Alfa Laval

Merco

Alfa Laval is the leading supplier of process equipment and process lines to starch industry all over the world. More than half of starch produced each year throughout the world passes through Alfa Laval Merco separators. Developed particularly for starch production, Merco separator provides an ideal combination of high flow capacity and low energy consumption. Merco’s well-known sturdy design ensures long service life, reliable uptime and low maintenance costs.

Merco starch separator for starch processing

Robustness and efficiency combined

  • Increased separation capacity
  • Simplified maintenance and service
  • Easy installation
  • Low power consumption
  • Possibilities for upgrade of the older models
The Merco is a nozzle centrifuge designed for continuous discharge of solids, specially developed for the starch industry. The centrifuge is equipped with a motor, a self-cleaning strainer for the feed, speed and vibration sensors, oil temperature sensors for the spindle bearings and the motor winding, a hydraulic power unit for the lifting hoist, a set of special tools and a standard set of spares.

The Merco range of separators are different from conventional multi-purpose nozzle centrifuges, specially developed to meet starch processing requirements. These involve high solids loads and continuous discharge, combined with a need to avoid nozzle blockages.

Merco nozzle centrifuges are now widely used in the starch industry for processes that include primary starch separation, gluten thickening, mill stream thickening and the clarification of middlings. As part of this, they are used for classifying, concentrating and washing solids, and for clarifying liquids that contain relatively high concentrations of solids.

The key feature of the Merco design is a special recirculation system in which solids can be recirculated to the nozzles at the edge of the bowl, at the same time as wash water is added. This unique capability means users can adjust production settings while the system is in operation, simply by varying the nozzle draw-off.

The operator can change the split and the concentration by a simple adjustment of the underflow draw-off valve in the discharge line. This provides a uniquely efficient way to control the separation process by determining exactly how much underflow is to be removed, how much is to be recycled back to the rotor and how much wash water is to be added.

This also makes it possible to use large-diameter nozzles that can deal with variations in feed concentration, as well as helping prevent blockages. This in turn makes the unit more versatile, and makes it easy to vary procedures based on the characteristics of individual feed flows.

Our product range consisting of two models - Merco 32 and Merco 38 - is able to cover all the capacities and business demands at the milling plants.