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Fibre Washing
Author(s) -
Besso R.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
starch ‐ stärke
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1521-379X
pISSN - 0038-9056
DOI - 10.1002/star.19740261006
Subject(s) - washer , starch , materials science , composite material , moisture , filtration (mathematics) , mechanical engineering , engineering , chemistry , biochemistry , statistics , mathematics
After rasping or milling, the Fibre Washing System must: remove the maximum “free” and “bound” starch, and water; and retain the majority of fibre. A maximum starch yield for minimum investment and operating costs was desirable. Machinery now available used gravity or centrifugal forces; and either, Woven Fibres, Perforated Plate, or Wedge Wire Screens for filtration. Experience has shown that the most successful machines used centrifugal forces in combination with wedge wire, but even they discharged fibre with high moisture and starch contents, and required pumps, tanks, chutes, pipelines, controls, and sometimes heavy foundations. By applied experience and careful design, a new machine called the Screen Washer, was developed and improved on the best features of the existing machines, giving lower moisture and starch contents in the discharged fibre, transporting fibres between stages mechanically, and requiring only one filtrate pump as ancillary equipment for a three‐stage system. Being mechanical in operation it would accept all rates of flow from zero to maximum without supervision, was silent, totally enclosed, direct driven, free from vibration, and fabricated from high grade stainless steel. The Screen Washer could be installed singly or as a packaged three‐stage “cascade” system, no special foundations were necessary. A range of heavy duty stainless steel screens were available with apertures from 50 μ and above. It could be used successfully on cereal and root fibres, maize grits, maize germ, and other liquid/solid separations, giving improved performance against similar systems and with lower capital and running costs.