In my last article, I had talked about Rice and how it has been found to have many uses. Today’s article is about Corn. One of the most  versatile foods around.  Corn has been an important crop for thousands of years. Particularly known for being a food source, either in it’s actual form or even as in corn syrup and is used extensively for various processed foods. Intriguingly I discovered other non-food products of corn and wanted to share this interesting information with my readers.

Historically, the origins of corn was found in Mexico, and it was traded extensively and became a very important crop. Corn by- products back then were already  used as household necessities such as bags and bed mats.

Corn and corn byproducts are used in other products such as Aspirin, envelopes, toothpaste, starched clothing, stamps, green products using corn technology as a biodegradable component of such items as ethanol windshield washer fluid,  and ethanol fuel, disposal cups, containers and packaging peanuts.

Corn and it’s many uses:

Corn as Cleaner fuel

Corn is now being used for the production of ethanol.Ethanol or ethanol fuel is the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. Corn ethanol is an ethanol made from corn  through industrial fermentation, chemical processing, and distillation.The rise of the ethanol demand stems from high oil prices due to an increased use in countries such as China. Ethanol burns cleaner than oil and is a renewable energy.

Ever heard of Corn Plastic?

Apparently corn plastic has been around for 20 years. Corn becomes PLA , or polylactic acid and is like plastic or resin pellets which can be formed into containers and packaging for food. These packaging is biodegrable and decomposes into carbon  dioxide and water in 90 days. I would want my food packaged in one of these containers as they are better than the traditional petroleum based containers , as they don’t leach toxic elements into the food.  The manufacturing process is also greener as it saves on oil which in turn generates far less air pollution

Corn Walls

Corn starch as I know is a food thickner and apparently is also used in walls, gypsum drywalls to be precise. The corn starch is used in  Chelation, where it helps prevent the formation of unwanted molds on the finished board.

Corny Tires

Corn has many uses and one of it’s uses is in the manufacturing of tires. The process of making a rubber tire is by extrusion, The rubber is pumped into a mold, and powder cornstarch is used so that the rubber does not stick to the metal mold.

Corn plugs

Spark plugs are made from metal and ceramic. It’s in the ceramics which is a molded crystalline product which is made of cornstarch:  it  has a very resistance to high temperatures and acts as an insulator making it a very useful in car engines.

Concluding, Corn is not only a food source but has also found it’s many uses in different types of products. Do look out for my next article which will also cover a basic agricultural product and have uses as non-food products that we might be using everyday.