In ethanol production, starch cooking is a critical step that directly impacts conversion efficiency, energy use, and overall plant stability. Conventional jet cookers use a sliding internal geometry that can lead to localized internal wear, unstable pressure drop, and inconsistent mixing—leading to process upsets, reduced yields, and increased maintenance.
The ProSonix C-Series Jet Cooker addresses these challenges through a coaxial direct steam injection design that improves mixing, reduces wear, and delivers more stable, controllable heating performance.
Problems addressed
- Premature internal parts wear – The Prosonix jet design eliminates localized wear hot spots by rotating the condensing tube during operation. Combined with advanced wear coatings, this results in parts wear life of 1.5- 2 times compared to typical jet designs.
- Substandard ethanol or corn oil yields – More uniform cooking and controlled shear provides a higher degree of starch cookout, improving starch chemistry and liberating corn oil for improved extraction.
- Too frequent process upsets – Sliding, less precise, tube adjustment mechanisms can plug or stick, making it difficult to maintain stable pressure drops. The Prosonix tube drive provides repeatable, reliable, more precise pressure drop/shear control, improving stability during flowrate changes and reducing process upsets.
- Too high operating costs – To maintain performance, conventional systems are often forced to operate at higher slurry pressure drops, increasing steam and electrical demand while limiting enzyme efficiency. The ProSonix coaxial alignment and adjustable geometry allow effective operation at slurry pressure drops of only 15-30 psid (1-2 Bar), even at higher solids levels. This reduces steam and energy consumption while supporting higher downstream enzyme activity.
PSX CSeries Jet Cooker with OptiShear™ Auto Drive
For plants that have variable process rates, or want to minimize manual adjustments by an operator, we offer our Optishear tube adjustment. The Optishear drive system improves on existing equipment:
- All electric drive components eliminate the need for costly air.
- A worm gear drive provides precise, repeatable adjustment – unlike linear sliding components prone to plugging and sticking
- Uses plant computer control instead of requiring use of proprietary 3rd party, hard to maintain, system.
LongTerm Reliability and Support
Long-term performance in jet cooking systems depends not only on design, but on the ability to maintain that performance over time. The ProSonix C-Series uses a rotating condensing tube to distribute wear evenly, helping maintain consistent geometry and reducing the frequency of rebuilds compared to fixed-component designs.
Just as important, ProSonix supports that performance with a long-term approach to service. Our Rebuild and Refurbishment Program restores equipment to near-original condition, while readily available parts and responsive technical support help plants avoid extended downtime and maintain consistent operation over the life of the system.
A Practical, Proven Solution
The ProSonix C-Series Jet Cooker combines reliable design, precise control, and consistent performance to address common starch cooking challenges. With even wear distribution, reduced fouling, and responsive control, it helps ethanol producers maintain stable operation, improve conversion efficiency, and reduce downtime.
From ethanol and corn oil production to corn wet milling, fructose processing, and other wet-end starch cooking applications, the C-Series delivers a dependable, low-maintenance solution that keeps processes running smoothly and predictably over the long term.