METHODS FOR PRODUCING A HIGH PROTEIN CORN MEAL FROM A WHOLE STILLAGE BYPRODUCT AND SYSTEM THEREFORE

• US 20140317945A1
• Filed: 07/14/2014
• Published: 10/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fluid Quip Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Fluid Quip, Inc. (Komline-Sanderson Corp.)
• Inventors: Lee, Chie Ying
• Granted Patent: US 10,233,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 34/58
• CPC Class Codes: A23K 10/38 from distillers' or brewers' waste
• CPC Class Codes: A23K 50/00 Feeding-stuffs specially adapted for particular animals
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 7/198 Dry unshaped finely divided cereal products, not provided for in groups A23L7/117 - A23L7/196 and A23L29/00, e.g. meal, flour, powder, dried cereal creams or extracts
• CPC Class Codes: A23V 2002/00 Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 9/04 Systems or sequences of operations; Plant
• CPC Class Codes: B04B 2001/205 with special construction of screw thread, e.g. segments, height
• CPC Class Codes: B04B 3/04 discharging solid particles from the bowl by a conveying screw coaxial with the bowl axis and rotating relatively to the bowl
• CPC Class Codes: B04B 5/10 Centrifuges combined with other apparatus, e.g. electrostatic separators; Sets or systems of several centrifuges B04B5/12 takes precedence; magnetic or electrostatic separators B03C; amassing particles by electric fields, e.g. by agglomeration B03C3/0175
• CPC Class Codes: C11B 13/00 Recovery of fats, fatty oils or fatty acids from waste materials
• CPC Class Codes: C12F 3/10 from distillery slops
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 60/87 Re-use of by-products of food processing for fodder production
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/74 Recovery of fats, fatty oils, fatty acids or other fatty substances, e.g. lanolin or waxes

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to corn dry-milling, and more specifically, to methods for producing a high protein corn meal from a whole stillage byproduct produced in a corn dry-milling process for making ethanol and a system therefore. In one embodiment, a method for producing a high protein corn meal from a whole stillage byproduct includes, in a corn dry-milling process for making ethanol, separating the whole stillage byproduct into an insoluble solids portion and a thin stillage portion. The thin stillage portion is separated into a protein portion and a water soluble solids portion. Next, the protein portion is dewatered then dried to define a high protein corn meal that includes at least 40 wt % protein on a dry basis.

Claims

1. A system for producing high protein corn meal from a whole stillage byproduct produced via a corn dry-milling process, the system comprising:

a first apparatus selected from a filtration centrifuge, a decanter centrifuge, a pressure screen, or a paddle screen that separates the whole stillage byproduct, via constituent particle sizes, into an insoluble solids portion and a thin stillage portion, which includes protein;

a second apparatus selected from a nozzle centrifuge or a cyclone apparatus that separates the thin stillage portion, via constituent weights, into a protein portion and a water soluble solids portion, which is lighter than the protein portion;

a decanter centrifuge that dewaters the protein portion; and

a drying apparatus that dries the dewatered protein portion to define a high protein corn meal that includes at least 40 wt % protein on a dry basis from the whole stillage byproduct produced via the corn dry-milling process.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the first apparatus is a filtration centrifuge that comprises:

a first housing having at least one wall with a plurality of openings formed therein;

a conveyor disposed in the first housing for moving at least the insoluble solids portion therealong; and

at least one conduit line in fluid communication with an interior of the first housing for supplying a medium including the insoluble solids portion to the apparatus,

wherein at least one of the first housing and conveyor rotate relative to a central axis to direct the medium toward the at least one wall so as to filter the insoluble solids portion from the medium.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the second apparatus is a nozzle centrifuge.

4. The system of claim 2 further comprising a paddle screen that aids in separating the whole stillage into the insoluble solids portion and the thin stillage portion.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the paddle screen includes openings therein of no greater than 150 microns.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising an evaporator that separates soluble solids from the water soluble solids portion.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising a third apparatus selected from a decanter centrifuge, a pressure screen, or a paddle screen that separates fine fiber from the thin stillage portion.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising an oil recovery centrifuge that separates oil from the water soluble solids portion to provide an oil portion.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the drying apparatus dries the dewatered protein portion to define a high protein corn meal that includes at least 50 wt % protein on a dry basis.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the first apparatus is the filtration centrifuge that separates the whole stillage into the insoluble solids portion and the thin stillage portion.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the filtration centrifuge comprises a plurality of filtration centrifuges that separates the whole stillage into the insoluble solids portion and the thin stillage portion.