WO2014033389A1

WO2014033389A1 - Device for the mechanical extraction of starch and corresponding method

Info

Publication number: WO2014033389A1
Application number: PCT/FR2013/051924
Authority: WO
Inventors: Luc-Henriot ABRIEL
Original assignee: Abriel Luc-Henriot
Priority date: 2012-08-29
Filing date: 2013-08-12
Publication date: 2014-03-06
Also published as: FR2994797B1; FR2994797A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for the mechanical extraction of starch from plant raw materials, said device comprising: at least one chamber (2) having a bottom (3) and side walls (4); an inlet (5) for supplying raw materials (6) in the form of a pulp; at least one first (7) and one second endless screw (9) used for transport purposes and respectively installed in a first (8) and second tube (10), said first and second tubes being fixed in the chamber (2); at least one outlet for the converted raw materials; and a sieve (12) for sieving the pulp. According to the invention, the inlet (5) and a first outlet (18) for the converted raw materials (6) each communicate with an end (15, 15') of said first tube (8), and the first endless screw (7) has an outer diameter substantially equal to that of the first tube (8) and is used to scrape the raw material on the sieve (12).

Description

MECHANICAL STARCH EXTRACTION DEVICE AND METHOD

CORRESPONDING

The invention relates to a starch extraction device. It also relates to the sponding process.

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the agricultural and agro-food field, in particular mechanical extraction devices for substances derived from vegetable raw materials. It is aimed in particular devices for the extraction of starch, wet, and its extraction process.

2. Prior Art

It is known in the prior art various traditional and industrial techniques to extract starch from plant raw materials such as for example, potatoes, cassava, corn, etc.

To extract the starch, there are known for example devices comprising a tank in which are fixed several endless screws each installed in a tube for conveying the raw material. The device also includes an inlet for supplying raw materials in the form of pulp, at least one output of the transformed raw materials, and a screen for sieving the pulp.

However, the problem posed by this type of device is that it is not suitable for vegetable raw materials with a high density and many fibers. The arrangement of the screws in the tank is also either complex or is not suitable for this type of raw material.

On the other hand, this device does not extract continuously. 3. Objective of the invention

The invention particularly aims to overcome all or part of the disadvantages of the prior art.

More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a mechanical starch extraction device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device and a method that operates continuously.

Another object of the invention is to propose a solution that is fast, simple, universal and inexpensive.

4. Summary of the invention

These objectives are achieved by means of a device for the mechanical extraction of starch derived from vegetable raw materials, said device comprising:

at least one tank provided with a bottom and side walls; - an entrance for the supply of raw materials in the form of pulp;

- At least a first and a second worm having a conveying function installed respectively in a first and second tube, the latter being fixed in the tank;

at least one output of the transformed raw materials; and,

- a sieve for sieving the pulp.

The invention is remarkable in that the input and a first output (of the at least one output) of the transformed raw materials each communicate with one end of said first tube, and in that the first worm has an outer diameter substantially equal to that of the first tube and has a scraping function raw material on the sieve.

Thus, we obtain a simple and inexpensive solution that allows an optimized mechanical extraction of the starch from the highly fibrous plant material and high density without altering the starch.

According to an important characteristic, the first tube is mounted above at least the second worm installed in the second tube, which is disposed at the bottom of the tank.

This configuration allows to create a gravity effect to promote the passage of starch granules from one worm to the other.

Advantageously, the first tube is formed substantially diagonally in the tank to increase the effect of gravity between the two worm.

According to another important feature, the first tube has a lower face on which is fixed the sieve which is arranged so that starch granules from sieving of the pulp fall by gravity onto the second tube.

According to another important characteristic, the second tube has an upper face comprising openings.

This configuration facilitates the passage of starch granules to the second worm. According to an advantageous characteristic, the second tube is disposed on at least one support fixed in the tank.

More specifically, said support has a V-shaped section arranged so that the starch granules are directed towards the upper face of the second tube. The starch granules accumulating on the upper face provided with openings are thus all transferred to the second worm which in turn conveys them outside the tank.

It is expected that the second worm has an outer diameter substantially equal to that of the second tube so that the starch granules falling to the bottom of the tube are driven by the thread of the worm for a conveyance.

According to another important characteristic, the tank is filled with water to obtain a wet extraction which dissolves certain compounds of the pulp and promote the extraction of starch.

According to another embodiment, the extraction device may comprise a second outlet (of the at least one outlet) of the transformed raw materials communicating with one end of the second tube, which allows the collection of the starch granules or its transfer to another processing device.

According to yet another embodiment, the device may comprise at least a third worm installed in a third tube which communicates with the input. In this way the floating pulp in the water is easily conveyed to the first worm.

According to still further embodiments of the embodiments above, water injection means may be arranged on an upper face that has the first tube. These injection means may also be arranged on the net or in a space formed by a double wall of the net of the first or second worm. Preferably, the device is made of stainless steel material for better food compatibility.

The invention also relates to a method of extracting starch by means of a starch extraction device comprising the above-mentioned characteristics. This method is remarkable in that it comprises the following steps:

- filling the tank with water;

supply of the raw material device comprising starch and in the form of pulp via the inlet;

first conveyance in which the raw material is conveyed by the first worm along the first tube;

sieving during the first conveying of said pulp by the friction of the first worm on the sieve to obtain starch granules which fall by gravity to the bottom of the tank;

a second conveyance in which the starch granules are conveyed and extracted from the tank.

According to another implementation of the method, it comprises a step in which a third conveyance is provided for conveying and conveying the starch granules to a possible other treatment device. 5. List of figures

Other characteristics and innovative advantages will emerge from the following description, provided for information only and in no way limitative, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mechanical starch extraction device according to the invention;

- Figure 2 is a sectional view along the axis A-A shown in Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is another sectional view along the axis B-B shown in Figure 1;

- Figure 4 is a detail and front view of the first worm in the first tube;

FIG. 5 represents another embodiment according to the invention;

FIGS. 6 and 7 schematically represent variants of the embodiment of FIG.

6. Detailed description

FIG. 1 illustrates a device 1 for the mechanical extraction of starch according to the invention. The starch extracted from the device is derived from vegetable materials of plants and in particular tubers and rhizomes such as, for example, cassava, Jerusalem artichoke, potato, canna, etc.

The invention is particularly intended for the extraction of starch from canna indica or edulis (conflore or balisier) whose rhizome is rich in starch but difficult to extract because of the density of fibers, tannin (responsible for pigmentation), and the shape of the rhizome (joint, ring, bulge, etc.). The device 1 for mechanical extraction comprises:

- At least one tank 2 provided with a bottom 3 and 4 side walls;

an inlet 5 for supplying the raw materials 6 in the form of pulp (which contains the starch);

- At least a first 7 and a second endless screw 9 having a conveying function installed respectively in a first 8 and second tube 10, the latter being fixed in the tank 2;

at least one output 11 of the transformed raw materials; and,

a sieve 12 for sieving the pulp.

In the present description, the term "tube" is intended to mean a duct of substantially cylindrical closed shape or a duct of substantially open cylindrical shape (trough).

The tank 2 has a quadrangular section or other. It is provided with an opening 13 to ensure access to the various elements installed in the tank 1. A lid (not shown) is provided to close the opening 13 and prevent foreign bodies from entering the interior of the tank 2. The tank 2 has a length of about 10 m, a width of about 5 m, and a height of about 2 m. Of course, the tank 2 may have other dimensions for producing smaller or larger devices 1 for mechanical extraction.

According to an important characteristic of the invention, the tank 2 is filled with water. The first 7 and the second 9 screws are submerged in water. Mechanical extraction of starch is therefore obtained by wet process. During the extraction, the raw material mixes harmoniously in the water which favors the dissolution and the separation of certain number of constituents of the pulp. It is understood that the water allows the decantation and the washing of the pulp. The tank 2 due to its size can contain a volume of water of the order of 150 m ³ .

The first tube 8 consists of a wall 14 provided with two ends 15, 15 '. The second tube 10 also comprises a wall 16 provided with two ends 17, 17 '.

The first 7 and second 9 worm each have a thread 22.

The raw material supply inlet 6 communicates with the end 15 and a first outlet 18 of the transformed raw materials 6 communicates with the end 15 'of the first tube 8. The inlet 5 is coupled to a third tube 19 opening on the end 15 of the first tube 8. A third worm 30 is mounted in the third tube 19 to promote the supply of the pulp to the first screw 7.

The first outlet 18 is intended to recover the separated fibers of the starch which once dried can be used to supplement the food of the animals.

More specifically (see Figure 4), the first screw 7 worm installed in the first tube 8 has an external diameter d _e substantially equal to the diameter of the first tube 8. It is understood that this arrangement allows a better scraping the net 22 of the screw 7 on the wall 14 of the first tube 8. The first screw 7 may have a length about 10 m, an outer diameter d _e of about 20 cm. The first tube 8 comprises dimensions substantially similar to those of the first screw 7.

It also provides that the second screw 9 worm has an external diameter d _e 'substantially equal to the diameter of the second tube 10. The dimensions of the second tube 10 and the second screw 9 may be substantially equal to those of the first screw 7 and the second tube 8, as described above.

As can be seen in Figure 2 which shows a sectional view along an axis AA (it is specified that the axis AA passes through a longitudinal vertical plane, following the length of the first tube for example), the first tube 8 is mounted above at least the second screw 9 endless installed in the second tube 10. The latter is disposed at the bottom 3 of the tank 2. It is clear from the reading of Figure 2, the first tube 8 is aligned with the second tube 9. It is also understood that the term "above" also means "to cap" (the length of the first tube 8 is aligned with the length of the second tube 10). Advantageously, the first tube 8 is formed substantially diagonally in the tank 2, and always above the second tube 10.

Preferably, the first tube placed diagonally is in a direction substantially directed upwards. In this case, the end 15 approaches the bottom 3 of the tank 2 and the first outlet 18 rests for example on an edge 20, in the upper part, of a side wall 4 of the tank 2.

More precisely still, the first tube 8 presents a lower face 21 on which is fixed the screen 12 arranged so that starch granules from sieving of the pulp fall by gravity on the second tube 9. The lower face of the first tube 8 can be cut to receive the sieve 12 This has a length of between 7 and 10 m, and a width between 5 and 15 cm, the length depending on that of the first tube 8.

The screen 12 consists of meshes 23 or orifice may have a diameter of between 100 i and 250 i. Due to the external diameter d _e of the first screw 7 endless and the diameter of the first tube 8 substantially equal, the thread 22 of the first screw 7 allows the conveying at the same time as a scraping or rubbing of the raw material 6 such a press, along the sieve 12 to drive a maximum of starch through the meshes 23 thereof. The starch is evacuated along the sieve to rest along the second tube. There remains of this operation the fiber discharged to the first outlet 18 and starch granules falling into the water.

The second tube 10 has an upper face 24 comprising openings 25. The latter allow the starch granules to pass through the wall 16 of the second tube 10 to the second screw 9 endless installed therein. The openings 25 may be made by drilling the wall 16 or be provided on a metal sheet (not shown) which will be placed on the upper face 24 of the second tube 10.

In Figure 3 which shows a sectional view along the axis BB (it is specified that the axis BB passes through a plane vertical along the width of the tank, the axis BB being perpendicular to the axis AA), it can be seen that the second tube 10 is disposed on at least one support 26 fixed in the tank 2. More specifically, the one or more supports 26 has a V-shaped section arranged so that the starch granules are directed to the upper face 24 of the second tube. In this way, all the accumulated granules are conveyed outside the tank 2. This also makes it possible, when cleaning the tank, to better evacuate the water. The one or more supports 26 may be square-shaped panels 27 which are secured adjacent to the bottom 3 of the vessel by any means of attachment. A plate 28 rests on the panels 27 to create the inclination of the tank 2. Other tilting means are of course conceivable.

A second outlet 29 of the raw materials 6 converted, in this case, the starch in the form of granules, communicates with the end 17 'of the second tube 10. The other end 17 of the second tube 10 is contiguous to a wall 4 2. The second outlet 29 is outside the tank 2 to allow the collection of starch granules. In particular, the second tube 10 and the second screw 9 endless extend outside the tank 2. This installation allows to transfer the starch granules of the tank 2 to a possible other unit or treatment device that will allow for example, the drying and / or the conditioning of the starch.

In another embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the device 1 differs from the previous mode of embodiment in that it has a first tube 8 and a first screw 7 endless arranged horizontally in the tank 2. These are always arranged above the second tube 10. The latter is open at the top (to the inside of the tank 2) over its entire length and includes the second screw 9 endless, such as a "auger" screw. The thread 22 of the second screw 9 communicates with the outside of the tube 10 and the tank 2. The starch granules falling by gravity are thus deposited directly inside the tube 10. The "auger screw" and the horizontal arrangement of the first screw may be provided independently on the first embodiment.

In another variant of the second embodiment in which the first tube 8 is arranged horizontally in the tank 2, and above the second tube 10, (illustrated in FIG. 6), the first tube 8 is not completely immersed in the water contained in the tank 2. The first tube 8 has an upper face 31 comprising one or more openings 32. One or 33 water injection means are disposed on the upper face 31 of the tube 8 of so as to inject water through the opening or openings 32. The water passing through the tube 8 and the first screw 7 endless promotes the grinding and transfer of raw materials to the water contained in the tank 2. The water passing through the tube 8 also serves to clean the thread 22 of the first endless screw 7 and the inside of the tube 8.

According to yet another variant, the water injection means 33 can be mounted inside the first tube 8. More specifically, the water injection means are provided on the net 22 or inside the net 22. In the case where the injection means are provided inside the net 22, it consists of a double wall 34 leaving a gap between the walls of the net 22. The water injection means 33 are then mounted in the space 35 between the walls constituting the net 22. The walls 34 also have openings 37 to allow the flow of liquid (water) coming from a water inlet 36 circulating in the tube.

All or part of the parts constituting the device 1 is made of stainless steel material, stainless steel, having a very good food compatibility.

The device 1 also comprises a water filtration system (not shown) in a closed circuit which makes it possible to filter the water charged with starch and reinject it clean into the device 1.

The first 7, second 9 and / or third 30 worm are motorized each or a motor (not shown) allows their drive in rotation. However, the screws can operate manually.

The invention also relates to a process for extracting starch by means of a starch extraction device as described above. The method comprises the following steps:

- filling the tank with water;

supply of the device 1 of raw materials 6 comprising starch and in the form of pulp via the inlet 5;

- a first convoy in which the raw material 6 is conveyed by the first endless screw 7 along the first tube 8;

a sieving step during the first conveying of said pulp by the friction of the first screw 7 endless on the sieve 12 to obtain starch granules, which fall by gravity to the bottom of the tank 2;

a second conveyance in which the starch granules are conveyed and extracted from the tank 2.

According to another implementation of said method, provision is made for another step consisting of a supply convection of the raw material by the third endless screw in the third tube 19 communicating with the inlet 5.

A third conveyance is also provided for conveying and conveying the starch granules to a possible other treatment device.

With this method and this device 1, a continuous extraction and a pure starch at about 98% are obtained.

A device of this kind can be used for extraction or separation of ore or rock or sand. The mesh size of the sieve for rocks, sands or ore may be between 100 μm and 2 cm.

Similarly, it is clear that in an industrialization process that the device comprises a plurality of worms disposed above a plurality of worm in the vessel according to the same arrangement of the various embodiments presented.

Claims

1. Device (1) for the mechanical extraction of starch from vegetable raw materials, said device comprising:

- At least one tank (2) provided with a bottom (3) and side walls (4);

- an inlet (5) for supplying raw materials (6) in the form of pulp;

- At least a first (7) and a second endless screw (9) having a conveying function respectively installed in a first (8) and second tube (10), the latter being fixed in the tank (2);

at least one output (11) of the transformed raw materials (6); and,

a sieve (12) for sieving the pulp,

characterized in that the inlet (5) and a first outlet (18) of the transformed raw materials (6) each communicate with one end (15, 15 ') of said first tube (8), and in that the first screw ( 7) endless has an outer diameter (d _e ) substantially equal to that of the first tube (8) and has a scraping function of the raw material on the sieve (12).

2. Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first tube (8) is mounted above at least the second endless screw (9) installed in the second tube (10) which is disposed at bottom (3) of the tank (2).

3. Device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the first tube (8) is formed substantially diagonally in the tank (2).

4. Device (1) according to one of claims 2 and

3, characterized in that the first tube (8) has a lower face (21) on which is fixed the screen (12).

5. Device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the second tube (10) has an upper face (24) comprising openings (25).

6. Device (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the second tube (10) is disposed on at least one support (26) fixed in the tank (2).

7. Device (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that said support (26) has a V-shaped section arranged for the starch granules are directed towards the upper face (24) of the second tube (10) .

8. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the second screw (9) without end has an external diameter (d _e) substantially equal to that of the second tube (10).

9. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the tank (2) is filled with water.

10. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a second outlet (29) of the raw materials (6) transformed communicates with one end (17, 17 ') of the second tube (10) .

11. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises at least a third endless screw (30) installed in a third tube (19) which communicates with the inlet (5) .

12. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that water injection means (33) are arranged on an upper face (31) that has the first tube (8).

13. Device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the thread (22) of the first (7) or second (9) worm has a double wall (34) between which is formed a space (35), injection means (33) of water are provided between said space (35).

Process for producing starch by means of a starch extraction device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising the following steps:

- filling the tank with water;

- Supply of the device (1) of raw materials (6) comprising starch and in the form of pulp via the inlet (5); first conveying in which the raw material (6) is conveyed by the first endless screw (7) along the first tube (8);

a sieving step during the first conveying of said pulp by the friction of the first endless screw (7) on the screen (12) to obtain starch granules which fall by gravity to the bottom of the tank (2);

a second conveyance in which the starch granules are conveyed and extracted from the tank (2).

15. The method of claim 14, characterized in that a third conveyance is provided to convey and route the starch granules to a possible other treatment device.