Corn Introduction
Corn Introduction
Corn Introduction
Corn Introduction
Origin, History, and Uses of Corn
History and Origin
For western civilization, the story of corn began in 1492 when Columbus's men discovered this
new grain in Cuba. An American native, it was exported to Europe rather than being imported, as
were other major grains. Like most early history, there is some uncertainty as to when corn first
went to Europe. Some say it went back with Columbus to Spain, while others report that it was
not returned to Spain until the second visit of Columbus.
The word "corn" has many different meanings depending on what country you are in. Corn in the
United States is also called maize or Indian corn. In some countries, corn means the leading crop
grown in a certain district. Corn in England means wheat; in Scotland and Ireland, it refers to
oats. Corn mentioned in the Bible probably refers to wheat or barley. At first, corn was only a
garden curiosity in Europe, but it soon began to be recognized as a valuable food crop. Within a
few years, it spread throughout France, Italy, and all of southeastern Europe and northern Africa.
By 1575, it was making its way into western China, and had become important in the Philippines
and the East Indies. Although corn is indigenous to the western hemisphere, its exact birthplace
is far less certain. Archeological evidence of corn's early presence in the western hemisphere was
identified from corn pollen grain considered to be 80,000 years old obtained from drill cores 200
feet below Mexico City. Another archeological study of the bat caves in New Mexico revealed
corncobs that were 5,600 years old by radiocarbon determination. Most historians believe corn
was domesticated in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico. The original wild form has long been extinct.
Evidence suggests that cultivated corn arose through natural crossings, perhaps first with
gamagrass to yield teosinte and then possibly with backcrossing of teosinte to primitive maize to
produce modern races. There are numerous theories as to the ancestors of modern corn and
many scientific articles and books have been written on the subject. Corn is perhaps the most
completely domesticated of all field crops. Its perpetuation for centuries has depended wholly on
the care of man. It could not have existed as a wild plant in its present form. Corn is often
classified as dent corn, flint corn, flour corn, popcorn, sweet corn, waxy corn, and pod corn. The
remainder of this discussion will be concerned only with dent corn, which is the major type
cultivated in the United States.
Corn was the most important cultivated plant in ancient times in America. Early North American
expeditions show that the corn-growing area extended from southern North Dakota and both
sides of the lower St. Lawrence Valley southward to northern Argentina and Chile. It extended
westward to the middle of Kansas and Nebraska, and an important lobe of the Mexican area
extended northward to Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado. It was also an important
crop in the high valleys of the Andes in South America.
The great variability of the corn plant led to the selection of numerous widely adapted varieties
which hardly resembled one another. The plant may have ranged from no more than a couple of
feet tall to over 20 feet. It was not like the uniform sized plant that most people know today. For
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the Aztecs, Mayas, Incas and various Pueblo dwellers of the southwestern United States, corn
growing took precedence over all other activities.
The principal role of the corn plant during the 19th century was closely tied to the development
of the Midwest. In the movement westward, corn found its major home in the woodland clearings
and grasslands of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and adjacent states. These were places where it
had not been grown widely in prehistoric times. As early as 1880, the United States grew over 62
million acres of corn. By 1900, this figure had reached approximately 95 million acres; by 1910, it
was over 100 million acres. The highest acreage ever recorded in the United States was 111
million acres in 1917.From the beginning of records in the 1880s, through the mid-1930s, there
was no significant increase in the national average corn yield. Yields during the 1920s and 1930s
were no higher than those produced as a national average in the late 1800S.
It was not until the vast technological advances in the early 1940s that corn yields started to
show significant yield increases. Prior to this time, the highest U.S. average yield was recorded in
1906 at 31.7 bushels per acre. Following moderate yield increases in the 1940s and 1950s, yields
shot up in the 1960s and early 1970s to a national average of 109.5 bushels per acre in 1979. In
2000, US farmers planted over 79 million acres of corn. More than 40% of the world's corn is
produced in the United States. Total acreage is now less than in earlier years, but planting has
increased in the more favorable areas of the Corn Belt. Iowa is normally the leading corn
producing state, followed closely by Illinois. As early as 1910, Iowa had 8.5 million acres of corn,
which averaged nearly 40 bushels per acre. In 1935, Iowa had 9.7 million acres of corn,
averaging 39 bushels per acre. In 1960, Iowa averaged 62 bushels per acre on nearly 12.5
million acres. In 2000, Iowa farmers averaged 145 bushels per acre on more than 12 million
acres. The highest all time record corn acreage in Iowa was 14.4 million acres in 1980.
Corn and soybeans form a major base of the Iowa economy. The combination of favorable soils,
weather, and management know-how for the production of these two crops is rivaled by few
other places in the world. Although few people are directly involved in the production of these
major crops, many jobs are associated with this industry. Industries involved in crop processing,
marketing, production of farm machinery and other farm inputs exist because of our ability to
grow crops in Iowa. Massive livestock industries also depend on feed produced from Iowa soils.
Uses of Corn
During the mid-1960s, about 75 percent of the corn was fed to livestock, 13 percent was
exported, and the remainder went into human food and industrial products. By 2000, the relative
amount of corn fed to livestock had decreased to 60 percent, 22 percent was exported, 6 percent
was used for High-Fructose Corn Sweetener, 6 percent was processed for ethanol, and 6 percent
went into other products. Between 90 and 95 percent of the crop is harvested for grain; the
remaining 5 to 10 percent is grown for silage. Of the corn fed to livestock in 1960, about 40
percent went to hogs, 20 percent to poultry, 30 percent to cattle on feed and milk cows, and 10
percent to other types of livestock. By 2000, these amounts had shifted to 29 percent to cattle
on feed, 29 percent to poultry, 24 percent to hogs, 16 percent to dairy cattle, and 2 percent to
other types of livestock. One reference lists over 500 different uses for corn. Corn is a component
of canned corn, baby food, hominy, mush, puddings, tamales, and many more human foods.
Some industrial uses of corn include filler for plastics, packing materials, insulating materials,
adhesives, chemicals, explosives, paint, paste, abrasives, dyes, insecticides, pharmaceuticals,
organic acids, solvents, rayon, antifreeze, soaps, and many more. Corn also is used as the major
study plant for many academic disciplines such as genetics, physiology, soil fertility and
biochemistry. It is doubtful that any other plant has been studied as extensively as has the corn
plant.
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Lance Gibson and Garren Benson, Iowa State University, Department of Agronomy
Revised January 2002.
Corn Process
INSPECTION & CLEANING
Corn refiners use yellow dent corn, which is removed from the cob during harvesting. An average
bushel of yellow dent corn weighs 56 pounds. Approximately 70 percent of the kernel is starch
(from the endosperm), about 10 percent is protein (predominantly gluten), four percent is oil
(extracted from the germ), and two percent is fiber (from the hull). It is the goal of the corn
refining process to separate each component and then further refine it into specific products.
Corn arrives at the refining facility by truck, barge or railcar. Refinery staff inspect arriving corn
shipments and clean them twice to remove pieces of cob, dust, chaff, and foreign materials. The
corn is then conveyed to storage silos, holding up to 350,000 bushels, until ready to go to the
refinery for steeping, the first processing step.
STEEPING
The corn after arriving to the plant, must be cleaned to meet the standards of the U.S. Yellow
Dent #2 corn. The cleaned corn is conveyed and metered into the steep tanks. Steeping the corn
prior to milling is done by soaking the corn in a solution of sulfur dioxide and water at controlled
temperature for a length of time between 30 and 45 hours. The purpose of steeping is to soften
the kernel, allowing for separation of the germ without cracking during milling, to partially
breakdown the protein matrix in which the starch is embedded allowing for separation in
subsequent milling stages, and to remove the soluble impurities contained within the corn. Good
steeping is a necessity for achieving a good quality starch product.
Freshly made steep acid is added to the steep tank where the corn has been in the steeping
process the longest. The steep acid is circulated through the steep tanks towards the tank where
the newest corn is being added. From this point, some of the steep liquor must be removed from
the system. The amount of steep water removed is critical for producing a quality starch product
as this is the only point in the system where soluble impurities can leave the system. The
dissolved solids content of this stream is usually in the range of 10%.
Water in this light steep water stream needs to be evaporated until the solids content reaches
about 50%. Doing this will allow the "heavy" steep water to be mixed with the end fiber product
to increase the nutritional content of the feed product. The condensate from this evaporator,
being high in impurities, cannot be utilized back into the process and therefore makes up the
majority of the waste water leaving the plant.
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After steeping, the corn is conveyed to the milling area via sluice water. This water flows between
the outlet of the steep tank to the dewatering screen prior the first stage milling where it is
continuously recycled back. In between the steep tanks and the dewatering screen, the slurry if
fed to a Stone Cyclone.
DESTONING
The stone cyclone protects the grind mills and other downstream process equipment from
damage or excessive wear resulting from stones, sand, pieces of metal, or other high specific
gravity contaminants that enter the corn slurry during the washing, conveying, or steeping
processes.
The
centrifugal forces within the cyclone force the heavy contaminants to the outside of the cyclone
towards the underflow. A reject pot on the bottom of the cyclone collects the contaminants which
are then purged from the system with a pair of actuated valves on either side of the reject pot.
The overflow of the cyclone, free of contaminants, is then directed to the corn dewatering
screen.
CORN DEWATERING
Before the first grind process step, the corn slurry from the destoning cyclone is dewatered by a
gravity screen. Dewatering the corn slurry prior to milling reduces the hydraulic load on the grind
mill and improves the milling efficiency.
The purpose of the second grind is to crack any of the kernels that were missed in the first grind.
Like the first grind, the slurry feeding the second grind is dewatered just prior to milling. From the
second grind mill, the slurry is again diluted and then dumped into the second grind tank, which
feeds the secondary germ separation system.A handful of discharge from the second grind mill
should not contain any whole kernels, on average. Factors affecting the efficiency of the second
grind include the steep processes, the efficiency of the first grind, the feed slurry density, the
grind plates used, the clearance between the plates, and the applied horsepower.
Like the first grind, devil tooth plates are used in the second grind. The clearance between the
plates should be set closer than in the first grind. Setting the plates too close, would result in
cracking germs and tearing fibers more than necessary. Setting the plates too far would result in
a lower overall oil recovery, as any germ not recovered in the second grind will be lost later in
the process.
FIBER DEWATERING
After the fiber washing system, the fiber slurry is dewatered as much as possible with an
additional pressure screen. Any water removed from this dewatering screens helps to reduce the
dewatering requirements of the downstream fiber press.
DEGRITTING SYSTEM
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GLUTEN THICKENER
From the overflow of the primary centrifuge, the light gluten slurry is fed to a Gluten Thickener
(GT) centrifuge. This light gluten stream contains all of the gluten to be recovered in the gluten
product stream, water, and soluble proteins. The gluten thickener centrifuge concentrates the
gluten stream prior to dewatering and also provides clear overflow for process water to be used
upstream in the millhouse.
MST CENTRIFUGE
The combined filtrate streams from the third grind screen and first stage fiber wash screens will
contain about 10 to 11% solids (5 to 6 Be). This slurry is comprised of the starch and protein
components of the corn, along with some soluble impurities released from the corn during the
steeping process.
This slurry
is fed to the Mill Stream Thickener (MST) centrifuge to thicken the starch slurry and provide a
process water stream. The centrifuge has high rotational speed, creating significant G forces
inside the machine which drives the separation of the water, solubles, and higher specific gravity
starch and gluten particles. The solids are continuously discharged through nozzles around the
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periphery of the bowl, while the water and soluble head toward the center of the bowl and out
the overflow of the machine.
The MST centrifuge increases the Baume of the mill stream
slurry providing a reduced flow rate and consistent feed
Baume to the downstream primary centrifuge, and also
separates out solubles early in the starch protein
separation process. This reduces the washing requirements
to remove the solubles in the downstream primary
centrifuge and starch washing system.
The overflow of the MST centrifuge is primarily used for the
steeping system makeup water. Great care is taken in the
operation of the MST centrifuge to ensure that a minimum
amount of starch and gluten solids are sent back to the
steeping system through the MST overflow.
PRIMARY CENTRIFUGE
The primary centrifuge is fed from the MST centrifuge underflow and any direct portion of the
mill starch stream that bypasses the MST. The primary centrifuge is the main separation point
between the starch and the water, gluten, and solubles. Wash water from the clarifier centrifuge
overflow is introduced into the primary where it washes the solubles from the starch via
displacement washing. Fluid-Quip primary centrifuges are designed to accommodate high rates
of displacement washing, to lower the residual soluble protein levels in the starch leaving
through the underflow of the machine. The overflow of the primary centrifuge becomes the light
gluten stream, which is further dewatered and dried to become the gluten meal product. Since
any starch in the overflow of the primary centrifuge will be lost to the gluten meal product, and
lower the important protein concentration of the gluten meal, it is very important to operate the
machine with minimal starch loss to the overflow.
The underflow of the primary centrifuge, which still contains some insoluble and soluble proteins,
is further purified in the starch washing system.
impurities are carried out the overflow of the first stage of the system with some starch. Sending
some starch out the overflow is necessary for ensuring a high quality starch product. The
underflow of the starch washing system proceeds to further processing for modification into
specialty starch products, conversion to syrup for sweeteners/ethanol, or dewatering/drying to
make dry starch product.
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STARCH DEWATERING
The purified starch milk is discharged to a peeler centrifuge for dewatering. The peeler filtrate is
recycled to starch refining. The dewatered starch is batch-wise peeled off and discharged by
gravity to the moist starch hopper.
STARCH DRYING
From the moist starch hopper the starch is fed by a metering screw conveyor into a flash dryer
and dried in hot air. The inlet air temperature is moderate. The dried starch is pneumatically
transported to a starch silo ready for screening and bagging. The moisture of cornstarch after
drying is normally 12-13 %.
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Glucose Refinery
Production of Glucose Syrup and Dextrose: Figure highlights the production process for glucose
and liquid starch. To produce glucose, the starch slurry is first treated with acid or enzymes and
heated in a conversion process to break down the starch molecule, yielding degrees, ultimately
resulting in producing a wide variety of glucose. Next, the corn syrup is refined using carbon to
remove residual color, odor, taste, or flavor bodies. At this point, some of the corn syrup has the
water removed from it to produce some types of glucose syrup (regular corn syrup). The
remainder of the corn syrup goes through a process called ion exchange to remove additional
flavor and color bodies that were missed during the previous stages of production. In this
process, the syrup passes through anion resin and cation resin vessels. In the case of fructose
syrups, additional ion exchange steps may be necessary to remove certain additional
substances. Finally, the water from this corn syrup, is evaporated to yield some additional types
of glucose syrup, dextrose, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). To produce liquid glucose, the
original starch slurry is simply fermented and distilled.
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