Jet Cooker for Starch Processing
A starch jet cooker is designed for heating high-solids slurries derived from starches such as potato, wheat, tapioca, rice, and corn. It is widely used in starch wet milling, grain ethanol production, and other industrial starch processing applications.
The ProSonix C-Series starch jet cooker delivers rapid heating with precise temperature control, improving process efficiency and supporting higher corn oil yield as part of ethanol production workflows. Steam is continuously injected into the flowing starch slurry through a coaxial injector and condensing tube, creating thorough mixing for a more complete cookout. Compared with traditional heat exchangers, steam spargers, and steam eductors, this direct steam injection approach helps reduce steam hammer, improve temperature control, and deliver a more consistent end product.
Because the starch slurry and steam flow continuously, there are no heating surfaces to plug or foul, helping maintain reliable performance. This supports rapid starch hydrolyzation and more complete cookout of the starch. Cook temperatures can be precisely maintained, allowing the process to be fine-tuned to the needs of the final starch product. Typical cook temperatures range from 160°F to 300°F (71°C to 149°C), and starch can be cooked at dry solids levels up to 40%, helping reduce water use and energy consumption.
C-Series Features
PSX Jet Cooker Technology
- Coaxial jet cooker design for optimized starch slurry heating and complete cookout
- Unique PSX advanced drive system for a concentric slurry gap, maintaining a uniform cook
- Adjustable starch slurry gap for variable pressure drop control
- High gear drive turndown for repeatable performance
- Precise temperature control of ±1°F
- Integral actuator eliminates steam control valve requirements
- Rotatable steam inlet simplifies piping and installation
- Wear-resistant coatings available for abrasive starch slurries
- Suitable for a wide variety of starches, including corn, rice, and tapioca
PSX C-Series Jet Cooker with OptiShear Auto Drive
The OptiShear Auto Drive adds automatic slurry gap control to the C-Series Jet Cooker, allowing the gap to be adjusted remotely through the customer’s control system. By positioning the condensing tube relative to the steam nozzle, the system changes the slurry gap and corresponding pressure drop to help optimize steam exposure, reduce uncooked starch, and improve consistency.
The adjustable condensing tube also helps maintain uniform radial flow through the jet cooker, while the threaded drive system provides precise movement and helps distribute wear more evenly across internal components. Because the OptiShear can be integrated into existing plant controls, it gives processors a practical way to automate slurry gap adjustment without proprietary software or separate control hardware.
OptiShear Features
- Automatic slurry gap control through the customer’s control system
- Adjustable condensing tube for variable pressure drop
- Remote positioning of the slurry gap
- High gear drive turndown for reliable performance
- AC motor drive
- Forward and reverse control with optional position feedback
- No proprietary software or controls required
- Easy integration into existing plant control systems
Industrial Design Drive Assembly for Reliable Starch Slurry Gap Adjustment
Radial Slurry Flow
In the OptiShear design, the condensing tube and steam nozzle are truly coaxial, ensuring the starch slurry gap remains uniform throughout the full 360° flow path. The tube rests on multiple bearing surfaces, so there is no movement relative to the injector except when the gap is adjusted.
Advanced Drive System
The tube is moved through a threaded engagement. As the tube rotates, an external thread moves it toward or away from the injector. This changes the tube’s position inside the heater, which helps redistribute wear across the internal components and extend operating life.
Jet Cooker Available for Pilot Lab Applications
ProSonix offers a lab scale jet cooker that allows for small scale operation that mimics the performance of the production scale jet cookers. The lab cooker runs a jet cooker in lab scale conditions with very low flow rates. Our pilot cooker is unique in that is designed for the low flow rates.
Internal Steam Modulation
The ProSonix OptiShear Jet Cooker uses internal steam modulation to precisely meter steam at the point where steam and liquid first contact. An integral pneumatic actuator and variable‑position steam plug help deliver accurate, repeatable heating performance for starch cooking, wet‑mill processing, ethanol production, and fructose production.
The system controls steam mass flow through the inlet, enabling stable temperature control and predictable results across a range of starch‑based processes. A variable‑area steam diffuser manages steam distribution as the process stream enters the heater, improving consistency and process control.
Applications
- Corn wet milling
- Fructose production
- Ethanol production
- Wet‑end starch cooking
- Corn oil production
