I. Core Structure (5 Key Components)

1. Starch Slurry Feeding Chamber: Lateral slurry intake, stable flow and pressure, evenly fed into the central nozzle channel.

2. Adjustable Needle Valve Conical Nozzle: Core component; needle valve adjusts up and down, changing the nozzle annular gap opening, controlling the film thickness and flow rate of the material.

3. Annular Steam Jacket with Steam Holes: Steam surrounds the nozzle, multiple turns of angled small holes spray steam at high speed, cutting the slurry 360°.

4. High-Strength Mixing and Shearing Chamber: Conical contraction chamber generating high-speed turbulence and strong shear fields.

5. Diffusion Outlet Pipe: Pressure reduction and flow stabilization, preventing flash evaporation, uniformly feeding into the liquefaction holding tank/laminar flow tube.

Auxiliary: Steam control valve, temperature probe, actuator (manual/pneumatic automatic temperature control).

II. Working Principle (4-Step Instant Liquefaction)

1. Film Formation: Starch slurry pressurized by pump is extruded through the annular narrow gap between the needle valve and nozzle, forming a uniform thin material film.

2. High-Speed Steam Cutting: Saturated steam at 0.4–0.7 MPa is ejected at high speed through angled holes around the nozzle, instantly penetrating and cutting the material film.

3. Instant Heat Exchange and Strong Shear: The latent heat of steam is 100% released, raising the material fluid to 100–110°C within seconds; microturbulence in the chamber strongly disperses starch granules, destroys starch crystallinity, complete gelatinization occurs, while α-amylase evenly contacts the substrate to achieve rapid liquefaction.

4. Stable Pressure Transport: The diffusion tube decelerates and stabilizes pressure, preventing local overheating and clumping, with the outflow entering the insulation holding section to complete the liquefaction holding reaction.

III. Key Process Logic

Temperature Control: By adjusting the needle valve stroke → changing the steam flow cross-section, fine-tuning the steam amount, stabilizing the outlet liquefaction temperature.

Liquefaction Advantages: No dead angles, no locally raw starch, good protein flocculation, low filtration resistance, suitable for continuous production with dual-enzyme methods.

Applicable Working Conditions: Suitable for corn/cassava/tuber starch slurry, it is the core equipment for starch syrup and fermentation substrate liquefaction.