Commercial production of wheat gluten fibre successful
31 Jan '07
1 min read
A report released by Nebraska's scientists highlights the successful production of good quality fibres from wheat gluten, an important protein present in wheat. These fibres have mechanical properties akin to wool.
Recent attempts to produce commercial quantities of fibre from peanut, corn and milk are mentioned in this report. But these attempts failed to produce 100 percent protein fibres owing to heavy cost and low fibre quality.
According to scientists, wheat gluten fibres could prove to be advantageous on the cost factor compared to existing commercial protein fibres – wool and silk.
Wheat gluten costs less than 50 cents per pound, as against $5-$8 per pound for wool and $10-$14 per pound for silk. This fibre is abundantly available across the globe.