The potato starch production process include :Raw material receiving unit, Water transport unit, De-stone and washing unit,  Crushing unit, De-sanding unit,  Centrifugal extracting unit, Concentration and refining unit, Vacuum dewatering unit, Air drying unit,  Sieving and packing unit.

Potato starch production process

(1) Raw material receiving unit:

The potato is carried besides the storage pool after weighing. Firstly, it goes through the vibration sieve for removing the stones and sand in the potato starch production process. Then the pre-cleaned potato falls on the belt conveyer and enters into the storage pool, and the rubbish will be carried away by truck.

(2) Water transport unit:

The exit of the storage pool is water transportation channel. The potato will be sent by water force into de-stone machine. Meanwhile, the remaining sand and dirt will be again cleaned out by rolling and friction in the potato starch production process.

(3) De-stone and washing unit:

Potato is transferred into the screw destone machine to be cleaned by water flow. The small sand and stone go through the rotary screen then meet with bigger size stone which was stopped and sent back to the entrance of de-stone machine. Most of sand and stone are removed out of de-stone machine in the potato starch production process. The potato then goes into rotary cleaning machine for further removing of dirt and broken chips. Cleaned potato falls on a checking conveying belt equipped with nozzles for washing the surface of potato. Workers can manually take out the rotten potatos, wooden and plastic items. At the end of belt, the iron remover is installed for removing metal impurities.Then the potato is sent by bulk elevator into temporary storage.

Potato crushing machine

(4) Crushing unit:

The crushing unit is the most important step in the potato starch production process. The feeding screw transport the clean potato into crushing machine. Highly-efficient crushing machine will release the starch in potato at most.

(5) De-sanding unit:

After crushing, the starch milk is transferred to de-sanding machine. In this potato starch production process, the desander divides the milk into two parts: the light part which contains the mixture of starch and residue will go out from top of the cyclone, and the heavy part which contains the sand will be discharged out of the system.

(6) Centrifugal extracting unit:

The mixture is transferred to the 3 stage centrifugal sieves, each sieve works with a fiber pump and a defoam pump. The mixture enters into each sieve to separate residue and starch in the potato starch production process. After 3 stages continuous washing and separation, the filtrate is sent to concentration and refining unit, and the residue is sent to the residue dewatering unit.

Potato starch refining machine

(7) Concentration and refining unit : 

The starch milk from centrifugal sieve goes into the 16 stages of refining hydro-cyclone, and fresh water comes into the cyclone from the end of system. Firstly, starch milk is pumped into 3 stages of concentration unit to remove the water, then the condensed starch milk enter the next 13 stages of washing unit, and the overflow enters into another 2 stages of recycle unit to recycle starch. Most of the effluent with fiber is discharged out of the process, and a little part goes back to the process water system. Finally, the condensed starch slurry is pumped into the starch slurry storage tank in the potato starch production process.

(8) Vacuum dewatering unit:

The starch slurry is pumped into inlet tank of vacuum filter machine in the potato starch production process. Then the vacuum rotary drum will adsorb the starch on the drum surface and the filtrate is transferred out of the system by filtrate pump. The filter cake on the drum will be peeled off by peeler and then transferred to the air flow dryer.

(9) Air drying unit: After dewatering for potato starch production process, the air dryer will dry the starch to the required moisture of the commercial starch. 

Potato starch drying machine

(10) Sieving and packing unit: The starch is going into the dry starch sieve and the sieve is used to separate the coarse and fine starch particle in the potato starch production process. Then the fine starch goes into automatic packing machine or into the temporary storage tank wait for packing.