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    Ethanol Process Fundamentals 02 Corn Milling

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    prashantgk
    The document describes the dry milling process for producing ethanol from corn. Whole corn kernels are first ground into flour using hammer mills. An optimal grind size is important to maximize ethanol conversion during fermentation while still allowing easy separation of byproducts. The flour is then mixed with water and enzymes to gelatinize the starch before fermentation. Yeast converts the starch to ethanol through a fermentation process. Distillation separates the ethanol from the beer, and centrifuges are used to separate out dried distiller's grains as a byproduct.

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    Ethanol Process Fundamentals 02 Corn Milling

    Uploaded by

    prashantgk
    393 views13 pages
    The document describes the dry milling process for producing ethanol from corn. Whole corn kernels are first ground into flour using hammer mills. An optimal grind size is important to maximize ethanol conversion during fermentation while still allowing easy separation of byproducts. The flour is then mixed with water and enzymes to gelatinize the starch before fermentation. Yeast converts the starch to ethanol through a fermentation process. Distillation separates the ethanol from the beer, and centrifuges are used to separate out dried distiller's grains as a byproduct.

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    Ethenol

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    -Ethanol-Process-Fundamentals-02-Corn-Milling.ppt

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    The document describes the dry milling process for producing ethanol from corn. Whole corn kernels are first ground into flour using hammer mills. An optimal grind size is important to maximize ethanol conversion during fermentation while still allowing easy separation of byproducts. The flour is then mixed with water and enzymes to gelatinize the starch before fermentation. Yeast converts the starch to ethanol through a fermentation process. Distillation separates the ethanol from the beer, and centrifuges are used to separate out dried distiller's grains as a byproduct.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    393 views13 pages

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals 02 Corn Milling

    Uploaded by

    prashantgk
    The document describes the dry milling process for producing ethanol from corn. Whole corn kernels are first ground into flour using hammer mills. An optimal grind size is important to maximize ethanol conversion during fermentation while still allowing easy separation of byproducts. The flour is then mixed with water and enzymes to gelatinize the starch before fermentation. Yeast converts the starch to ethanol through a fermentation process. Distillation separates the ethanol from the beer, and centrifuges are used to separate out dried distiller's grains as a byproduct.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 13
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    The key takeaways are that the corn milling process grinds whole corn kernels into flour using hammer mills. The grind size impacts the efficiency of downstream processes like cooking and centrifuging. An optimal grind size balances these competing needs.

    The hammer mill grinds whole corn kernels into flour. This destroys the integrity of the corn kernel and creates small particles that facilitate the penetration of water throughout the starch, preparing it for downstream processing.

    Grind size is crucial to the final ethanol yield. Too fine a grind makes separating byproducts like DDGS from water and ethanol difficult later on. Too coarse a grind results in less starch conversion to ethanol during fermentation.

    Ethanol Process Corn Milling

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    Ethanol Production - Dry Milling Process


    Corn Yeast

    Grind

    Fermentation
    Beer

    CO2

    Fuel Ethanol
    200 P

    Slurry

    Distillation
    Whole Stillage

    190 P

    Dehydration

    Denaturant

    Product Storage

    Cook
    Centrifugation Wet Grains

    Dryer

    DDGS

    Liquify

    Thin Stillage

    Evaporation Enzymes

    Syrup

    Thermal Oxidizer

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    Process Diagram Corn Milling

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    Process Diagram Corn Milling

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    Corn Milling - Overview


    The whole-kernel corn must be ground to the consistency of coarse flour to prepare the grain for efficient introduction of water and enzymes, as well as to make the mixture easy to pump. The Silo feeds the Dirty Day Bin, which in turn feeds the Scalpers: Scalpers remove material such as husks, cobs, and stalks Magnets ferrous metals The Scalpers feed the Clean Day Bin.

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    Corn Milling - Overview


    The Clean Day Bin feeds whole-kernel corn to the Hammer Mills, where it is ground into flour: Destroys the integrity of the protective covering (hull) of the corn kernel Creates small particles that facilitate rapid penetration of water throughout the starch Grind size is crucial to the final percent conversion of ethanol:

    Too finely ground - makes it harder to separate the byproduct, DDG, from the water and ethanol later in the process
    Too coarsely ground - results in less conversion of starch to ethanol later in the process

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    Corn Milling - Overview


    Average flour grind size is very important in determining how well the cook system and centrifuge systems work. Unfortunately, these two systems are at odds with each other and a compromise must be made in setting the grind size. Smaller grind size: Allows the cook system to work more efficiently since smaller particles absorb water more easily. Water causes the starch to swell or gelatinize. Starch that does not become gelatinized is less likely to be converted to dextrin and fermented into ethanol later in the process, thereby lowering total yield. Tends to increase the density of the dried distiller's grains with solubles (DDGS). DDGS tend to have a relatively low density, a disadvantage in transporting. Railcars are generally filled based on volume rather than weight restrictions.
    Ethanol Process Fundamentals
    7

    Corn Milling - Overview


    Larger grind size reduces the amount of fine suspended solids which pass through the centrifuges during DDG production. Suspended solids not removed during centrifugation end up in the backset and thin stillage Material in the backset represents unfermentable solids in recycled water that goes to the fermenters This solid material has limited benefit to the fermentation, but takes up space in the fermenter and effectively reduces the usable volume The solids in the thin stillage must be concentrated into syrup through evaporation, which can then be recombined with the wet distiller's grains and further dried to produce DDGS

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    Corn Milling - Hammer Mill


    Hammer mill: Corn is fed into a cylindrical grinding chamber Inside the chamber is a rapidly rotating drum with a series of metal bars Bars have free-swinging metal plates that have hardened metal hammers attached at the ends Outer boundary of the grinding chamber is a heavy metal screen, about inch from the edge of the hammers Impact of the hammers causes the kernels to shatter Small pieces pass through the metal screens while larger pieces bounce around in the grinding chamber until they are small enough to pass through the screens

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    Corn Milling - Hammer Mill

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    10

    Corn Milling - Hammer Mill

    Hammers

    Screens

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    11

    Corn Milling Dust Collection


    A dust collection system maintains a negative pressure on the Hammer Mills. There are emission standards for: Particulate Matter Particulate Matter less than 10 microns Opacity

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    12

    Corn Milling Summary


    Hammer Mills grind whole-kernel corn into flour: Destroys the integrity of the corn kernel Creates small particles that facilitate rapid penetration of water throughout the starch Grind size is crucial to the final percent conversion of ethanol: Too finely ground - makes it harder to separate the byproduct, DDG, from the water and ethanol later in the process Too coarsely ground - results in less conversion of starch to ethanol later in the process

    Ethanol Process Fundamentals

    13

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