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Cassava Starch Processing Plants
Starch, Flour, Edible Oil & Food Processing

Cassava Starch Processing Plants

A cassava starch plant turns fresh roots into dry, white starch by rasping the roots, washing the starch out with water and drying it.

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Stainless-steel spray-drying plant on a black steel platform with yellow railings: conical-bottom drying chamber, cyclone and pipework in a hall with a green floor

Cassava Starch Processing Plants

The plant takes fresh roots that must be processed soon after harvest and makes native starch for food, paper, textile, adhesive and fermentation users, with wet fibre pulp and peel as large by-product streams. What separates it from a flour line is the water stage: starch is released from the fibre in water, so the plant is built around a water balance as much as around machines. A buyer needs to settle the root supply first, meaning tonnes a day, the length of the season and the haul distance, then the starch grade to be sold, the quality and hardness of the water on site, and where the effluent and fibre will go. These points decide the size of the rasper and fibre extractors, the way the starch milk is cleaned, the dryer and its heat source, and the effluent treatment, which together drive most of the cost. The technical proposal then fixes the scope of supply and the capacity.

Washed roots go to a rasper, which tears the root cells open and frees the starch granules. The pulp is diluted with water and passed through jet extractors, perforated-basket centrifuges or screens, which carry the starch milk through and hold back the cellulose fibre; a second wash stage recovers starch still caught in the fibre. The milk is then cleaned and concentrated in settling tanks, hydrocyclones or a centrifuge, rinsed with fresh water to remove soluble matter, and dewatered on a vacuum filter or in a centrifuge to a damp cake. A flash dryer takes the cake, so the dewatering stage is part of the dryer's performance, and the dry starch is milled, sieved and packed. The choices that change the plant are the rasper size and drive, the number of extraction stages, the equipment used to clean the milk, and the dryer heat source, chosen by local fuel cost. Material choice matters because iron ions fix the hydrocyanic acid in cassava as dark compounds, so surfaces that touch the milk are stainless steel or another non-iron material. Water is the other design driver: soft water gives the purest starch, and a recirculation loop reduces both the intake and the effluent volume.

Indicative Capacity Range

  • 1–20 tonnes fresh roots/day

Key Specification Inputs

Cyanogenic compound reduction, water balance, dewatering, drying.

Technical Specifications

TechnologyWet extraction of starch from rasped cassava, followed by dewatering and flash drying
FeedFresh cassava roots, processed soon after harvest; variety and root age affect starch content
Fibre SeparationJet extractors, perforated-basket centrifuges or screens, with a second wash stage
Milk PurificationSettling tanks, hydrocyclones or a centrifuge, chosen by scale and the starch grade to be sold
DewateringVacuum filter or centrifuge, sized to give the dryer a steady feed
DryingPneumatic flash dryer; heat source chosen by local fuel cost and availability
Contact MaterialStainless steel or another non-iron material wherever the starch milk is in contact
Water SupplySoft, clean water in liberal quantity; recirculation loop to cut intake
Effluent TreatmentTreatment sized for suspended solids, organic load, turbidity and cyanide in the process water
UtilitiesProcess water, electric power for rasper, pumps and centrifuges, and fuel or biomass for the dryer
Final OutputDry native cassava starch, packed in bags, plus wet fibre pulp and peel

Typical Process Route

1

Receiving and Washing Roots

Roots are weighed and fed to the line as soon as possible, because enzyme action starts at harvest and damages starch quality. A drum washer removes soil and sand that would wear the rasper and foul the starch, and loosens part of the peel.

2

Rasping

A high-speed rasper breaks the root cells and releases the granules. Starch inside cells that escape the rasper leaves with the fibre, so the starch left in the pulp is a direct measure of how well the rasper is working.

3

Fibre Extraction

Water is added to the pulp, which then passes through jet extractors, basket centrifuges or screens that let the starch milk through and retain the fibre. A second wash frees more starch, and the wet pulp leaves as a by-product.

4

Starch Milk Purification

The milk is concentrated and rinsed in settling tanks, hydrocyclones or a centrifuge to remove soluble matter and fine fibre. Soft, clean water is needed here, since hard water can leave calcium oxalate in the starch.

5

Dewatering

A vacuum filter or centrifuge turns the milk into a damp cake. How dry the cake is decides the heat load on the dryer and whether it runs steadily.

6

Flash Drying

A pneumatic flash dryer has a very short residence time and suits starch that has already been dewatered. The heat source is a running-cost decision, and the drying air must be clean so the starch does not pick up smoke or dust.

7

Milling, Sieving and Packing

Dried starch is milled and sieved to break lumps and hold back specks, then packed in a dry, dust-controlled area. Starch takes up moisture from the air, so bagging and storage have to stay dry.

Process & Equipment Modules

  • Root receiving hopper and weighing point
  • Drum washer and stone trap
  • High-speed rasper
  • Jet extractors or perforated-basket centrifuges
  • Starch milk settling tanks, hydrocyclones or centrifuge
  • Vacuum filter or dewatering centrifuge
  • Flash (pneumatic) dryer with heat source and cyclone
  • Mill and sieve for dried starch
  • Bagging and packing station
  • Water recirculation tanks and pumps
  • Effluent treatment section

Plant Output

Dry native cassava starchWet fibre pulp for feed use or compostingPeel and soil residues from washingTreated process water for reuse or discharge

Applications

  • Native starch as a thickener in soups, sauces and instant foods
  • Binder and surface sizing in paper and board making
  • Textile sizing and finishing
  • Adhesives for corrugated board and paper sacks
  • Feedstock for glucose syrup and fermentation, including ethanol
  • Base material for modified starches
  • Wet fibre pulp, once dried, as an animal-feed ingredient

Key Features

  • Fibre Separation Stage

    The jet extractor or basket centrifuge section is what makes this a starch plant and not a flour plant, and it largely decides how pure the starch is.

  • Non-Iron Contact Surfaces

    Tanks, pipework and fittings that touch the starch milk are specified to avoid iron, because iron discolours the starch through the cyanide naturally present in cassava.

  • Water Balance and Recirculation

    Water meets the product at every stage. A designed water balance with recirculation reduces fresh-water demand and the volume of effluent to be treated.

  • Dewatered Feed for the Dryer

    The flash dryer is sized for a dewatered cake, so the filter or centrifuge ahead of it is chosen together with the dryer, not separately.

  • Effluent Treatment Built In

    Wash water, fibre-press liquor and process bleed are treated against suspended solids, COD, turbidity and cyanide before reuse or discharge.

Country Pages for Cassava Starch Processing Plants

This product is listed on the pages of the countries below, each with its own enquiry route. Where Kadali has no office in a country, enquiries are handled from the Accra office.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What information is needed to size Cassava Starch Processing Plants?
Tonnes of fresh roots a day, the length of the cassava season and the hours the plant will run, plus how far the roots travel. Add the starch grade and moisture you will sell, the quantity and hardness of the water on site, the local dryer fuel, and the effluent route. Root supply and water set the washing, extraction and effluent sections; the starch grade sets the purification stage and the dryer.
What capacity range does Cassava Starch Processing Plants cover?
The indicative capacity range is 1–20 tonnes fresh roots/day. It is stated on a fresh roots basis per day, so restate your own volume on that basis and say how many hours a day the plant will run.
What extra steps does starch need compared with cassava flour?
Starch needs wet milling of the roots and a physical fibre-removal stage, using jet extractors or basket centrifuges, followed by milk purification. A cassava flour plant keeps the fibre in the product and only grates, presses, dries and mills. The extra stages make starch plants larger and more water-hungry, and they are why the product can be sold as a pure ingredient.
Does water hardness matter for cassava starch quality?
Yes. The purest starch is made with liberal amounts of soft water, while hard water high in lime can leave calcium oxalate in the finished product. Treat water hardness as a site-survey item next to the quantity available, and ask each proposal to say what water quality its starch grade assumes and whether softening is needed.
How should the effluent be planned?
Wash water, fibre-press liquor and starch-milk bleed carry suspended solids, organic load and cyanide, so the treatment is specified against suspended solids, COD, turbidity and cyanide. A recirculation loop cuts both fresh-water use and the volume to be treated. Ask for the water balance in each proposal and decide early where the treated water and the wet fibre will go.
Why must roots reach the line so quickly?
Enzymes start acting on the root at harvest and damage starch quality at every later stage, and roots spoil within a day or two. A plant that waits for roots, or draws from far away, makes poorer starch and runs at part load. Haul distance, harvest schedule and a staging area are sizing inputs, not afterthoughts.
How can I judge whether the rasper is working well?
Starch is released only from cells the rasper has broken, so the fraction of starch still bound in the fibre shows how good the rasp is. A laboratory pulp test measures it. Ask a proposal how rasper performance is checked at start-up and what level of starch left in the pulp is treated as acceptable.
What should I check on the dryer?
A flash dryer needs a dewatered feed, so check the filter or centrifuge and the dryer together. Look at the heat source and the fuel it burns, since local fuel cost decides running cost, and at how the drying air is kept clean. Ask how the dryer copes when the cake is wetter than design, as it will be in the rainy season.
How do I request a proposal for Cassava Starch Processing Plants?
Use the Request a Quote page and describe your project. Know your root supply (tonnes per day, season, distance), the starch grade you will sell and the water and effluent limits that apply to your site before you compare proposals.

Enquire about Cassava Starch Processing Plants

Send your raw material, target product and capacity to Kadali Africa Ventures for a technical proposal.

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