Gum Arabic - Raw Material Details | RMRDC Digital Library

Overview

Gum Arabic is the dried exudate obtained from the stems and branches of Acacia senegal (L.) Willdenow or closely related species (FAO, 1990;Anon., 2004).

There are over 1,100 Acacia species worldwide. However, Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal are the most commercially exploited species. Nigeria has large wild resource of gum yielding Combretum which is currently under exploited. There are three grades of Gum Arabic in Nigeria, Acacia senegal (Grade I), Acacia seyal (Grade 2) and Combretum (Grade 3).. In Nigeria, production of gum arabic covers

about 250,000 sq km in the entire sahelian region spreading across twelve states namely Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Zamfara and Taraba

Gum Arabic generally grows in the wild and efforts are currently being made to cultivate it in the growing states of Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria has produced 22 million assorted seedlings for the take-off of a 15-year shelter belt and sand-dune stabilization programme during which 22 million seedlings will be produced annually. The Raw Materials Research and Development Council in recognition of the importance of Gum Arabic as a raw materials with wide industrial applications, embarked in 1992 on a systematic collection and cultivation of Acacia senegal through its agro-raw material boosting programme. The Council collaborated with the University of Maiduguri and Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto as centres for plantation development. The underlying objectives of RMRDC collaboration with the two universities include the following:

provision of foundation materials;
seed multiplication/propagation and
plantation development.

Under the programme for Acacia senegal plantations, the RMRDC selected one each from 10 and 12 farming groups from Maiduguri and Sokoto respectively that indicated interest in Gum Arabic plantation.

The Jigawa State in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),

American Soft Drinks Association and Importer Services Corporation (ICS) planned to expand Gum Arabic plantation in the state to 500,000 hectares a year and a perspective plan of six million hectares in 10 years. Furthermore, the Yobe State government committed about 285,000 US dollars to procure 10 million gum Arabic seedlings for planting. It is hoped that about 1,700 hectares of Gum Arabic will be

established in all the local government areas of the state.

Uses & Applications

Confectionery
flavours,
pharmaceuticals,
bakery,
beverages,
ink
Fodder
soil stabilization .
fabric sizing and stiffening in textile industries ,
as a binder for textile printing,
water proofing in laundry
stabilizer in polymeric emulsion and polymerization in plastic industry
manufacture of paints,
adhesives,
carbon paper,
pottery glazes,
matches,
fireworks

Processing

There are two main processes involved in Gum Arabic value addition depending on the nature of final products.

Process I (Precipitation technique)

The processing involves feeding the large lumps or whole gum into a hammer mill, and after milling, the gum is screened to produce smaller granules of more uniform size.

These pieces can easily dissolve in water and are more preferred by end -users. It can further be dispersed in water, clarified, precipitated, separated, dried and milled into powder. The process involves:

Cleaning of whole gum
Crushing
Screening
Dispersion in water
Clarification
Precipitation
Separation
Drying
Milling
Packaging

Production of Powdered Gum Arabic (Precipitation Technique)

Process II (Spray-drying technique)

Powdered as well as granulated Gum Arabic can be produced using spray-drying technology. The process entails dissolving the pieces of gum in water, followed by filtration and/ or centrifugation to remove impurities. The process involves:

Cleaning of whole gum
Crushing
Screening
Dissolving in water
Filtration
Centrifugation
Pasteurization
Milling Spray Drying Granulating
Packaging

Production of Powdered Gum Arabic (Spray drying method)

The solution is pasteurised to remove microbial contaminants and then spray-dried using a stream of hot air to enhance water evaporation. The process flow diagram is presented in figure 4.2. By altering atomising conditions, the powder ca n be produced with varying particle sizes and bulk densities according to end-user’s requirements. The processing of Gum Arabic requires considerable amount of energy which adds to production cost. The local climatic conditions with high ambient temperature make it difficult in handling large volumes of aqueous solutions of gum. Also, there are immense possibilities for unacceptable increases in the microbialload of Gum Arabic solutions.

Investment Opportunities

Globally, the majority of Gum Arabic found in international markets originates from the gum belt of sub-saharan Africa, with Sudan accounting for about 80% of the world production and 60% of the

market. Nigeria is the third largest producer of gum arabic after Sudan and Chad. Industrial sectors that utilise processed Gum Arabic powder in Nigeria include:

Food and Beverage, especially confectionery flavours and pastry industries.
Pharmaceutical industries.
Textiles industries.
Paint industries.
Printing ink manufacture.
Chemical and glue industries.
Paper mills.

These industries currently rely on importation of refined Gum Arabic and other gums to meet their requirements. The only existing local processing industry is DANSA FOODS in Kano.However, its production capacity cannot meet the requirements of these industries. The first grade Gum Arabic find uses in confectionery and pharmaceutical industries while second grade find uses in other industrial applications. Generally, the major market for Nigerian Gum Arabic is the export market.

There is therefore vast opportunities for gum Arabic processing for both local consumption and export

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