Which industrial products can be made from cereal crops?

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Cereal crops are primarily cultivated for food and animal feed, but they also serve as essential raw materials for various industrial applications. Beyond their nutritional use, cereals are processed into a wide array of nonfood products:12

  • Adhesives and Binders: Starch is converted into dextrins for use in adhesive pastes. Additionally, wheat gluten is utilized as a core binder in metal casting.34
  • Biofuels: Cereals, particularly corn, are heavily used to produce ethyl alcohol (ethanol) through fermentation, which serves as a biofuel additive for transportation.235
  • Paper and Textiles: The cellulose found in cereal straw is used by the paper industry. Furthermore, processed starches are employed in the manufacture of paper, textiles, and laundering preparations.41
  • Chemical and Industrial Products: Starch is used to produce acetone and various other chemical substances. Cereals also provide flour for industrial alcohol and are used in the production of cosmetics and explosives.341
  • Energy: In some regions, rice chaff is utilized as a fuel source.4