WO1999016857A2

WO1999016857A2 - Method for optimizing the decomposition of starch during processing of raw materials containing starch into seasoning and device for implementation of said method

Info

Publication number: WO1999016857A2
Application number: PCT/EP1998/005610
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans-Jörg MENGER; Berthold Salzgeber; Hans Joachim Pieper
Original assignee: A. Ziemann Gmbh Maschinenfabrik
Priority date: 1997-09-12
Filing date: 1998-09-04
Publication date: 1999-04-08
Also published as: WO1999016857A3; AU9741398A; DE19740051A1; RU2263140C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and device for optimizing the decomposition of starch during the process of raw materials containing starch into seasoning. The inventive method comprises the following steps: grains containing starch are suspended in water; the suspension is crushed and dispersed in an agglomerate breaker (15); the glumes thus present are detached from the grains; the grains are subdivided into smaller fragments, whereupon the cell walls of the fragments are at least partially opened and the dispersion is conducted into a collecting basin.

Description

Process for optimizing the starch digestion when processing raw materials containing starch into wort and apparatus for carrying out the process

In wort production, when the grains are crushed by roller mills, the husks are at least partially detached from the grain by squeezing and friction and the starch core is partially crushed. Starch grains still adhere to the husks and are removed from the starch processing. The starch granules sometimes retain a relatively large particle size.

The grinding gap can change during operation of the roller mill. Therefore the shot fraction has to be checked constantly and if necessary the roller has to be readjusted.

During this grinding process, the cell walls of the starch granules are partially preserved and only partially broken open. In the former case, the degree of digestion is reduced in the subsequent enzymatic digestion. Even with a longer stay (mash rest period), this disadvantage cannot be completely remedied. The yield of fermentable sugar molecules is accordingly reduced.

When grinding the grains, especially when processing raw fruit, the rollers can stick due to the thickness and the moisture adhering to or contained in the grains. Then the grinder must be cleaned.

Roller mills have the disadvantage that they also have to be mechanically serviced to a greater extent. When the grains are crushed in a roller mill, the starch particles in the grain tip are less digested because the hemicellulose of the starch particles has not been sufficiently pretreated enzymatically for the grinding process, ie has been digested. This in turn reduces the yield of fermentable sugar.

When the grains are crushed in a so-called wet grinding mill, the grains of the entire bed are moistened with water and, after a certain dwell time, crushed in a two-roll mill. Because of the uneven moistening of the grains in the bed, it has been started to guide the grains over a conditioning section and to moisten them with a predetermined amount of water. As a result, the grains of the bed are moistened relatively evenly. With this grinding process, the husks are released from the grains well and largely without being crushed. The mechanical disintegration of the starch body, however, is not sufficient, as is the case with the dry roller mill. In particular, the starch particles in the grain tip are not released from the husks.

When the grains are crushed in hammer mills, the starch grains are relatively mechanically disrupted. However, fractions with very low levels are also formed

Grain size (average diameter 5 μ), in which the hemicellulose layer has not broken open or has not broken open sufficiently and therefore starch still enclosed in the shell cannot be optimally digested enzymatically.

The crushing process in the hammer mill has the major disadvantage that the husks are also very much crushed. This has disadvantages in the subsequent refining process in a lauter tun because the specific flow is significantly reduced. The starch particles which have not been digested due to the remaining layer of heat cellulose, ie which have not been converted into fermentable sugar tend to stick the filter cloths in a mash filter, because they are squeezed by the increasing pressure and the mechanical load by the husks and then pressed against the filter cloth. This reduces the specific flow of the filter and increases the pressure drop required.

Comprehensive explosion protection devices are required for roller mills and hammer mills in order to avoid dust explosions and fires in the systems.

The invention has for its object to provide a method for digesting the starch of starchy raw materials, which enables a higher yield of fermentable extracts. This object is achieved by a method with the method steps specified in claim 1.

Because the starchy grains are first suspended in water and only fed to the comminution device as a suspension, the grains are comminuted better, the grain size distribution of the fragments being considerably more favorable than in the conventional processes. The dispersion is much more uniform and homogeneous. The fragments are more mechanically disrupted. Due to the good comminution rate and the great uniformity of the grain size distribution, the starchy grains have a better and faster enzymatic breakdown. This, in turn, makes the extract yield noticeably better, which significantly reduces the cost of the end product. As a result of the grinding of the starchy grains in the suspension, the oxygen input into the mash is less than with the conventional methods. With the new process, the temperatures of the comminution device remain lower and thus in a more favorable range for the enzymes. Due to the shredding of the starchy grains in the suspension, there is also no need to install explosion protection devices. An embodiment according to claim 2 and claim 3 ensures that the husks become more elastic and at least partially lose their brittleness, and this in turn reduces the breakage of the husks and therefore the husks separate more easily and to a greater extent from the starchy grains.

By means of an embodiment according to claim 4, the husks are comminuted to a lesser extent, which above all facilitates and improves the clarification of the mash in a lauter tun.

With an embodiment according to claim 5, a shortening of the process duration and a reduction in the energy demand peaks is achieved.

With an embodiment according to claim 6, the mechanical disruption can also be increased in the case of raw fruit in such a way that a decoction process can be dispensed with.

The process sequence is simplified and facilitated by an embodiment according to claim 7.

The invention is also based on the object of providing an apparatus for carrying out the method. This object is achieved by a device with the features specified in claim 8.

Because the comminution device is designed as a pin mill, which has at least one row of pins arranged in a ring in a stator and in a rotor, particularly uniform and very extensive comminution of the starchy grains is achieved, which at the same time results in particularly good mechanical disintegration, which entails a correspondingly improved enzymatic breakdown of the starch grains. In particular, the starch particles from the grain tips in detached to a greater extent and later, according to the enzymatic method, better digested than with the mills previously used.

In spite of the high degree of comminution of the starchy grains, a husk quality is achieved which enables a purification in the lauter tun within the periods usual up to now.

The pin mill as a shredding device requires much less maintenance than e.g. a roller mill. Due to its structure, the pin mill can be easily cleaned in a continuous process, in the so-called ClP process.

In an embodiment according to claim 9, the centrifugal effect of the rotor is used to improve and accelerate the passage of the ground material through the pin mill.

The shear forces occurring in the gap between the pin rows of the rotor and the stator in the carrier liquid are used to comminute the starch granules.

By means of an embodiment according to claim 11, a multiple, i.e. a multi-stage, crushing of the grains and their fragments achieved.

Through an embodiment according to claim 12, a multiplication of the size of the grains and their fragments is also achieved in one pass of the ground material, without the diameter of the pin mill having to be chosen too large. The fact that the individual rotor-stator groups are each housed in their own housing, which are detachably connected to one another, makes the pin mill easy assemble and disassemble. If necessary, it will also make maintenance and cleaning easier. In addition, rotor-stator groups with specified parameters for a specific regrind can be exchanged for groups whose parameters are better matched to the requirements of another regrind or whose parameters better match the degree of comminution of the regrind from previous rotor-stator groups are coordinated.

With an embodiment according to claim 13, the residence time of the ground material in the pin mill can be changed and more easily adjusted to different requirements of the different raw materials.

Through an embodiment according to claim 14, the manufacture of the rows of pins is simplified and reduced in cost, with a separate assembly also not being necessary.

In an embodiment according to claim 15, in addition to its shredding function, the pin mill also has a considerable pumping capacity, which is particularly high when the slots are aligned with both a radial and a tangential component.

With an embodiment according to claim 16, pulsations occurring simultaneously on the entire circumference of the pin mill and thus also resonance vibrations in the liquid columns are avoided.

In an embodiment according to claim 17, the initially relatively large grains are made easier to enter the grinding column of the rows of pins.

The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments. Show it:

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the devices for grinding the malt in a suspension. 2 shows a block diagram of the devices for grinding the malt in a suspension with a preceding pre-softening section and a husk separating device; FIG. 3 shows a partially cut view of a pin mill for grinding the malt in accordance with the process sequence according to FIG. 1 or FIG. 2; FIG. 4 shows an enlarged detail from FIG. 3; 5 shows a top view of a rotor or a stator and 6 of the pin mill according to FIGS. 3 and 4.

For brewing beer with malt, the malt has to be crushed in order to break up the starchy grains to such an extent and mechanically disintegrate that the starch grains of the malt grains are largely exposed and at the same time the cell walls of the starch grains are broken open, so that the enzymes contained in the malt are then broken down enzymatically can convert as much of the starch as possible into fermentable sugar. This is fermented into alcohol in later process steps. The same points of view also apply to beer brewing, where in addition to the

Malt is also used as raw fruit. The following explanations therefore also apply, at least analogously.

In the method shown in FIG. 1, the malt 10 symbolized by an arrow is poured into a soaking vessel 11 with a certain amount of bulk, the so-called bed. Water is fed into the soaking vessel 11 via a water line 12 with a shut-off valve 13, so that the malt is soaked and a suspension 14 of malt and water is produced in the soaking vessel 11.

The suspension 14 is fed to a comminution device in the form of a pin mill 15, in which the malt grains contained in the suspension are crushed. The existing husks are loosened from the malt kernels and the kernels themselves are crushed, ie they are in smaller fragments broken up and dispersed in the water as a carrier liquid. The cell walls of the starch grains contained in the grains are also largely broken open. The dispersion 16 formed in this way is transferred via a line 17 with a control valve 18 into a collecting vessel 19. In general, a mash container is used as the collecting vessel 19, which is covered by a hood 21. With the control valve 18, the dwell time of the suspension 16 in the pin mill can be changed.

Depending on the properties of the malt, it may be expedient to let the dispersion 16 pass through the pin mill 15, which acts as a dispersing device, one or more times. For this purpose, a return line 22 is provided on the bottom or near the bottom of the collecting container 19, which is equipped with a return pump 23 and which is connected to the supply line 24 of the pin mill 15. In this way, the malt is crushed several times, further crushed and more finely dispersed.

In the method shown in FIG. 2, the malt 10 is mixed with water in a pre-softening vessel 25 before being suspended in water, and is moistened or soaked for a certain time. This moistens the glumes so that they become smoother and less likely to break. The moistened malt 26 is fed to a despeling device 28 via a pipeline 27. The husks are released from the grains. The mixture of desalted malt grains and husks is passed through a pipeline 29 into a soaking vessel 31.

The soaking vessel 31 initially has the same function as the soaking vessel 11 in the method shown in FIG. 1. Water is fed into the soaking vessel 31 via a water line 32 with a shut-off valve 33 and soaked the desalted malt, thus producing a suspension 34 of malt and water in the soaking vessel 31.

The soaking vessel 31 also has another function, namely that of a separating device. From the suspension 34 made of water, malt and husks, the husks settle upwards and collect on the surface 35 of the suspension 34 as a layer of husk 36. At the level of the liquid level 35, an overflow 37 is arranged on the soaking vessel 31. This is followed by a pipeline 38 which opens into the receptacle 19. By means of the overflow 37, the husks are separated from the malt grains in the suspension 34 and fed separately to the collecting vessel 19.

The largely husk-free suspension 34, as in the method according to FIG. 1, is fed to the pin mill 15, in which the malt grains contained in the suspension 34 are crushed and dispersed in the carrier liquid. The dispersion 39 is transferred via the pipeline 17 into the collecting vessel 19.

If necessary, the dispersion 39 can be passed through the pin mill 15 one more time or more, in order to further crush and disperse the fragments of the malt grains, as indicated in the process according to FIG. 1. In this case, however, it is expedient not to transfer the husks 36 separated from the suspension 34 in the soaking vessel 31 directly into the collecting vessel 19, but rather to store them temporarily in another, not shown, collecting vessel and only after the shot and Dispersion operations of the dispersion 39 in the receptacle 19.

The pin mill 15, which is only schematically indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, is explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 using a specific exemplary embodiment. The pin mill 15 is arranged horizontally. It has a basic housing 41 in which the shaft 42 is mounted so as to be non-displaceably rotatable in the horizontal direction in the axial direction. The base housing 41 is produced as a cast part, on which a housing base 43 is molded. It is used to connect the pin mill 15 to a base plate 44, to which the drive motor 45 is also detachably connected. The drive motor 45 is coupled to the shaft 42 via an elastic coupling 46.

The pin mill 15 is designed in three stages and accordingly has three rotor-stator groups 47, 48 and 49 (FIGS. 3 and 4).

The first rotor-stator group 47 in the direction of the millbase (from left to right in FIG. 4) has the rotor 51 and the stator 52. The second rotor-stator group 48 has the rotor 53 and the stator 54. The third rotor-stator group 49 has the rotor 55 and the stator 56.

The rotors 51, 53 and 55 sit on the shaft 42 and are connected to it in a rotationally fixed manner. In the axial direction they are held in a certain axial position by a shoulder of the shaft 42 and by spacer sleeves. Everyone who

Stators 52, 54 and 56 are arranged centrally in a single housing 57 or 58 or 59 and releasably connected to it.

The individual housings 57 ... 59 are at least approximately annular. They are aligned with each other through cylindrical mating surfaces and aligned with the shaft 42 on the basic housing 41. At the same time, the stators held by them are held in the correct axial position relative to the associated rotor. The individual housings are sealed off from one another and from the basic housing 41 by means of circumferential sealing rings. The front end of the first individual housing 57, which is open to the outside, is closed by a cover 61, on which an inlet connector 62 is integrally formed. An outlet connection 63 is formed on the third individual housing 59 on the outside located above. The cover 61, the individual housings 57 ... 59 and the basic housing 41 are held together by a row of stud bolts (not visible in FIGS. 3 and 4) and by nuts 64 screwed thereon.

All three rotor-stator groups 47 ... 49 are designed in two rows, i.e. each rotor and each stator has two rows of pins arranged in a ring. The rows of pins on the rotor and on the stator alternate in the radial direction from the inside to the outside, the inner row of pins on the rotor being located within the inner row of pins on the stator.

The rotors 51, 53 and 55 match one another. As will be explained with reference to the rotor 55, they have a carrier disk 65 with an annular plan. The pins 66 and 67 are formed by circumferential sections each of an annular wall part 68 or 69, only partially indicated in FIG. 5, both of which are arranged on the same side of the carrier disk 65 in the center of its circular ring shape. Each of these wall parts 68 and 69 has a certain wall thickness. The wall parts 68 and 69 are expediently made in one piece with the carrier disk 65. By recesses 71 and 72 with a certain circumferential extent and a certain regular circumferential distribution, the two wall parts 68 and 69 are divided into the individual circumferential sections that form the pins 66 and 67, respectively. The recesses 71 in the wall part 68 and the recesses 72 in the wall part 69 have the same width and are aligned with one another. As a result, they can be produced in both wall parts 68 and 69 in one operation using the same tool. The recesses 71 and 72 in the wall part 68 and 69 form passage channels for the suspension with the regrind, which are delimited by flat side surfaces. As soon as the pins 66 and 67 rotate, they act like the blades of a radial pump. They impart a tangential acceleration to the suspension and, due to the centrifugal force that arises, a radial acceleration which promotes the suspension with the regrind in the rotor-stator group 49 to the outside. Depending on the desired pumping action, the recesses 71 and 72 can be aligned radially or, as shown in FIG. 5 for the rotor 55, they can have an alignment with a radial component and a tangential component. In relation to the direction of rotation, this orientation can be 'leading' or 'lagging'.

The stators 52, 54 and 56 are constructed similarly to the rotors, as will be explained with the aid of the stator 56, which cooperates with the rotor 55.

The stator 56 has an annular carrier disk 73. Its outer edge 74 is designed for central reception in the associated individual housing 59, which in turn is matched to this outer edge 74. The inner edge 75 of the carrier disk 73 has an internal width that is smaller than the inner dimension of the row of pins 66 of the rotor 55. The free annular surface between the inner edge 75 of the carrier disk 73 and the shaft 42 forms the inlet opening of the rotor-stator unit 49.

The stator 56 has two rows of pins 76 and 77. Similar to the rotor 55, the pins 76 and 77 are formed by circumferential sections of an annular wall part 78 and 79, which is also only partially shown in FIG. 6, both of which are arranged on the same side of the carrier disk 73 in the center of its circular ring shape. These wall parts 78 and 79 have a certain wall thickness, the wall thickness of the inner wall part 78 being on the radial distance of the row of pins 76 and 77 of the rotor 55 and the radial distance between the inner wall part 78 and the outer wall part 79 on the radial dimension of the outer wall part 79 and thus the outer row of pins 67 of the rotor 55 are mutually coordinated so that between the rows of pins 66 and 67 of the rotor 55 and the rows of pins 76 and 77 of the stator 56 certain radial gaps remain, the size of which depends, inter alia, on the type of millbase in the suspension and on the desired degree of comminution of the millbase.

The pins 76 and 77 are in turn formed by making recesses 81 and 82 on the wall parts 78 and 79, which divide the wall parts into individual circumferential sections.

A recess 81 in the wall part 78 and a recess 82 in the wall part 79 are aligned with each other. They are also the same width and are made in one operation with the same tool.

The recesses 81 and 82 form the passage channels of the stator 56. The recesses 81 and 82 are generally radially aligned. The pins 76 and 77 delimiting them with their flat side surfaces act like the guide vanes of a radial pump, through which, in conjunction with the rows of pins 66 and 67 of the rotor 55, the suspension with the regrind is conveyed outwards by the rotor-stator group 49 .

5 and 6, the number of pins 66 and 67 in the rotor 55 is smaller than the number of pins 76 and 77 on the stator 56. Reference number list Z 5. 12. PC 1

10 malt

11 soaking jar

12 water pipe

13 shut-off valve

14 suspension

15 pin mill

16 dispersion

17 line

18 shut-off valve

19 Collecting vessel 1 hood 2 return line 3 return pump

24 Inlet line 5 Pre-soaking vessel 6 Moisturized malt 7 Pipeline 8 Despeling device 9 Pipeline 1 Soaking vessel 2 Water line 3 Shut-off valve 4 Suspension 5 Surface 6 Spindle layer 7 Overflow 8 Pipeline 9 Dispersion 1 Basic housing 2 Mill shaft 3 Housing base 4 Base plate 5 Drive motor 6 Coupling 7 Rotor-stator group 8 Rotor-stator group 9 Rotor-stator group 1 rotor 2 stator 3 rotor 4 stator 5 rotor 6 stator 7 single housing 8 single housing 9 single housing 1 cover 2 inlet connector 3 outlet connector 4 nuts 5 carrier washer pencils

pencils

Wall part

Recesses

Carrier disc

Outer edge

Inside edge

pencils

Wall part

Recesses

Claims

claims

Process for optimizing starch digestion when processing starchy raw materials into wort, with the following process steps:

- starchy grains are suspended in water,

the suspension is comminuted and dispersed in a comminution device,

- - whereby existing glumes are detached from the grains,

- - the grains being broken up into smaller fragments, and

- - The cell walls of the fragments at least for

Part are broken open

- The dispersion is transferred to a collecting vessel.

2. The method according to claim 1, with the additional method step:

- Before the starchy grains are suspended, they are moistened, preferably in a conditioning section.

3. The method according to claim 1, with the additional step:

- Before the starchy grains are suspended, they are soaked in water for a predetermined period of time.

Method according to claim 1, with the additional method steps:

before the starchy grains are suspended, the husks are at least partially detached from the grains and separated from them by means of a despeling device,

- The husks are fed separately to the collecting vessel. The method of claim 1, with the further step:

- Before the starchy grains are suspended, they are roughly broken.

The method of claim 1, with the additional step:

- The dispersion is returned to the shredding device one or more times from the collecting vessel.

The method of claim 1, with the additional step:

- The dispersion is transferred to a mash container.

Device for carrying out the method according to

Claim 1, with the features:

- The comminution device for comminuting and dispersing the starchy grains is designed as a pin mill (15),

- The at least one stator (56) with at least one ring-shaped row of pins (76; 77),

- which has at least one rotor (55) with at least one ring-shaped row of pins (66; 67),

- - Which has an inlet (62) and

- - Which has an outlet (63).

Device according to claim 8, with the feature:

- The row of pins (66; 67) of the rotor (55) is located in the radial direction within the row of pins (76; 77) of the stator (56).

10. The device according to claim 8, having the feature:

- Between the row of pins (66; 67) of the rotor (55) and the row of pins (76; 77) of the stator (56) there is a radial distance which is greater than the running play of both rows of pins (66, 67; 76, 77) .

11. The device according to claim 8, with the features: - the rotor (55) has two or more rows of pins (66; 67) which are arranged centrally to one another,

- The stator (56) has two or more rows of pins (76; 77) which are arranged centrally to one another,

- The rows of pins (66; 67) of the rotor (55) and the rows of pins (76; 77) of the stator (56) have a mutual clearance, which is matched to the radial dimension of the pins of the other part.

12. The device according to claim 8, having the features:

there are two or more rotor-stator groups (47; 48; 49),

- These groups (47; 48; 49) are preferably axially aligned with one another,

- The rotor (51; 53; 55) of each group (47; 48; 49) is coupled to a common drive shaft (42),

- The stator (52; 54; 56) of each group (47; 48; 49) is arranged in its own housing (57; 58; 59) with which it is detachably connected,

- The housings (57; 58; 59) of all groups (47; 48; 49) are axially aligned and releasably connected to each other, - the inlet of a subsequent group (48; 49) connects to the outlet of the preceding group (47; 48),

- The rotor (55) and the stator (56) are expediently matched to a higher degree of comminution of the ground material, at least in part of the subsequent rotor-stator groups (48; 49), in particular by increasing the number of pins (66, 67; 76, 77) and / or by narrowing the recesses (71, 72; 81, 82) between the pins and / or by reducing the clear distance between two adjacent rows of pins (66, 76; 76, 67;

67, 77).

13. The apparatus according to claim 8, having the feature:

- There is an adjustable throttle valve (18), which is included in the drain line (17), which connects to the last rotor-stator group (49) in the flow direction.

14. The device according to claim 8, having the features:

- The pins (66, 67; 76, 77) on the rotor (55) and / or on the stator (56) are formed by peripheral sections of an annular wall (68, 69; 78, 79) with a predetermined wall thickness, which are formed by recesses (71 , 72; 81, 82) are separated from one another with a predetermined circumferential extent.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, having the feature:

- The recesses (71, 72; 81, 82) are formed by slots, - - which are either aligned radially or

- - The alignment of which has both a radial and a tangential component.

16. The apparatus according to claim 8, having the feature:

- The number of pins (66; 67) of the rotor (55) are smaller than the number of pins (76; 77) of the stator (56).

17. The apparatus according to claim 8, having the features:

- With several rows of pins (66, 67; 76, 77) on the rotor (55) and / or on the stator (56)

Pins (66) of a row of pins located further inside are less high than the pins (67) of a row of pins located further outside,

- The pins (66; 67) are preferably arranged at different heights on the rotor (55).