded polyurethane with a diameter of 8 mm
and 2 mm of thickness.(32 units)
Surfactants: 1 and 2 g/L of a nonionic Glucopon 650 EC and an ionic
linear alkylbenzene sulphonate LAS
Enzyme: 20L of - amylase/L of bath (Sigma - A3403-500KU).
Process conditions: washing solution flow rate: 30 L/h; stirring speed
in the tank of 100 rpm; volume of the bath of 500 mL; temperatures
of 30, 45 and 60C.
Detergency (De, %):

Glucopon Glucopon
650

650

1g/L

2g/L

30

E3 - E6 - D

E3 D

E3

45

E3 - E6 - D

E3 D

E3 - D

E3 - D

60

E3 - E6 - D

E3 - D

E3

E3

Analysis of starch soil: total amount of soluble carbohydrates in the

cleaning solution, using phenol sulfuric acid [8]
Enzyme activities: analysis of initial velocity of potato starch soluble
consumed. The starch analysis was made by the iodometric method
adapted from [9]

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Temperature

110

110
a

110

a
a

100

45oC

100

45oC

100

ab

a
90
c

80

bc

90
c

80

70

Surfactants discs
110

100
90

Surfactants 3mm spheres

Temperature and enzyme

90
a

80

70

70

60

60

50

50

b
d

70

60

50

60

30

45

60

Temperature
Sphere 3 mm

Sphere 6 mm

Disc

e
40
0

water 30oC

Sphere

Disc

Substrate
enzy me 30oC

water 45oC

enzy me 45oC

water 60oC

enzy me 60oC

Average percentage of starch soil removal The same letters denote statistical equality
between experimental conditions using the Duncans test with 5% of significance.

The effectiveness of the washing was related to

the type of substrate used.
The effect of temperature on starch removal
may be related to the higher solubility and the
lower viscosity of the soiling agent, thus, the
best detergency being achieved at the highest
temperatures.
With Smooth substrate (sphere) , the
hydrodynamic factor is one of the most
important parameters to be considered when the
soil is a starch gel.

Picture of BSF

40
0
Water

LAS 2g/L
LAS 1g/L

[1] Liu, W.; Freyer, P.J.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, Q.; Liu, Y. Indentification of cohesive and adhesive effects in the cleaning of food fouling
depoisits. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, v. 7, p. 263-269, 2006.
[2] Jurado-Alameda, E., Bravo, V., Luzn, G.; Fernndez-Serrano, M.; Garca-Romn, M.; Altmajer-Vaz, D.; Vicaria, J. M. Hard-Surface
Cleaning Using Lipases: EnzymeSurfactant Interactions and Washing Tests. Journal Surfact Detergent, v. 10, p. 6170, 2007
[3] Von Rybinski, Wolfgang Physical Aspects of Cleaning Processes in: Handbook for Cleaning/Decontamination of Surfaces (ed.
Ingegrd Johansson and P. Somasundaran) p. 1-55, 2007.
[4] Galante, M.Y.; Formantici, C. Enzyme Applications in Detergency and in Manufacturing Industries Current Organic Chemistry,v. 7,
p. 1399-1422, 2003.
[5] Gupta, R.; Gibras, P.; Mohapatra, H.; Goswani, V.K.; Chauhan, B. Microbial -amylases: a biotechnological perspective. Process
Biochemistry, v. 38, p. 1599-1616, 2003.
[6] Mitidieri, S.; Martinelli, A. H. S.; Schrank, A.; Vainstein, M.H. Enzymatic detergent formulation containing amylase from Aspergillus
niger: A comparative study with commercial detergent formulations. Bioresource Technology, v. 97, p. 1217-1224, 2006.
[7] Jurado Alameda, E.; Bravo Rodrigues, V.; Bailn Moreno; Nuez Olea, J.; Altmajer Vaz, D. Bath-Substrate-Flow method for
evaluating the detersive and dispersant performance of hard-surface detergents Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, v. 42,
p. 4303-4310, 2003.
[8] Dubois, M.; Gilles, K. A.; Hamilton, J. K.; Rebers, P. A.; Smith, F. Colorimetric method for determination of sugars and related
substances. Anal. Chem. 1956, 28, 350-356.
[9] Fuwa, H. A new method for microdetermination of amylase activity by the use of amylose as the substrate, Journal of
Biochemistry, v. 41, p. 583603, 1954.

Glucopon 1g/L

Detergente solution

40
0
Water

LAS 2g/L
LAS 1g/L

Glucopon 2g/L
Glucopon 1g/L

Detergente solution

Average percentage of starch soil removal (%). The same letters denote statistical equality
between experimental conditions using the Duncans test with 5% of significance.

-amylase positively affects soil removal,

independently of the substrate employed and
increase with the increase of temperature. This
fact can be attributed both to the decrease of
soil viscosity and to the increase in -amylase
activity.
The hydrolytic effect is specially important for
the cleaning of polyurethane discs washing,
because, once hydrolyzed, the occluded soil
dissolves readily in the washing bath and thus
can be removed more easily.

REFERENCES

Glucopon 2g/L

Soil starch removal (%)

20

50

Soil starch removal (%)

30

Soil starch removal (%)

40

Starch soil removal (%)

80

Polyurethane
discs:
the
surfactants
incremented the starch removal, without
difference between Glucopon 650 and LAS. This
fact could be explained by the better wetting of
the soiled substrate in the presence of
surfactants.
Glass sphere: the surfactants LAS and
Glucopon 650 did not improve the removal of
starch soil on glass spheres. The cleaning of the
substrate can be attributed to the drag forces
exerted over its surfaces.

CONCLUSION
The use of surfactants or enzymes under the appropriate conditions of
concentration and/or temperature became an interesting option for
clean-in-place processes of starchy soils in the food industry,
guaranteeing the cleaning with a reduced risk of contamination.
ACKNOWDGMENTS
This research was supported by the Spanish and Andalusian
Goverments through the Projects CTQ2006-12089 and P07-TEP-02603,
respectively.