Process for recovery of starch and corn oil from corn

Claim 2

A PROCESS FOR RECOVERING STARCH AND CORN OIL FROM CORN COMPRISING: A. SUBJECTING CORN KERNALS TO A DRY SEPARATION PROCESS TO SEPATATE HULLS AND GERM FROM ENDOSPERM FRACTION, B. COMPINING AT LEAST SOME OF HE ENDOSPERM FRACTIONS WITH WATER AND SUBJECTING THE COMBINATION TO A WET STEERING STEP AND FURTHER PROCESS STEPS TO SEPARATE CORN STARCH FROM CORN GLUTEN, C. DRYING THE CORN GLUTEN, AND D. SUBJECTING AT LEAST THE SEPARATE GERM AND THE DRIED OIL GLUTEN TP A SOLVENT EXTRACTION STEP TO RECOVER CORN OIL.

Claim 3

The process of claim 1 wherein step (a) is a corn dry milling process and the corN kernels are separated into a hull stream, a germ stream and a number of endosperm fraction streams.

Claim 4

The process of claim 1 wherein the oil meal resulting from the solvent extraction step is combined with heavy steepwater and hulls.

Claim 5

The process of claim 1 wherein fine fiber is recovered from the steeped endosperm fractions and the fine fiber is subjected to solvent extraction.

Claim 6

The process of claim 1 wherein the water-endosperm fraction admixture has a corn dry solids concentration of about 15-27%.

Claim 7

The process of claim 1 wherein the steeping is carried out for from about 1/2 hour to about 16 hours.

Claim 8

The process of claim 1 wherein the steeping temperature is from about 110*-130*F.

Claim 9

The process of claim 1 wherein step (a) is a short process dry milling procedure which separates the corn kernel into a hull stream, a germ stream and a corn flour stream and other endosperm fractions stream.

Claim 10

The process of claim 8 wherein the hull stream and the corn flour stream are also subjected to solvent extraction for the recovery of the corn oil.

Claim 11

The process of claim 1 wherein the endosperm fractions are maintained in suspension during the steeping step.

Claim 12

The process of claim 10 wherein the suspension is maintained by agitation.

Claim 13

The process of claim 1 wherein endosperm fractions are reduced in size so that they will pass through a 30 mesh/inch wire screen before they are combined with the water.

Claim 14

The process of claim 12 wherein the steep time is from about 1/2 to about 4 hours.

Claim 15

The process of claim 1 wherein the steeping is carried out in a sulfurous acid solution having a sulphur dioxide concentration of about 0.25 to about 0.01%.

Claim 16

The process of claim 14 wherein the pH of the steep is maintained at from about 3.5 to about 4.5.

Claim 17

The process of claim 15 wherein the pH is maintained at from about 3.9 to about 4.2.

Claim 18

The process of claim 1 wherein the crown starch suspended in water is separated from the palpable endosperm particles before the latter are subjected to wet milling.

Claim 19

The process of claim 17 wherein the crown starch slurry is separated from the steepwater with both starch and gluten being subsequently recovered from the crown starch fraction.

Claim 20

The process of claim 18 wherein the steepwater, after evaporation to form heavy steepwater, is combined with the hulls.

Claim 21

The process of claim 19 wherein the hull stream has been subjected to solvent extraction before combination with the steepwater.

Claim 22

A process for treating corn kernels comprising: a. subjecting the corn kernels to a dry separation process to separate hulls and germ from endosperm fractions by forming a hull stream, a germ stream and at leasst one endosperm stream; b. combining at least one of the endosperm streams with a sulfurous acid solution having a pH of from about 3.5 to about 4.5 and subjecting the combination to a wet dynamic steeping step for from about 1/2 hour to about 16 hours at temperatures ranging from about 110*-130*F; c. separating the steeped endosperm into two streams comprising (1) crown starch suspended in water and (2) palpable endosperm particles; d. milling the palpable endosperm particles and then recombining them with the crown starch slurry solids comprising starch and gluten which have been separated from the steepwater; e. separating the combined palpable endosperm particles and crown starch slurry solids into streams comprising corn gluten and corn starch; f. drying the corn gluten; and g. subjecting at least the dried corn gluten and the germ stream to an extraction process to remove corn oil therefrom.

Claim 23

A process for treating corn kernels comprising: a. subjecting the corn kernels to a dry separation process to separate hulls and germ from endosperm fractions by forming a hull stream, a germ stream and at leasst one endosperm stream; b. combining at least one of the endosperm streams with a sulfurous acid solution having a pH of from about 3.5 to about 4.5 and subjecting the combination to a wet dynamic steeping step for from about 1/2 hour to about 16 hours at temperatures ranging from about 110*-130*F; c. separating the steeped endosperm into two streams comprising (1) crown starch suspended in water and (2) palpable endosperm particles; d. milling the palpable endosperm particles and then recombining them with the crown starch slurry solids comprising starch and gluten which have been separated from the steepwater; e. separating the combined palpable endosperm particles and crown starch slurry solids into streams comprising corn gluten and corn starch; f. drying the corn gluten; and g. subjecting at least the dried corn gluten and the germ stream to an extraction process to remove corn oil therefrom.