Chinese rice wine vinasse (the fermentation residue after removal of the crude wine or beer) contains
20–30% residual native starch. These starches are partly hydrolyzed by amylase and glucoamylase during
rice wine fermentation, indicating that it is a potential source of porous starch, which is a value-added
material. In the present study, morphological, short-range order, crystalline, and thermal studies were
determined to characterize the structural and chemical properties of vinasse starch. The results showed
that vinasse starch granule had a rough and porous shape and was much more ordered than native starch.
Vinasse starch also could tolerate a higher temperature than native starch. The water and oil adsorptive
capacities of vinasse starch were 1.89 and 4.14 times higher than that of native rice starch. These results
suggest that vinasse is an effective and economical source of porous starch for using as adsorbent.