Potato Chips, Crisps, and French Fries Starch Filtration and Separation
Separating Starch from Potato Processing Water Saves You Money and Improves Your Products
Archer Separation works with potato chips, crisps, and french fry manufacturers, helping them recycle and reuse process water by separating the potato starch and solids. We will work with you to find the best solution for your unique needs, which often includes a decanter centrifuge. Learn more below about how a decanter centrifuge and/or our other solutions can save you money and improve your potato chip, crisp, french fry or other potato products.
Benefits of a Decanter Centrifuge for the Potato Processing Industry.
Potatoes are one of the world's most ubiquitous crops—between raw harvest, mashed flakes, cut forms like chips and fries, and as a part of starch production, 300 million metric tons of harvest is a conservative annual estimate for this versatile staple! Given this, it's clear that those processing potato chips, crisps, and french fries year-round face several challenges regarding quantity, speed and efficiency—but byproducts, such as debris and the handling of starch wastewater, introduce additional difficulties.
Potato chip, crisp, and french fry manufacturing uses thousands of tons of water per day—a general estimate is that 1 ton of potato chip, crisp, and/or French fry production requires 4 to 6 tons of water use! Common potato chip, crisp and french fry processing like cutting or abrading causes that same ton of potatoes releases about 15 kilograms of starch, thickening the system's washwater. Small quantities may be manageable, but a facility producing 10 tons of potatoes an hour will quickly find their system burdened by 150kg of starch. Without additional care, this starch migrates to water treatment plants, causing increased Biochemical and Chemical Oxygen Demands (‘BOD’ and ‘COD’); in other words, starch is an organic pollutant that can cause water system difficulties and result in fines. Imagine rinsing a starch down the kitchen drain, multiplied by many thousand tons!
Is there any means to introduce less water to a system, while also preventing potato starch from increasing BOD and COD levels down the line? Absolutely. Even better, it's possible to reclaim problematic starches before they're an issue and convert it into a saleable product. Decanter centrifuges provide this solution most easily, efficiently, and sustainably. At Archer Separation, we can provide you this solution as well as the experience and expertise to get the most from your investment. We partner with a variety of manufacturers and supply centrifuges, chemical skids, dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems, polymer makedowns, and services to best optimize your facility's unique needs.
What Can a Decanter Centrifuge Do for Your Potato Processing Plant?
We at Archer Separation recommend employing a decanter centrifuge to separate potato starches and solids for several reasons, ranging from cost reduction to sustainability:
Product Quality
Potatoes and similar crops are typically washed, peeled abrasively, and processed into a slurry for further processing. This fine slurry contains the starches, fibers, water, and other components. By extracting the starch from the slurry, the quality and texture of the chips, crisps, and french fries is enhanced, contributing to a desirable crispy texture during the frying stage.
Improved Consistency
Removing starch through centrifugation helps potato chips maintain superior uniformity. Starch contributes to undesirable characteristics, as the sugars in starch caramelize due to the high potato frying temperatures. By recovering starch effectively, the chips achieve a consistent and appealing ‘Grade A’ appearance.
Water Reuse
Additionally, using a decanter centrifuge to separate the potato starch means the water, too, can be recycled and reused in the production process! This saves on your operating costs and promotes water conservation by reducing the volume of wastewater sent to a treatment plant (“effluent” discharge).
Operator Value
With the starch and water separated, the potato starch itself is reclaimed with up to 33% dry solids; these are considerable quantities which can be sold as a separate product to other industries, providing the decanter centrifuge operator with additional revenue streams while optimizing their potato chip, crisp, or french fry production.
Energy Efficiency
Decanter centrifuges are known for energy efficiency, and particularly so with respect to potato starches. Modern centrifuge systems are designed to minimize energy consumption while ensuring optimal separation of starch from slurry, contributing to sustainable and cost-effective manufacturing practices.
Environmental Sustainability
Incorporating a decanter centrifuge in your potato chips, crisps, or french fries manufacturing aligns with broader environmental sustainability goals. By reducing both water usage and energy consumption, the process demonstrates a commitment to eco-friendly practices in the food processing industry.
Potato starch recovery using a decanter centrifuge is a critical element in the potato chip, crisp, and french fry manufacturing process; centrifuges are enhancing production efficiency, improving consistency, and contributing to environmental sustainability through water conservation and optimized energy use. As the industry continues to evolve, the integration of advanced technologies like centrifugation is essential for meeting both quality and sustainability standards in potato chip production—and at Archer Separation, we're committed to helping you integrate the solutions that will help you meet those quality and sustainability needs.
We understand your potato chip, crisp, french fry and other potato processing needs, and will meet those needs with the best technology available!
Contact Us Today with all your Filtration or Separation Challenges. Call 604.484.4516 or Contact Us through our Online Form.