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Corn fractionation method

  • US 7,820,418 B2
  • Filed: 06/27/2005
  • Issued: 10/26/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2004
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method for processing corn into ethanol, comprising:

  • (a) separating the corn into a bran, a germ, and a starch-and-protein mixture;

    (b) hydrolyzing the bran into a bran hydrolysate comprising free sugars;

    (c) hydrolyzing the starch in the starch-and-protein mixture of step (a) into a hydrolyzed mixture comprising a starch hydrolysate and protein which is insoluble in the starch hydrolysate;

    (d) separating the protein from the hydrolyzed mixture of step (c);

    (e) anaerobically fermenting yeast and the starch hydrolysate to produce an anaerobic fermentate;

    (f) separating the anaerobic fermentate of step (e) into (i) a first anaerobically fermented yeast stream, (ii) the ethanol, and (iii) a mixture comprising water and fermentation by-products;

    (g) aerobically fermenting yeast and the mixture comprising water and fermentation by-products of step (f) to consume at least part of the fermentation by-products, wherein the aerobically fermented yeast is the same or different than the yeast of step (e); and

    h) separating the result of step (g) into a second stream of the aerobically fermented yeast of step (g) and water.

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