Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is widely cultivated in
tropical areas and used as food and animal fodder. In Thailand,
approximately 10 million tons of fresh cassava tubers are consumed
annually as a starch staple. When starch is extracted from cassava
tubers during manufacturing, grated cassava tubers are separated
into starch granules and fibrous residual materials by water
extraction followed by centrifugation. The fibrous residual material,
called cassava pulp, accounts for approximately 10–30% by weight
(wet) of the original tubers. Therefore, the tapioca starch industry
in Thailand is estimated to generate at least one million ton of
cassava pulp annually from 10 million tons of fresh tubers.
According to reports [1] and processing practices in Thailand,
a large amount of starch (up to 60%, on a dry weight basis) together
with cellulosic fiber is contained in the cassava pulp.