What is the process of extracting starch from cassava?

Cassava roots have 24-48 hours shelf-life after harvest, so it is vital to complete the entire process in the shortest possible time in the process of extracting starch from cassava. The cassava starch production line in Doing Company smoothly produced top quality starch which takes less than an hour from feeding to dry starch. The automatic sealing system ensures the smooth process of the entire cassava starch production line.

In the process of extracting starch from cassava, the separation of the starch granules from the cassava roots in as pure a form as possible is essential in the manufacture of cassava starch. The granules are locked in cells of cassava roots together with all the other constituents of the protoplasm (proteins, fibers, fats and so on), which can be removed by a purification process in the watery phase. The process of extracting starch from cassava can therefore be divided into the following steps:

Cassava starch extraction machine

Raw material receiving unit: The raw material receiving unit is the first process during the process of extracting starch from cassava. The main purpose of this unit is to transport cassava roots and store them in the raw material storage yard.

Stone removal and cleaning unit: Clean raw materials play an important role in the process of extracting starch from cassava, so the removal of stone and cleaning units is the most important in the pretreatment stage of the raw materials. This unit is to completely remove the sand, mud and other foreign matter in the cassava.

Cassava washing unit: The main purpose of this unit in the process of extracting starch from cassava is to send the potato to the paddle washing machine by screw conveyor to wash away the attached dirt, sand, soil and outer peeler. The cleaned cassava is then stored in a cassava storage hopper.

Cassava washing machine

Cassava cutting and grinding unit: In the process of extracting starch from cassava, it is essential to cut cassava root into piece first, for the processing of the whole root would entail difficulties in grinding unit whereas comparatively little extra starch would be gained. Then the cut cassava is grinded by rapser to release starch granules from cells. The grinding rate determines the starch yield.

Centrifugal extraction unit: Centrifugal extraction is another key unit of the whole process of extracting starch from cassava affecting the rate of cassava starch extraction. The starch centrifugal sieve and fine fiber sieve are used for separating fibers out of starch slurry.

Sand removal unit: The starch slurry coming out of fine fiber sieve is pumped into a desanding cyclone to remove sand content in the process of extracting starch from cassava.

Centrifugal extraction machine

Hydrocyclone refining unit: It is advantageous to let the starch slurry pass a series of hydrocyclone station for concentration and refining, the first two stage concentrate the starch slurry, the others refine and recover cassava starch in the process of extracting starch from cassava. The multi-stage hydrocyclone unit can guarantee the washing and remove the fiber, protein and other impurities contained in the starch milk, so as to ensure that there are no impurities in the starch milk coming out from the cyclone.

Dehydrating unit: The moisture content of the starch milk coming out from the hydrocyclone station is too large to be directly dried in the process of extracting starch from cassava. Therefore, the starch milk should be dehydrated first, so that the moisture content of the starch is about 40%.

Cassava starch drying machine

Airflow drying unit: In the process of extracting starch from cassava, the flash dryer dries the dehydrated starch further to the moisture content required for the commercial starch.

Starch screening unit: In the process of extracting starch from cassava, the starch is conveyed into the vibrate sieve, and the vibrate sieve classifies the dried starch by sieving to remove the gelatinized and coarse particles in the refined starch, so that the fineness of the finished starch can meet the standard.

Weighing and packaging unit: The final starch products are weighted and packed by semi-automatic packing machine for storage in the process of extracting starch from cassava.