Sesbania Gum Powder and its Uses

Nowadays a wide range of gum powders are used for a variety of purposes. These gum powders also comprise of the sesbania gum powder. Sesbania gum is mainly extracted from the seeds of sesbania. The sesbania seeds are also known as sesbania aculeate. They grow on the small sesbania tree which is basically a native of China, Asia and Africa. Sesbania is an annual plant that can grow normally up to two meters high. It has tough, fibrous and short stems, long leaves and yellow flowers with purple spots. The sesbania shrub produces pods that have light brown beans.

Sesbania gum powder is easily soluble in hot as well as cold water. It is a polymer that is also categorized as galactomannan polysaccharide. The sesbania gum powder is generally a white or cream colored, loose milky powder. Although it dissolves in water, it is not soluble in alcohol, ketones, ethers and other organic solvents. When sesbania gum powder is mixed in cold water at room temperature, it forms a highly viscous water soluble solution that has a pH value of 6 to 11. The viscosity of this sesbania gum powder is usually 5 to 10 times more compared to the natural gum plant, sodium alginate, starch.

Furthermore, the constituents and specifications of sesbania gum powder are as follows. It has a minimum viscosity of 2000 to 2500 cps. And when the viscometer is used at a temperature of 25 degrees and speed of 20 rpm, it has a maximum viscosity of 3000 to 3500 cps. Further sesbania gum powder has a moisture content  of maximum 12 percent, passing 90 percent, proteins 5 percent, fat 1 percent, A.L.R. 3 percent, Ash 1 percent, pH between 5.5 to 7.0,  carbohydrates minimum 80 percent, arsenic maximum 3 ppm, lead maximum 2 ppm, and heavy metals maximum 20 ppm.

Besides this, it has been found after performing microbiological tests, that the sesbania gum powder contains a total plate count per grams of maximum 5000, yeast and mold per gram of maximum 200, salmonella per 25 grams is not present, and also, E. colli and Colliforn is not available.

Uses of Sesbania Gum Powder

Sesbania gum powder has several domestic, commercial and industrial applications. It is widely utilized as a sizing agent and dye thickener in the textile industry. Besides this sesbania gum powder is also used for making incense. Actually the most important usage of these sesbania seeds is in oil industry.  This is due to the fact that it is highly useful as a blocking agent, water resistance and reduction agent; as well as a tackifier for producing fluid cracking that helps to increase the rate of oil production.

Another major application of sesbania gum powder is as a flocculant in water and for treatment of waste water. Moreover, it is also available at a lower price than guar gum powder and can acquire a viscosity between 1500 cps to 3500 cps. Therefore sesbania gum powder is considered as the best substitute for guar gum powder.

Written by Ajit Patel

This article has been posted by Ajit Patel.