Extraction, Characterization, and Evaluation of Proso Millet Starch in Textile Printing

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) is an economically important crop in the United States for low-end uses such as birdseed and livestock feed. The current study is directed at using starch extracted from proso millet for higher value-added applications, such as a thickener in textile printing. The paper describes a method of extracting starch from proso millet followed by physiochemical characterization of the extracted starch using standard methods. Characterized starch was incorporated as a thickener in a vat dye print formulation and printed on a 100% cotton fabric. Results showed starch from proso millet possessed desirable thickener properties such as excellent paste clarity, viscosity, solubility, shear stability, and crystallinity. Proso starch printed fabric demonstrated good color value, flexibility, crockfastness, and washfastness.