Green Oxidation of Starch Using Ozone: A Comparative Study on Rheological Properties

Pea starch, often obtained as a by-product of pea protein isolation, is increasingly available and economically attractive. Consequently, the industry is seeking new applications of pea starch, both in its native and modified forms. This paper highlights the topic of pea and potato starch oxidation with ozone in aqueous suspension and evaluates the effect of process time, retention volume and solids content on pasting, texture, and flow behavior, benchmarking against a commercial hypochlorite-oxidized product. Moreover, obtained preparations were studied for their molecular mass distribution and hydrodynamic parameters. It was found that the oxidation of both potato and pea starch with ozone in an aqueous suspension is an effective method of obtaining this type of starch preparations. The extent of modification was dependent on all variables considered in the research. The depolymerization of both starch varieties progressed gradually, but the oxidation effects were more noticeable for potato starch compared to pea starch, which was found to be related to the gelling characteristic of those preparations.