Apparatus for the continuous manufacture of glucose containing products

Apparatus for the continuous manufacture of glucose-containing products, comprising:

• (a) press cylinder means defining an intake region, a compression region and a catalyst injection region,
• (b) a material intake opening communicating with said intake region for delivering said products to said press cylinder means,
• (c) a valved material output opening adjacent the end of said injection region and openable when a preselected pressure in said press cylinder means is exceeded,
• (d) a rotary screw conveyor means mounted in said press cylinder means and extending through said intake, compression and injection regions, the construction of said screw conveyor means and said press cylinder means in said injection region being such that the cross-sectional area and thus volume of said injection region available to material containment in substantially greater than in said compression region,
• (e) a plurality of pins extending radially inwardly through said press cylinder means in said compression region to a position adjacent the base of the thread of said screw conveyor means, the helical flights of said screw conveyor means being radially interrupted in the regions of said pins to permit rotation of said conveyor means, whereby high pressure is built up in said compression chamber with consequent disintegration of the material, and
• (f) catalyst injection nozzles extending through said press cylinder means in at least said injection region for admitting catalyst to such region, the catalyst and relatively greater cross-sectional volume in the injection region further intensifying the mixture and consequent disintegration of the material in said injection region prior to discharge.