Overview of the production process of glucose monohydrate by vacuum drum filter

Working principle of vacuum drum filter

The vacuum drum filter is a continuously operated filtering equipment, which is mainly composed of a drum, a distribution head, a filter cloth, a vacuum system and other parts. Its working principle is based on vacuum suction to achieve solid-liquid separation.

The surface of the drum is covered with filter cloth and partially immersed in the tank containing the suspension. When the drum rotates, under the action of the vacuum system, a negative pressure is formed inside the drum. Due to the pressure difference, the liquid in the suspension is sucked into the drum through the filter cloth, while the solid particles are trapped on the surface of the filter cloth, thereby achieving solid-liquid separation.

As the drum continues to rotate, the filter cake adsorbed on the surface of the filter cloth passes through the suction, washing, and re-sucking areas in turn. In the suction area, the water in the filter cake is further removed by continuous vacuum suction; in the washing area, the washing liquid is sprayed on the filter cake by a spray device to wash away the impurities in the filter cake; after passing through the suction area again, the water content of the filter cake is further reduced. Finally, the filter cake is scraped off the surface of the filter cloth by a scraper to complete a filtration cycle. The distribution head controls the vacuum state of different areas of the drum to ensure that each operation step is carried out in sequence.

Position of the vacuum drum filter in the monohydrate glucose process

In the monohydrate glucose production process, the vacuum drum filter is usually located after the saccharification reaction. First, the starch raw material undergoes a series of reactions such as slurry mixing, gelatinization, and saccharification to convert the starch into a glucose solution. At this time, the glucose solution contains unreacted solid impurities, proteins, colloids and other substances, which require solid-liquid separation.

The vacuum drum filter undertakes this key separation task. The mixed liquid after the saccharification reaction enters the vacuum drum filter, and the solid impurities are intercepted by filtration to obtain a clear glucose solution. The solution then enters the subsequent decolorization, ion exchange, concentration, crystallization and other processes to further purify and make monohydrate glucose products. Therefore, the vacuum drum filter plays a connecting role in the entire production process, and its filtering effect directly affects the operation of subsequent processes and product quality.

Continuous production: The vacuum drum filter can achieve continuous operation, which matches the continuity requirements of the monohydrate glucose production process. Compared with intermittent filtering equipment, it can filter a large amount of saccharification liquid uninterruptedly, greatly improving production efficiency, reducing downtime in the production process, and helping to improve overall production capacity.

High degree of automation: The operation process of the equipment is highly automated, and all links from feeding, filtering, washing to unloading can be automatically completed through the control system. This not only reduces the workload and labor intensity of manual operation, but also reduces the impact of human factors on production, and improves the stability of the production process and the consistency of product quality.

Good filtration effect: By reasonably adjusting parameters such as vacuum degree, drum speed, and filter cloth material, the filtration speed and water content of the filter cake can be effectively controlled to obtain a better solid-liquid separation effect. It can fully remove solid impurities in the saccharification liquid and obtain a glucose solution with high clarity, providing good raw materials for subsequent refining processes.

Uniform washing: During the filtration process, uniform washing of the filter cake is an important link to ensure product quality. The washing device of the vacuum drum filter can spray and wash the filter cake in an all-round and uniform manner, effectively removing impurities in the filter cake and improving the purity of the product.

Strong adaptability: Vacuum drum filters of different specifications and models can be selected according to different production scales and process requirements. At the same time, by replacing filter cloths of different materials and pore sizes, it can adapt to the filtration of suspensions of different properties. In the production of glucose monohydrate, whether it is starch saccharification liquid from different sources or when adjusting the production process, it can better meet the filtration requirements.