ABSTRACT
Among the industrial polysaccharides, starch and cellulose are homopolysaccharides of glucose, whereas many others are copolysaccharides containing two or more different sugar monomers. Galactomannans are copolysaccharides, and these are composed of mannose and galactose as their sugar monomers. Most of the polysaccharides, which are produced commercially, are generally available in purity, >70%. Under ambient conditions of temperature (25°C –30°C) and humidity (50%–70%), most of the polysaccharides contain 8%–12% equilibrium moisture. Hence, their purity on a moisture-free basis is usually ~90% and for most commercial uses polysaccharides of such purity are satisfactory.1
