WO2006104504A2 - Recyclage integre d'un produit fermentescible - Google Patents

Recyclage integre d'un produit fermentescible Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2006104504A2
WO2006104504A2 PCT/US2005/022853 US2005022853W WO2006104504A2 WO 2006104504 A2 WO2006104504 A2 WO 2006104504A2 US 2005022853 W US2005022853 W US 2005022853W WO 2006104504 A2 WO2006104504 A2 WO 2006104504A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
starch
fermentation
product
stream
processing
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PCT/US2005/022853
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English (en)
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WO2006104504A3 (fr
Inventor
Eugene M. Peters, Jr.
Suhas K. Mehra
Eugene J. Fox
Ting L. Carlson
Aharon M. Eyal
Donald L. Shandera, Jr.
Ki Park
Rod R. Fisher
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Cargill, Incorporated
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Application filed by Cargill, Incorporated filed Critical Cargill, Incorporated
Publication of WO2006104504A2 publication Critical patent/WO2006104504A2/fr
Publication of WO2006104504A3 publication Critical patent/WO2006104504A3/fr

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12P—FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE
    • C12P7/00—Preparation of oxygen-containing organic compounds
    • C12P7/40—Preparation of oxygen-containing organic compounds containing a carboxyl group including Peroxycarboxylic acids
    • C12P7/56—Lactic acid
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23K—FODDER
    • A23K10/00—Animal feeding-stuffs
    • A23K10/30—Animal feeding-stuffs from material of plant origin, e.g. roots, seeds or hay; from material of fungal origin, e.g. mushrooms
    • A23K10/37—Animal feeding-stuffs from material of plant origin, e.g. roots, seeds or hay; from material of fungal origin, e.g. mushrooms from waste material
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12P—FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE
    • C12P7/00—Preparation of oxygen-containing organic compounds
    • C12P7/02—Preparation of oxygen-containing organic compounds containing a hydroxy group
    • C12P7/04—Preparation of oxygen-containing organic compounds containing a hydroxy group acyclic
    • C12P7/06—Ethanol, i.e. non-beverage
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E50/00—Technologies for the production of fuel of non-fossil origin
    • Y02E50/10—Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P60/00—Technologies relating to agriculture, livestock or agroalimentary industries
    • Y02P60/80—Food processing, e.g. use of renewable energies or variable speed drives in handling, conveying or stacking
    • Y02P60/87—Re-use of by-products of food processing for fodder production

Definitions

  • TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to processing starch-containing materials, and more particularly to processing cereal material.
  • Grains such as corn, sorghum, wheat, and rice may be processed using numerous methods including wet milling, dry milling, and extrusion.
  • a wet milling process is a type of wet processing, and may include steeping grains to soften the kernels for separation of various components. Following steeping, the grain is subjected to grinding and high speed centrifugation and/or filtration to separate various components such as germ, protein, fiber and starch. Usually, the germ is subsequently processed to vegetable oil, the protein and fiber are used for animal feed, and the starch is used for sweetener or alcohol production.
  • the operational costs of wet milling are high due to the energy requirements of dehydrating excess water, operating high speed centrifuges to separate and concentrate desirable matter, and providing fresh water.
  • Dry milling requires a smaller operating cost and a smaller capital investment than wet milling and is therefore often used as an alternative to wet milling.
  • the low costs of dry milling are offset by generally poor recovery of germ and poor protein-starch separation.
  • Conventional dry milling involves tempering with water to soften the kernels for cracking. The major products of this process include grits, meal, and flour. Dry milling may also be used for the production of alcohol because the separation of protein and starch may not be necessary for fermentation.
  • the majority of corn processing is carried out using the wet milling process, and significant efforts in the corn milling industry since the 1970's have been directed towards increasing the production of sweeteners and/or alcohol.
  • the milled corn starch product is gelatinized and then hydrolyzed by amylases.
  • corn protein is separated from the starch to form hydrolyzed syrup necessary for the production of high fructose syrup. Due to a necessity to obtain relatively pure high dextrose syrup, the more efficiently the protein is removed from the process, the better the result. Thus, wet milling is often the milling process of choice for sweetener manufacturers.
  • Alcohol production does not require as efficient of a separation, and thus, dry milling has been a more common processing approach for alcohol production because of cost considerations.
  • Alcohol may be produced from corn by liquefying and saccharifying corn endosperm or purified corn starch to provide fermentable sugars that can be converted to alcohol. The most commonly produced alcohol is ethanol for use in the beverage industry, as an industrial solvent, as a petrol additive, and as gasohol. Due to this variation, carbohydrates for sweetener and alcohol production are often manufactured separately for sale to various industries.
  • a method for treating a starch-containing material includes wet processing the starch-containing material to produce a fermentable material, fermenting at least a portion of the fermentable material using a fermentation organism to produce a fermentation broth including a fermentation product, and using at least a portion of the fermentation product in wet processing the starch-containing material.
  • an integrated process for treating starch-containing material is described. This process includes processing a first starch-containing material to produce a first stream including a first fermentable material, and fermenting the first fermentable material using a first fermentation organism to produce a first fermentation broth including a first fermentation product.
  • It also includes processing a second starch-containing material to produce a second stream including a second fermentable material, and introducing at least a portion of the first fermentation broth into processing the second starch-containing material, wherein the process of producing a first stream is integrated with a process of producing a second stream.
  • a process for treating cereal material includes wet processing a first cereal material to produce a first stream including a first starch and fermenting the first starch using a first fermentation organism to produce a first fermentation broth including a first fermentation product. It also includes wet processing a second cereal material to produce a second stream including a second starch, and fermenting the second starch using a second fermentation organism to produce a second fermentation broth including a second fermentation product. It further includes introducing at least a portion of the first fermentation broth into wet processing the second cereal material and introducing at least a portion of the second fermentation broth into wet processing the first cereal material.
  • FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram of a wet processing of corn integrated with a lactic acid fermentation, with a product depleted stream from the purification of lactic acid, containing residual lactic acid, being recycled to the steeping phase of the corn wet milling process.
  • FIG 2 is a process flow diagram of a wet milling of corn integrated with a protease production fermentation, with a product depleted stream from the purification of the protease, containing residual protease, being recycled to the milling phase of the corn wet milling process.
  • FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of a wet milling of corn integrated with a cellulase production fermentation, with a product depleted stream from the purification of the cellulase, containing residual cellulase, being recycled to the milling phase of the corn wet milling process.
  • a starch-containing material may be processed to form a fermentable material.
  • the fermentable material may be fermented with a suitable organism to form a fermentation product in a fermentation broth.
  • the broth may be separated to provide at least one product-enriched stream including a fermentation product and at least one product-depleted stream, which has a reduced concentration of fermentation product. At least one component of the broth may be recycled for use in processing the starch-containing material into fermentable material.
  • processing refers to a chemical and/or physical alteration of starch-containing material by one or more operations. These operations may facilitate penetration of reagents or degradation of the cereal material into its component parts. Examples of processing operations may include, without limitation, flaking, steeping, tempering, degerming, dewatering, fiber removal, liquefaction, saccharification, oil extraction, loosening protein coating of starch granules in the cereal material, comminuting, degrading, fractionating and/or any operation that facilitates protein separation and/or penetration of at least one agent into the cereal material.
  • the processing operations may be assisted with fermentation product and chemical and/or biological reagents, including operations for hull degradation, liquefaction, saccharification and/or protein degradation of the coating and/or matrix which holds together the starch granules of the cereal material, and fractionating protein, fiber, starch and germ.
  • starch-containing material refers to any material containing a starch including potato, soybean, sweet potato, sago, palm, cassava, and cereal materials.
  • cereal material refers to whole grain, parts, components, or products derived thereof.
  • cereal material may include whole grain kernels or portions of kernel at least partially separated by known processes such as dry-milling, wet-milling and/or extrusion.
  • cereal material may include a typical com kernel having a hull, germ, and endosperm.
  • Cereal material may also include "grits,” which refers to material remaining after whole grain kernels have been comminuted and then separated to remove the bulk of the germ material and fibrous outer layer of the kernel.
  • Cereal material may also include separated components of grains including endosperm, pericarp, germ, or derived components such as starch, protein, fiber, oil, etc. Cereal material may also be present in production streams such as a starch-containing stream, a protein-containing stream, a fiber containing stream, and a germ stream.
  • Common examples of cereal materials include, but are not limited to, corn (maize), sorghum, rice, barley, oats, rye and wheat.
  • wet processing refers to processing a starch-containing material wherein an amount of water exceeding the amount of water that can be absorbed by the starch- containing material is used to enhance separation of the components of the grain.
  • Wet processing is distinguished from dry processing and subsequent water addition and hydrolysis of starch in a dry processing stream in that the addition of excess water occurs before the starch hydrolysis stage to enhance component separations.
  • wet milling refers to a method of wet processing a starch-containing material wherein an amount of water exceeding the amount that can be absorbed by the grain is used to steep the starch-containing material and then mill the starch-containing material. Therefore, wet milling is one example of a type of wet processing.
  • lactic acid refers to lactic acid, lactate salt(s) of lactic acid, or a combination of lactic acid and lactate salt(s).
  • fertilization broth refers to a mixture including at least one fermentation product and additional components.
  • additional components which maybe present include water, nutrients, and non-fermented materials.
  • a fermentation product may be produced from a starch-containing material by a method that includes processing a starch-containing material to provide a fermentable material, addition of a fermentable material to a fermentation media, fermenting at least a portion of the fermentable material with a fermentation organism to provide a fermentation broth including a fermentation product, and recycling at least a portion of the fermentation broth for use in processing the starch-containing material.
  • Processing a starch-containing material to produce a fermentable material may be a simple or complex process.
  • the starch-containing material provided may be processed in any conventional manner.
  • processing the starch-containing material may involve only comminuting the starch-containing material to provide fermentable material for subsequent fermentation.
  • processing a starch-containing material to produce a fermentable material involves more complex and numerous processing steps.
  • producing a fermentation feedstock may be accomplished by hydrolyzing the starch slurry of the starch-containing material product of wet milling or wet processing. Any processes, including those typically used in wet processing or wet milling may be utilized in processing a starch-containing material.
  • the starch-containing material may be provided in whole or in part.
  • the starch- containing material may be a cereal material or another source.
  • the starch-containing material includes whole grains, milled grains, a dry milled grain product, and purchased processed material.
  • the starch-containing material is provided as a whole grain.
  • Processing may include separation of the starch-containing material, and components thereof, into various streams or stages.
  • streams that may be separated include a fiber stream, an oil-containing stream (e.g., germ stream), a protein-rich stream (e.g., gluten stream), a starch stream, a solubles rich stream, or any combination thereof.
  • Each of these streams may contain other components, but is enriched in at least one component compared with the starting starch-containing material.
  • These streams may be directed to downstream operations for further processing (e.g., production of fermentation feedstock), directed to one or more sidestreams (e.g., oil extraction), or used or sold directly (e.g., production of animal feed or of a fermentation feedstock).
  • the streams may be removed from the process, dried and sold as a product.
  • Processing a starch-containing material may include hydrolysis of one or more streams. If hydrolyzed, the product may be hydrolyzed to any extent.
  • a starch stream may be hydrolyzed to form a hydrolyzed starch, including hydrolyzing to dextrose.
  • Starch slurry may be hydrolyzed by any manner, including by acid hydrolysis, enzymatic digestion of the starch, or by another method.
  • Suitable acids for acid hydrolysis include inorganic acids such as hydrochloric acid and the like.
  • acid hydrolysis maybe limited in the extent of starch hydrolysis possible. Therefore, it maybe desirable to use enzymes or other means of hydrolysis to exceed a certain hydrolysis level. In general, elevating the temperature increases the rate of hydrolysis, and the temperature may therefore vary, depending on the degree of hydrolysis desired.
  • chemical or biological reagents may be used to facilitate processing of the material.
  • chemical or biological reagents that may be used include water, gelling agents, reducing agents, chelating agents, surfactants, liquefaction agents, saccharification agents, agents to assist in loosening protein coating of starch granules, oil extractants and/or protein extractants.
  • These operations and the use of reagents may be a variation of a wet-milling, dry-milling, extrusion process and/or other treatments to generate fermentable materials.
  • At least one of the streams formed in the processing of cereal material provides a fermentable material.
  • the fermentable material may include carbon sources, nitrogen sources, or both.
  • processing a starch-containing material will include subjecting provided whole grains to wet processing.
  • the steps of wet processing may vary.
  • wet processing will generally include steeping the whole grain, a coarse grind step, density separation of the germ, one or more fine-grind steps, screening the fiber, separating starch and protein streams, and hydrolyzing the starch stream.
  • all of these steps may not be necessary or conducted, while other steps not listed may be utilized.
  • At least a portion of the fermentable material may be fermented to provide a fermentation broth.
  • a suitable organism converts the fermentable material to one or more fermentation products.
  • the fermentation broth includes a fermentation product that has been fermented by the fermentation organism, as well as any unconsumed nutrients or byproducts of the fermentation organism.
  • Brock and Madigan Bossiology of Microorganisms, 5th ed, p. 125, Prentice-Hall, Lie, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1988
  • fermentation may be described as an internally balanced oxidation and/or reduction of organic compounds with the release of energy by a suitable organism.
  • the fermentable material stream may be used directly, or may be subjected to further processing before fermenting.
  • the fermentable material may include media for fermentation having sufficient nutrients and water. Alternatively, a fermentation media may be added with the fermentable material prior to fermentation.
  • a fermentation media may include a carbon source (such as starch or hydrolyzed starch), water, and one or more of nitrogen, vitamins, minerals, and other trace components as required that will support the growth and/or production of a fermentation product.
  • Other components may be added to the fermentation media including flocculants such as polyamines, reducing agents, and surfactants, hi certain processes the fermentation media may be present as part of a process stream including fermentable material. Additional reagent components may also be added to the broth or fermentation media prior to fermentation, during fermentation, or after fermentation to assist in isolating the fermentation product or to enhance fermentation conditions.
  • the fermentation media may already include the fermenting organism, or the fermenting organism may be added for fermentation.
  • Fermentation organisms that may be utilized include any fermentation organism that will produce the fermentation product using the appropriate carbon source, typically starch or hydrolyzed starch.
  • the organism may vary depending on the desired fermentation product.
  • the organism may be an aerobic or anaerobic fermenter. Examples of suitable organisms include, but are not limited to, prokaryotic (e.g., species of Lactobacillus, Acetobacter, Acetobacterium, Propionibacterium, Clostridia, Streptococcus,
  • yeasts e.g., Saccharonmyces, Kluyveromyces, Candida, Eremohecium, and Ashbya
  • fungi e.g., Rhizopus and Aspergillus
  • the organisms ferment the fermentable material and in the process provide a fermentation broth which includes fermentation product.
  • a variety of fermentation products may be formed depending on the organism and desired products.
  • the fermentation product is a product produced in a fermentation process by the fermentation organism.
  • the fermentation product may a volatile or non-volatile compound. Examples of fermentation products include, but are not limited to:
  • organic acids e.g., carboxylic acids such as lactic acid, citric acid, malic acid, gluconic acid, itaconic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, butyric acid, acetic acid, and propionic acid;
  • solvents e.g., ethanol, glycerol, butanol, and acetone
  • enzymes including hydrolytic and proteolytic enzymes (e.g., cellulases, hemicellulases, xylanases, proteases, peptidases, amylases, glycoamylases, phytases, phosphatases, or any combination thereof); • amino acids (e.g., either the L or D forms of aspartic acid, lysine, threonine, isoleucine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, and glutamic acid);
  • hydrolytic and proteolytic enzymes e.g., cellulases, hemicellulases, xylanases, proteases, peptidases, amylases, glycoamylases, phytases, phosphatases, or any combination thereof
  • amino acids e.g., either the L or D forms of aspartic acid, lysine, threonine, isoleucine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, and gluta
  • nucleotides e.g., 5 '-inosinic acid (5'-IMP) and 5'-guanylic acid (5 '-GMP)
  • 5'-IMP 5 '-inosinic acid
  • 5 '-GMP 5'-guanylic acid
  • vitamins e.g., Bi 2 , C, riboflavin, and biotin
  • antibiotics e.g., cephalosporins, penicillins, erythromycins, and tetracycline
  • hypocholesterolemic agents e.g, statins
  • immunosuppressants e.g., cyclosporin
  • plant growth enhancers e.g., gibberellins
  • antioxidants and carotenoids e.g. ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, astaxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein
  • antihelrnintics For example, various mutants of Corynebacterium can overproduce lysine. Bacillus subtilis mutants may be producers of inosine and guanosine. Strains of S. marcescens can produce biotin. Aspergillus species may be used as a citric acid producer, while Lactobacillus, Rhizopus and Acetobacter species are known for producing lactic acid during fermentation. Rhizopus oryae, for example, produces a stereochemical ⁇ pure L-(+)- lactic acid. Actinobacillus and Succinogenes species are known to produce other organic acids.
  • Saccharomyces, Kluyveromyces, Candida, Clostridia, and Zymomonas are known for producing ethanol.
  • Corynebacterium and Brevibacterium species produce amino acids.
  • Other species and fermentation products will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
  • the fermentation product commonly has a value in its pure form, but does not necessarily have to have its own market. Further, the fermentation product desirably has characteristics or activity which facilitates processing starch-containing material.
  • At least a portion of the fermentation broth may be recycled for use in processing the starch-containing material.
  • this will involve recycling at least some amount of the fermentation product.
  • the recycled component may include at least a portion of the fermentation broth, the product-enriched stream, the product-depleted stream, or any combination thereof.
  • the recycled component acts to facilitate the processing and will not have a deleterious effect on the method of processing a starch-containing material.
  • the recycled component includes fermentation product, but may also include at least one of the additional components.
  • the recycled stream will include more than a trace amount of fermentation product.
  • the recycled stream may include at least 0.1% by mass of fermentation product as a percentage of the final mass in the fermentation broth.
  • the recycled stream will include at least 0.25% by mass, 0.5% by mass, 0.75% by mass, 1% by mass, 2% by mass, 5% by mass, or more of fermentation product as a percentage of the final product concentration in the fermentation broth.
  • the location selected for introducing the recycled component into the processing step will vary, depending upon factors such as the fermentation product, the location of maximum benefit or impact for recycling the fermentation product, and where the additional components present in the recycled stream may be useful in processing.
  • the fermentation product may be used as a reagent in processing the starch-containing material.
  • the fermentation product may be recycled for use in the initial processing stage to facilitate steeping, tempering, or loosening the protein coating of starch granules in cereal material.
  • the fermentation product may also be used in gelatinization, liquefaction, or any other operation that facilitates penetration of reagents or degradation of the starch-containing material into its component parts for forming fermentable material.
  • a stream containing at least a portion of the fermentation product may be recycled to any stage of processing, including but not limited to, steeping, grinding, degerming, starch washing, hydrolyzation, liquefaction, and saccharification.
  • the recycled component may also be recycled to multiple processing steps or to streams formed during processing. For example, at least a portion of the recycled component may be recycled to a stream to produce fermentable material and at least a portion of the recycled component may also be recycled for use in a protein stream or germ stream. In addition, a portion of the recycled component may be recycled to one stage in processing, and another recycled component may be recycled to a different processing stage or stream.
  • the fermentation broth may be treated prior to recycling. For example, the fermentation broth may be treated to remove non-fermentable compounds.
  • any product-enriched stream or product-depleted stream which is recycled for use in processing may also be treated to remove non-fermentable compounds prior to recycling.
  • the recycling step may include one or more separations. Separation of the fermentation broth to form a product-enriched stream and a product depleted stream may be achieved by any suitable means. For example, separation may be carried out by extraction, distillation, filtration, reverse osmosis, precipitation, or the like.
  • the broth may be initially separated to provide a product-enriched stream of substantially pure fermentation product and a product depleted stream.
  • the product depleted stream will also include unfermented material.
  • the product-enriched stream can be removed from the process for specialized use, used for commercial sale if the fermentation product has independent value, or recycled for use in further processing of the starch-containing material.
  • the remaining product depleted stream may often include fermentation product which has not been efficiently separated during the initial separation.
  • the product depleted stream may then be further separated to provide a second product-enriched stream and a second product depleted stream.
  • this second product- enriched stream may be removed for specialized use, used for commercial sale, or recycled for use in processing cereal material.
  • This second product depleted stream like the first, may be recycled for use in processing the cereal material.
  • the product-enriched stream commonly has a greater ratio of fermentation product to impurities (e.g., ancillary components) than the product-depleted stream, and also a greater fraction of the fermentation product. This may be measured, for example, by mass %, weight percent per volume, or by material content. Conversely, the product-depleted stream generally has a higher ratio of impurities and a smaller fraction of the fermentation product.
  • impurities e.g., ancillary components
  • the broth may be separated to provide a cruder product-enriched stream, which has a ratio of fermentation product to impurities higher than that in the product-depleted stream, but that also includes a significant proportion of additional components other than the fermentation product.
  • additional components include non-fermented carbohydrates, peptides, water, organism cells, fermentation by-products, or other components.
  • the product-enriched stream has at least 50% of the fermentation product present in the solution from which the product-stream derived. More desirably, the product- enriched stream has at least about 60% of the fermentation product from the fermentation broth, and even more desirably at least about 85% of the fermentation product from the fermentation broth.
  • separation of substantially pure fermentation product from the fermentation broth becomes increasingly less efficient as the relative concentration of fermentation product within the fermentation broth decreases.
  • a first product-enriched stream of fermentation product may be removed from the broth at relatively low cost per unit of product, leaving the product-depleted stream for either additional processing or for recycling within the system.
  • fermentation product may be recycled for use in initial stage processing when the fermentation product is an organic acid.
  • organic acids include carboxylic acids, lactic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, butyric acid, acetic acid, and propionic acid, and may be produced by an acid producing organism such as species of Lactobacillus, Aspergillus, Candida, Actinobacillus, Rhizopus and Acetobacter.
  • a component of the broth containing the organic acid fermentation product may be recycled for use in steeping the starch-containing material to facilitate degradation of starch-containing material into its component parts.
  • the organic acid is recycled together with additional components from the fermentation broth including water, which reduces the need to provide additional process water to the system. This acts to reduce the evaporation load of the overall process.
  • This type of component recycling is beneficial because it facilitates processing, reduces costs associated with providing new materials and eliminating waste volume, reduces the cost of product recovery, decreases waste generation, and reduces costs related to waste treatment.
  • the recycled component may be provided to other processing operations including starch and/or protein degradation.
  • the broth may include fermentation product in the form of enzymes such as phytase or amylase. These enzymes may be produced by genetically engineered microbes.
  • the broth may also contain other enzymes as by-products of the fermentation process.
  • the enzymes may have activity to degrade carbohydrates, phytic acid, and protein, to provide carbon, nitrogen, phosphates, and other valuable nutrients in a form that is most suitable for uptake by the organism and to permit active fermentation.
  • the broth components may be recycled for use in hydrolization, saccharification, or liquefaction of the starch-containing material to provide the fermentable material for forming the fermentation product.
  • the fermentation product may be recycled into a proteinaceous stream to provide available nutrients for a source of fermentation feedstock, and assist in the fermentation of fermentable material.
  • inventions of the present process may include recycling multiple portions of the broth within the system. For example, a portion of the broth may be recycled for use in processing the starch-containing material and another portion of broth recycled for use in fermenting the fermentable material. In another example, at least a fraction of a product-enriched stream is recycled to one operation in processing (e.g., hydrolization) and at least a fraction of a product depleted stream is recycled to another operation of processing (e.g., steeping).
  • processing e.g., hydrolization
  • at least a fraction of a product depleted stream is recycled to another operation of processing (e.g., steeping).
  • a lactic acid fermentation product might be recycled to a mill water stream for steeping, or directly into a steeping stream to improve corn material separation, improves sulfite absorption in steeping, or to prevent deleterious contamination;
  • a lactic acid fermentation product might be recycled to an aqueous wet processing stream to inhibit contamination, improve sulfite chemistry, or to eventually enter steeping;
  • a protease fermentation product might be recycled to mill water to steep or directly to steeping to improve starch release; • a protease fermentation product might be recycled to an aqueous milling stream to improve starch release during milling;
  • a protease fermentation product might be recycled to steeping to reduce subsequent steep water evaporator fouling or to change nutritional characteristics of the steepwater; • a cellulase fermentation product might be recycled to mill water or directly to steeping to improve starch release;
  • a cellulase fermentation product might be recycled to an aqueous milling stream to improve starch release during milling;
  • an amylase fermentation product might be recycled to processing streams containing primarily germ, fiber, or gluten to assist in destarching the stream;
  • a phytase fermentation product might be recycled to steeping to digest phytate, reducing phytate scaling and increase free phosphorus; • a phytase fermentation product may be added to processing streams containing primarily germ, fiber, or gluten to lower the phytate content of the final product of those stream; and
  • cereal material is processed to a carbohydrate material such as dextrose, fermentation feedstock, fermentation product, germ and animal feed, through at least two operational stages.
  • carbohydrate material such as dextrose, fermentation feedstock, fermentation product, germ and animal feed
  • the first operation includes providing and processing a cereal material.
  • the cereal material will be steeped in a liquid to provide steeped cereal material and a steeping water stream.
  • the steeped cereal material may then be substantially separated from the steeping water stream, and then may be further separated.
  • the separation may provide a germ stream, a fiber stream, a protein stream, a starch stream, or combinations thereof.
  • a germ stream may be used for production of vegetable oil.
  • a fiber stream, protein stream and at least a portion of the steep water may be used as ingredients for animal feed.
  • a starch stream is generally directed to further processing, including liquefaction and saccharification to a carbohydrate material or high dextrose equivalent material by methods commonly known by those skilled in the art.
  • the steep water may also be concentrated to form a steeping liquor stream, which may be combined with other streams.
  • the cereal material is processed to form at least one fermentable material.
  • non-fermentable material may be formed.
  • the fermentable material and non-fermentable material may be separated, with the fermentable material directed to a fermentation stage for fermenting a fermentation product. Alternatively, both the fermentable material and non-fermentable material may be directed to the fermentation stage.
  • a second operation includes fermenting the fermentable material using a suitable organism to form a broth.
  • the broth may then be separated to form a stream containing a volatile or non- volatile fermentation product and at least one product-depleted stream.
  • the product-depleted stream may, but not necessarily, include an amount of fermentation product.
  • a third operation may include fermenting the fermentable material with a suitable organism, which may be the same or different organism of that in the second operation, to form a second broth, which may also be separated to provide a stream containing a fermentation product and at least one product-depleted stream.
  • the process may be integrated in that at least one stream formed in one of the operations is used in one of the other operations.
  • a fermentation product may be recycled for use in the steeping stage of the first operation.
  • a fermentation product may be used in the processing of at least one stream produced by separating the cereal material.
  • the fermentation product may include organic acids, enzymes, alcohol or other fermentation products capable of being used in one of the operations.
  • the fermentation product from the first operation may be directly conveyed via piping to the second operation.
  • the fermentation product from the first operation may be immediately used in the second operation.
  • the method may be used in producing a fermentation product from a starch- containing material by processing the starch-containing material with the aid of the fermentation product from the first operation to form a fermentable material.
  • the fermentable material may be fermented to form a broth including the fermentation product.
  • the broth may then be separated to provide a product-enriched stream, which includes at least a portion of the fermentation product, and a product depleted stream which includes non- fermented carbohydrate material.
  • At least a portion of the fermentation product may then be recycled to the first operation to aid in forming the fermentable material.
  • the fermentation product may be recycled from the product-enriched stream or product depleted stream for use in forming the fermentable material.
  • the fermentation product may be an organic acid, enzyme, vitamin, amino acid, nucleotide, solvent, or any other fermentation product known by those skilled in the art.
  • the starch-containing material may be processed by any number of methods known by those skilled in the art including dry-milling, wet-milling, and extrusion. Each of these methods has processing steps, the fermentation product may be recycled to aid in the processing of the cereal material at any step used in the processing method.
  • a wet-milling process will be used. Wet-milling traditionally includes at least one of a soaking stage, a starch separation stage, and a starch degradation stage, and therefore the cereal material may be contacted with the fermentation product at the soaking stage, the starch separation stage, the starch degradation stage, or any combination thereof. Additionally, the fermentation product may be solubilized in solution or concentrated before being used to contact the cereal material.
  • the fermentable material may be provided to a first fermentation stream and a second fermentation stream.
  • the fermentable material may be fermented to provide broths with different fermentation products.
  • the fermentable material in the first fermentation stream may be fermented to provide a carboxylic acid.
  • the fermentable material in the second fermentation stream may be fermented to provide an alcohol. Pre-processing might also be done as part of an integrated production path.
  • Another embodiment includes an integrated process including two processing trains.
  • a first train includes a first starch-containing material which is processed and fermented to form a first fermentation product.
  • a second train includes a second starch-containing material which is processed and fermented to form a second fermentation product.
  • the first fermentation product is used in processing the second starch-containing material, while the second fermentation product is used in processing the first starch-containing material.
  • the starch-containing material used in the two trains may be the same or different.
  • the first fermentation product is used in processing the first and the second starch-containing materials.
  • the second fermentation product is used in processing the first and the second starch-containing materials.
  • Alcohol is common because of its wide commercial need as an industrial solvent and as a consumable (e.g., for use in the beverage industry). Alcohol may also be recycled for use in processing starch- containing material, such as cereals. As alcohol is produced from fermentable material, the broth may be de-watered by readily known methods including reverse-osmosis and distillation to form a product-enriched stream having a higher concentration of alcohol than the remaining product- depleted stream. The product-enriched stream may then be recycled for use in processing. Alternatively, the product-depleted stream may be de- watered if a portion of the alcohol was separated as a product-stream for other uses, and the product-depleted stream recycled for use in processing.
  • the alcohol product-enriched stream may be used to extract protein from a stream produced from processing the starch-containing material.
  • the gluten overflow stream and steep water both contain many soluble and insoluble proteins, which may be separated from solution with the assistance of the alcohol fermentation product.
  • the extracted protein-alcohol mixture may then be further processed to remove the alcohol from the protein to provide a highly concentrated protein fraction.
  • Protein extraction may be effected by factors such as changing the water content of the solution, and changing the solution pH.
  • a base e.g., NaOH, Ca(OH) 2 , KOH, and NH 4 OH
  • the protein fraction may then be used as a nutritional supplement for fermentation (e.g., as fermentation feedstock) or for use in alternative products such as animal feed.
  • the product-depleted fraction may also be recycled for use in processing to conserve nutrients and water within the system, or a portion may also be used to add nutritional value to alternative products such as animal feed.
  • HPLC high pressure liquid chromatography
  • Example 1 Corn Wet Milling Corn kernels are cleaned using a series of perforated screens of a size suitable to retain the corn and to allow removal of dust and debris. Cleaned corn is steeped in an aqueous solution originating from process water used in the mill containing 1800 ppm of SO2, at 49°C (120°F) for 30 hours in a 10 tank steep battery connected in series with a counter-current flow of the aqueous solution to the age of the steeping corn, with the aqueous solution first contacting the corn having the longest residence time in the battery. Approximately, 1.2 rn 3 of the aqueous solution is used per metric ton of corn (8 gallons of aqueous solution/bushel of corn) being steeped. After 30 hours of steeping, the corn and the aqueous solution, now enriched in corn solubles and metabolic products of naturally occurring lactic acid fermentation in the steep battery, are recovered as the steeped corn and light steep water product of steeping, respectively.
  • the steeped corn product is ground in the presence of mill process water. Grinding of the steeped corn is performed in three stages.
  • the first stage (“first grind") releases most of the germ from the steeped corn using a 91 cm (36 inch) grind mill fitted with Devil's toothed plates operating at 900 rpm.
  • the slurry discharge from the first grind mill is pressure feed at approximately is 6.2 bars (90 psi) through a two-pass hydrocyclone battery consisting of 15.24 cm (6 inch) hydrocyclones to separate the germ.
  • the separated germ is washed with mill process water and dried in a rotary drum drier to yield a dried germ product.
  • the remaining slurry from which most germ has been separated is milled again, coarsely ground using a second 91 cm (36 inch) grind mill ("second grind") fitted with Devil's toothed plates operating at 900 rpm to detach remaining germ from ground corn in the slurry. Freed germ present in the second grind discharge slurry is separated and recovered using hydrocyclones as described above.
  • the remaining corn material is passed over 50 micron screen ("third grind dewatering screen").
  • the filtrate containing starch-protein moves forward, while the corn material retained as overs by the screen is fine ground using a 36 inch grind mill (“third grind”) fitted with Devil's toothed plates operating at 1800 rpm.
  • the fiber component in the slurry of the third grind discharge is removed by a 7 stage screen separation system arranged such that the fiber is washed in a counter current flow of fiber to mill process water, where the cleanest fiber is washed with the mill process water added to the screen system. Washed fiber is discharged at the seventh and last stage, while starch and protein containing slurry is discharged at the first stage.
  • the screen opening on the first fiber wash stage is 50 micron, followed by 75 micron on the second through sixth stage and 150 micron of the last stage.
  • the washed fiber is dewatered using screw presses, and dried using a rotary drier, resulting in the dried fiber product.
  • the discharge from the third grind dewatering screen and first stage fiber wash are combined, creating a slurry with a density of approximately 8 Baume.
  • This slurry is thickened with a Merco H36 centrifuge. This centrifuge operates at 2600 rpm and is fitted with No. 24 size nozzle.
  • the overflow from the centrifuge is used as process water for steeping (also known as mill water), while the underflow slurry, having a Baume of 12, is fed to a second H36 centrifuge (referred to as primary centrifuge).
  • the starch-protein in the fed slurry is separated by the primary centrifuge.
  • the primary centrifuge operates at 2200 rpm and is fitted with No. 24 nozzle to yield an underflow and overflow slurry.
  • the overflow slurry is protein-enriched, containing approximately 60% (db) protein, while the underflow slurry is starch enriched.
  • the protein enriched overflow slurry from this centrifugation is then further dewatered by centrifugation with a third Merco H36 centrifuge operating at 2600 rpm, dewatered on a rotary drum filter and dried using a flash drier. This results in the dried protein rich product, also known as corn gluten meal.
  • the starch enriched slurry originating from the underflow of the second Merco H36 centrifuge described above is passed through a 12 stage Dorr-Oliver clam shell hydrocyclone starch wash battery.
  • the starch wash battery is designed such that a counter-current flow between the starch enriched stream entering the first stage of the battery and potable water entering at the twelfth stage of the battery is achieved.
  • Each stage starch wash stage has several 10 mm hydroclones arranged in parallel fashion.
  • Typical feed pressure to each starch wash stage, except the twelfth stage, is 6.2 bar (90 psi); the feed pressure on the twelfth stage is 8.27 (120 psi).
  • Purified starch with a slurry density of 23 Baume is recovered as underflow from the twelfth stage of the starch wash battery, also known as starch slurry or starch product of corn wet milling.
  • Wheat kernels are cleaned using a series of perforated screens of a size suitable to retain the wheat and to allow removal of dust and debris.
  • the cleaned wheat is passed through a series of breaking and sifting steps, breaking accomplished with break roller mills with grinding rolls that are corrugated followed by sifting and repeated as necessary.
  • the product is then introduced into a purifier to separate the wheat material into a bran stream, a purified endosperm stream, and a stream of particles that are a composite of bran and endosperm.
  • the various streams are then separated for further processing.
  • the purified endosperm stream is size reduced with a roller mill with smooth rolls and sifted to produce wheat flour.
  • the flour is delivered to a water jacked continuous dough mixer by a vibrating single deck feeder, temperature of the continuous dough mixer is maintained at 25°C, and water is delivered.
  • the resulting dough is fed directly to a 2 stage washing unit.
  • wash water and dilute starch slurry from the second stage washer are combined with the dough and flow concurrently through the drum of the washer, to form an insoluble gluten mass and a aqueous slurry of starch.
  • the gluten from the first stage drum washer is separated from the starch slurry using a 200 micron stainless steel vibratory screen.
  • the resulting starch slurry contains 5.5 Baume starch.
  • the separated gluten is then passed through a second stage drum washer in combination with fresh water to further purify the gluten from the entrained starch.
  • the gluten from the second stage drum washer is separated from the dilute starch slurry using a 200 micron stainless steel vibratory screen, the dilute starch slurry is then recycled to the first stage drum washer to wash the dough.
  • the wet gluten is then pumped to a gluten dryer to form the gluten product and the starch slurry is recovered.
  • the starch slurry resulting from the wet processing of wheat may be passed through a 90 micron Dorr-Oliver DSM sieve. This sieve retains impurities and passes the desired starch slurry, and processing includes washing the material retained on the screens with water sprays to free entrained starch. The purified wheat starch slurry is recovered.
  • the purified wheat starch slurry maybe passed through a Merco nozzle bowl disc-type centrifuge modified to allow for introduction of fresh wash water into the bowl.
  • the introduction of fresh water acts to displace dissolved solids, B starches, and pentosans.
  • Awash water ratio of 0.1 part wash water to 1 part purified wheat starch slurry is desirable, and concentrates the starch to 20 Baum ⁇ .
  • the concentrated, purified wheat starch slurry is then recovered.
  • a starch slurry with a 23 Baume is provided.
  • the pH of the slurry is then adjusted to 1.8 using 22 Baume hydrochloric acid.
  • the pH 1.8 slurry is then introduced into a Dedert continuous acid conversion system (Olympia Fields, Illinois, USA) at 146°C ( 295 0 F) for 18 minutes.
  • the starch is hydrolyzed to 85 dextrose equivalents (DE).
  • DE dextrose equivalents
  • the pH of the converted starch is then adjusted to pH 4.8 using 10% soda ash and cooled.
  • Enzyme hydrolysis of starch is performed by liquefaction and saccharification.
  • the liquefaction step is conducted by adding water to the starch to adjust the dry solid content of the mixture to 35%.
  • the pH of slurry is then adjusted to pH 5.5 using sodium hydroxide solution.
  • Calcium chloride is added to the slurry to reach a minimum of at least 5 ppm free calcium.
  • TERMAMYL SUPRA® enzyme (an amylase available from Novozymes North America, Inc) is added to the slurry in the amount of 0.4 liter per metric ton of starch dry solids.
  • the mixture is then heated in a continuous jet cooker to 108 0 C (226.4°F) and held for 5 minutes in a pressurized vessel.
  • a starch hydrolyzate with a DE of 8 to 12 is produced.
  • the saccharification step is performed by obtaining the starch hydrolyzate from the liquefaction step and cooling the hydrolysate to 60 0 C.
  • the dry solid content is adjusted to 32 % by adding water.
  • the pH of this diluted hydrolyzate is adjusted to ph 4.1 - 4.3 using sulfuric acid.
  • DEXTROZYME E® enzyme (a mixture of amyloglucosidase and pullunase, available from Novozymes North America, Inc) is added in the amount of 0.7 liters per metric ton of dry solids. The mixture is then held for 40 hours. After 40 hours, a dextrose content of 95-97%, on a dry solid basis, is achieved.
  • a IL batch fermentation was carried out in a water jacketed glass vessel with an impeller using as the fermentation organism a lactic acid producing strain of Lactobacillus sp. isolated from the steeping phase of the corn wet milling process.
  • the fermentation media contained 3.04% dry basis light steep water solids obtained from a corn wet milling process, lOg/L yeast extract, 80g/L dextrose (a hydrolyzed corn starch), 2g/L K 2 HPO 4 , 2g/L ammonium citrate, 0.2g/L MgSO 4 , 0.05g/L MnSO 4 , and 33g/L CaCO 3 . Fermentation was carried out at 48 0 C with agitation. After 46 hours the fermentation broth was drained from the fermenter and analyzed. The resulting fermentation broth contained 72.7 g/L lactic acid, and had a pH of 4.21.
  • a 400ml portion of the fermentation broth was separated, brought to pH 6.46 using dry calcium hydroxide, and then concentrated by rotoevaporation at 60 0 C until a 4x concentrate was achieved.
  • the concentrate at 60 0 C was then centrifuged to remove precipitate in the sample.
  • the sample was then cooled to room temperature with 2 subsequent centrifugations removing the crystallized calcium lactate fermentation product from the fermentation broth.
  • a total of 24.64g of lactate was precipitated from the broth, leaving 4.44g of lactic acid in the residual broth which was then diluted to 50ml.
  • the precipitated fermentation broth was then acidified to pH 3.2 with concentrated sulfuric acid and the resulting precipitate removed by centrifugation.
  • Two laboratory scale batch steeps were set up in 250ml glass jars with lids placed in a water bath to control temperature, containing lOOg of corn and 150ml of steep water of the following compositions:
  • Control steep 150ml of mill water obtained from a conventional corn wet mill was laced with sodium bisulfite to achieve O.llg SO 2 in the mill water/100g corn steeped.
  • Lactic acid steep 125ml of mill water was combined with 25ml of the precipitated acidified fermentation broth to deliver 15g/L lactic acid, and sodium bisulfite was added to achieve O.llg SO 2 in the mill water + precipitated acidified fermentation broth/10Og corn steeped.
  • the control steep was inoculated with the steep bacteria harvested from 100ml of freshly sampled light steep water from a conventional corn wet milling process. This was done to allow for natural production of lactic acid from the steep solids leeching from the corn kernels, as occurs in the industrial corn steeping process. This provided a better control to compare the lactic acid steep sample against, as lactic acid was introduced in the lactic acid steep without requiring natural production.
  • both the control steep and the lactic acid steep were steeped for a further 24 hours. At 48 hours the steep water from both of the steeps was drawn and analyzed by
  • Both the steep waters resulting from the control steep and the lactic acid steep can be used as the steep solids component of the fermentation broth of the initial lactic acid fermentation.
  • the lactic acid steep water has higher concentrations of dextrose and fructose.
  • the desirable effect of having higher concentrations of dextrose and fructose in the steep water is that it reduces the amount of supplemental dextrose required in the fermentation media.
  • Example 4 The procedure of Example 4 was followed with the modification that the lactic acid steeping was conducted at 56 0 C.
  • the steep water product from this steep has the composition shown in Table 1.
  • Table 1 Composition of steep water products from laboratory steeps at 48 0 C g/L in the sample Steep Dextrose Fructose Lactic acid
  • Example 1 The process of Example 1 is followed with some modifications.
  • a protease enzyme is produced by a protease producing Bacillus sp. in a fermentation media comprising hydrolyzed starch derived from the corn wet milling process of Example 1.
  • the process of Example 1 is also modified, in that the fermentation broth, after separation of a portion of the protease product, is introduced to the coarse grind step of corn wet milling.
  • Example 1 The process of Example 1 is followed with some modifications.
  • a cellulase enzyme is produced by a cellulase producing strain of Thrichoderma sp. in a fermentation media comprising hydrolyzed starch derived from the corn wet milling process of Example 1.
  • the process of Example 1 is also modified, in that the fermentation broth, after separation of a portion of the cellulase product, is introduced to the coarse grind step of corn wet milling.
  • Example 2 The process of Example 2 is followed with some modifications.
  • a cellulase enzyme is produced by a cellulase producing strain of Thrichoderma sp. in a fermentation media comprising hydrolyzed starch derived from the wheat wet milling process of Example 2.
  • the process of Example 1 is also modified, in that the fermentation broth, after separation of a portion of the cellulase fermentation product, is introduced to the first stage drum washer of the process for wet processing of wheat.
  • a corn processing process including recycling of acid fermentation product to the soaking stage of corn is illustrated schematically in the flow chart included as FIG 1, and is accomplished by the following: After corn kernels are soaked 8-24 hours in a lactic acid/SO 2 solution (as provided below), the corn is milled using conventional wet milling techniques. Corn starch purified by this process is converted to dextrose by means typical to the industry and incorporated into a fermentation media. The fermentation media contains 24-36% soak water from the com acid/S ⁇ 2 corn soaking step, 5g/L yeast extract, 50-100g/L dextrose, 2g/LK.
  • This fermentation media is then fermented using a Lactobacillus sp. lactic acid producing microorganism.
  • the lactic acid fermentation product produced by the Lactobacillus sp. is preferably enriched for one isomer of lactic acid, and the fermentation product is ideally 90% or greater L(+) or D(-) lactic acid.
  • the fermentation is allowed to continue for up to 48 hours, achieving at least about 75g/L lactic acid at a pH of no more than 4.5 in the fermentation broth.
  • the lactic acid is then precipitated as a calcium lactate salt with calcium hydroxide, with a resulting pH of at about 6.0 in the fermentation broth.
  • the resulting calcium lactate precipitate is separated from the fermentation broth.
  • the calcium lactate may then be purified and used to produce lactic acid.
  • a mineral acid such as sulfuric acid and/or sulfurous acid
  • an appropriate pH for corn soaking such as about 3.0-4.5 pH.
  • Any resulting calcium sulfate is then removed by filtration.
  • the clarified, acidified, precipitated, product-depleted, aqueous solution is then made up to about 1000-3000 ppm sulfur dioxide through addition of either gaseous SO 2 or BSS (bisodium disulfite, also known as sodium bisulfite).
  • BSS bisodium disulfite, also known as sodium bisulfite
  • This soaking replaces the traditional steeping phase of the corn wet milling process, in which lactic acid producing bacteria ferment free sugars leeching from the corn kernels into roughly a racemic mixture of lactic acid.
  • the corn is soaked in this aqueous solution from 8 to 24 hours.
  • the resulting soak water includes water soluble nutrients that have leeched/perfused out of the corn.
  • the soak water is added to the fermentation as a nitrogen and nutrient source, in the proportions described above.
  • Example 10 Another corn processing process follows the same process as Example 9, with a few changes. First, the corn is pretreated with gaseous sulfur dioxide before soaking. Second, sulfurous acid/SO 2 is not added to the precipitated, acidified fermentation broth during recycling. Thus, the pretreated corn is soaked in the acidified, filtered, product-depleted stream for up to 12 hours. As in Example 9, because the typical lactic acid fermentation of steeping has been replaced, the lactic acid in the soak water is enriched for the isomer of lactic acid prevalent in the downstream lactic acid fermentation. In addition, the required soak time for the corn kernels is greatly reduced through the combination of gaseous SO 2 pretreatment application, and soaking in an aqueous solution including lactic acid, as there is no delay caused by waiting for lactic acid production.
  • Example 9 Another corn processing process follows the same process as Example 9, with a few changes.
  • the steeping temperature is maintained at or above 55°C, inhibiting the Lactobacillus sp. typically present in steeping.
  • lactic acid production during the soaking stage is further reduced due to the use of the elevated temperature during steeping.
  • Example 12 A corn processing process including recycling of protease enzyme to an upstream stage to facilitate starch separation is illustrated schematically in the flow chart included as FIG. 2, and is accomplished by the following:
  • Corn is steeped and milled as typical to the wet milling industry. Corn starch is purified as known to those in the industry and is converted to dextrose and incorporated into the fermentation media.
  • the media (derived from Adinarayana, et. al., AAPS PharmSciTech 2003; 4(4) Article 56) contains 5.0g/L dextrose, 7.5g/L peptone, and 5% vol/vol of a salt solution containing 0.5% MgSO 4 *7H 2 O (wt/vol), 0.05% KH 2 PO 4 , 0.5% wt/vol, and 0.01% FeSO 4 *7H 2 O wt/vol.
  • the media is then inoculated with a strain of Bacillus subtilis, which secretes protease.
  • the protease is purified by means typical to the industry, generating a partially purified or purified protease product-enriched stream and a spent fermentation broth stream which contains residual protease activity, but less protease activity than the purified stream.
  • the spent fermentation broth with residual protease activity is recycled to the steeping phase. Starch-gluten separation is facilitated by the protease such that SO 2 addition to steeping would be reduced to 500ppm or less in mill water vs. 2000ppm (0.2%) typical to the industry.
  • a corn processing process including recycling of protease enzyme is accomplished according to the process described in Example 12, expect the protease enzyme is recycled to a post-grind step in the mill, where starch-gluten complexes are more readily accessible to protease action.
  • starch-gluten separation would also be facilitated by the protease such that SO 2 addition to steeping would be reduced to 500ppm or less in mill water vs. 2000ppm (0.2%) typical to the industry.
  • a corn processing process including recycling of protease enzyme is accomplished according to the process described in Example 12, except the process is modified such that corn is ground prior to a soaking step (in place of steeping of whole kernels of corn), and protease is recycled into this soaking step to facilitate breakdown of starch-gluten complexes to liberate starch.
  • starch-gluten separation would be facilitated by the protease such that SO 2 addition to steeping would be reduced to 500 ⁇ pm or less in mill water vs. 2000ppm (0.2%) typical to the industry.
  • Example 15 A corn processing process including recycling of protease enzyme is accomplished according to the process described in Example 12, except that corn insoluble protein is purified from a wet milling process by means typical to the industry. The corn insoluble protein is then incorporated into the fermentation media, substituting in part or completely for the peptone.
  • a corn processing process including recycling cellulase enzyme to an upstream stage to facilitate starch separation and reduce steep time is accomplished by the following:
  • Corn is steeped and milled using conventional wet milling techniques. Corn starch purified by this process is converted to dextrose by means typical to the industry and incorporated into cellulase growth and production media.
  • a growth media as shown in Table 2 (described in Turker & Mavituna, Enzyme and Microb. Technol. 9:739-742), and having pH 4.8 is used in fermentation.
  • the growth media is inoculated with Thrichoderma sp. and incubated at 30 0 C until reaching late long/early stationary phase, as determined by cell mass, then inoculated into production media (also described in Turker & Mavituna, Enzyme and Microb. Technol. 9:739-742), as shown in Table 3, and having pH 4.8.
  • Cellulases are purified from the fermentation broth as typical to the industry, generating a partially purified or purified cellulase product-enriched stream and a spent fermentation broth stream which contains residual cellulase activity, but less cellulase activity than the purified stream.
  • the spent fermentation broth with residual cellulase activity is recycled into the first grind tank after corn from steeping is course ground. The activity of the cellulase reduces starch in fiber.
  • a corn processing process including recycling of celhilase enzyme is accomplished according to the process described in Example 16, except the spent fermentation broth with residual cellulase activity is recycled to the steeping phase of the corn wet milling process rather than recycling into the first grind tank.
  • a first grain processing train includes corn provided to a conventional corn wet milling process to produce starch, fiber, germ, and gluten co-product streams, along with corn steep water.
  • the corn steep water is further concentrated about 4-fold to corn steep liquor by evaporation.
  • the starch is liquefied and saccarif ⁇ ed to form a dextrose solution.
  • the dextrose solution is combined with the corn steep liquor product of corn wet milling in forming a first fermentation growth media.
  • the first fermentation growth media is adapted from Chan et al., Applied Biochem. and Biotech. 45/46: 531-544, and has the composition as shown in Table 4.
  • the first growth media is inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and incubated at
  • the production media is adapted from Chan et al., Applied Biochem. and Biotech. 45/46: 531-544, and has the composition as shown in Table 5.
  • the mixture is incubated for 2 days at 30 0 C.
  • the dextrose in the first fermentation media is fermented by the yeast to yield a first fermentation broth containing ethanol. Ethanol is then distilled from the first fermentation broth, to yield a product reduced broth and an ethanol rich product-enriched stream.
  • Table 5 Yeast Production Media
  • a second grain processing train includes wheat provided to a wheat wet processing process to produce starch and gluten streams.
  • the starch is liquefied and saccarified to form a dextrose solution.
  • the dextrose solution is combined with corn steep liquor from the first train in forming a second fermentation media.
  • the second fermentation growth media is adapted from Chan et al., Applied Biochem. and Biotech. 45/46: 531-544, and has the composition as shown in Table 6.
  • the second fermentation media is inoculated with a Lactobacillus species, and the pH maintained constant at pH 6.0 with the automatic addition of calcium hydroxide solution. Fermentation is carried out at 48°C with agitation for 2 days.
  • the second fermentation broth is then separated into a product-reduced broth and a calcium lactate product-enriched stream as described in Example 1.
  • the produce reduced broth is then acidified with sulfuric acid to pH 3.2, the resulting precipitate removed by centrifugation, and the broth introduced into the steeping phase of the corn wet milling process of the first grain processing train.
  • a first grain processing train includes wheat provided to a wheat wet processing process to yield a starch stream and a gluten stream. The starch is then liquefied and saccarified to form a dextrose solution.
  • a second grain processing train includes corn provided to a corn wet- milling process to produce a starch, fiber, germ, and gluten co-product streams stream along with corn steep. La part, the corn steep is further concentrated about 4-fold to corn steep liquor by evaporation.
  • the dextrose solution from the first train is combined with the corn steep liquor formed in the second grain processing train to form a first fermentation growth media.
  • the combined first media has the composition as shown on Table 6.
  • the first media is inoculated with a Lactobacillus species, and the pH maintained constant at pH 6.0 with the automatic addition of calcium hydroxide solution. Fermentation is carried out at 48°C with agitation for 2 days.
  • the combined first fermentation broth is then separated into a product-reduced broth and a calcium lactate product-enriched stream as described in Example 4.
  • the product reduced broth is then acidified with sulfuric acid to pH 3.2, the resulting precipitate removed by centrifugation, and the remaining broth introduced into the steeping phase of the corn wet milling process of the second grain processing train.
  • the starch stream from the second train is liquefied and saccarified to form a dextrose solution, which is combined with the steep water product of corn wet milling to form a second fermentation growth media.
  • the second media has the composition as shown in Table 2.
  • the second growth media is inoculated with Thrichoderma sp. and incubated at 3O 0 C until reaching late long/early stationary phase as determined by cell mass, and then inoculated into production media having the composition as shown in Table 3.
  • the mixture is incubated for 5 days at 30 0 C, while being maintained at pH 4.8 by base addition (sodium hydroxide, 20% w/w, available from Sigma Chemical).
  • Cellulases are purified from the second fermentation broth as typical to the industry, generating a partially purified or purified cellulase product-enriched stream and a spent fermentation broth stream which contains residual cellulase activity, but less cellulase activity than the purified stream.
  • the spent fermentation broth with residual cellulase activity is recycled into the hydration process of wheat wet milling, where the activity of the cellulase reduces intact fiber.
  • a corn processing process including recycling of cellulase enzyme is accomplished according to the process described in Example 16, where additionally cellulose is purified from a fiber containing stream from the corn wet milling process and incorporated into the production media.
  • the process is illustrated schematically in the flow chart included as FIG. 3.

Abstract

L'invention porte sur des méthodes de traitement de matériaux riches en amidon consistant: à traiter un tel matériau pour former un matériau fermentescible, à en faire fermenter au moins une partie pour former un bouillon en fermentation contenant le susdit matériau, et à utiliser au moins une partie dudit bouillon pour traiter un matériau riche en amidon.
PCT/US2005/022853 2004-06-24 2005-06-24 Recyclage integre d'un produit fermentescible WO2006104504A2 (fr)

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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DE102009050516A1 (de) * 2009-10-23 2011-05-19 S4 Invest Gmbh & Co. Kg Verfahren zum Herstellen von Alkohol aus Biomasse
US20110287497A1 (en) * 2010-04-26 2011-11-24 Holtzapple Mark T Anaerobic organisms in a process for converting biomass
WO2012131700A3 (fr) * 2011-03-25 2013-03-21 Praj Industries Limited Système et procédé destinés à traiter un matériau à base d'amidon
US9334516B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2016-05-10 Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, Inc. Method for adding enzymes to obtain high ethanol yield from cereal mash
US9670509B2 (en) 2003-03-10 2017-06-06 Novozymes A/S Alcohol product processes
CN110982863A (zh) * 2019-12-31 2020-04-10 广州舒国生物科技有限公司 一种产呈味核苷酸二钠的微生物发酵方法
WO2023244840A1 (fr) * 2022-06-17 2023-12-21 Lee Tech Llc Système et procédé de production d'une bouillie d'amidon pur et d'alcool à l'aide d'un processus combinant un broyage de maïs humide et des processus de broyage de maïs sec

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GB286289A (en) * 1927-03-03 1929-01-24 Corn Prod Refining Co Improvements in manufacture of starch
US2504962A (en) * 1944-12-08 1950-04-25 Us Agriculture Separation of starch from wheat flour
US3236740A (en) * 1961-05-26 1966-02-22 Grain Processing Corp Process for producing starch and alcohol
DE2503787A1 (de) * 1975-01-30 1976-08-05 Hermann Kroener Fa Verfahren zur gewinnung von weizenstaerke
EP0295358A1 (fr) * 1987-06-16 1988-12-21 Österreichische Agrar-Industrie Gesellschaft m.b.H. Procédé pour le trempage des matières premières contenant de l'amidon
US20040028775A1 (en) * 2000-06-28 2004-02-12 Olsen Hans Sejr Process for providing a starch product, treating milled or grinded crop kernels with an aqueous solution with an acidiic protease activity

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9670509B2 (en) 2003-03-10 2017-06-06 Novozymes A/S Alcohol product processes
DE102009050516A1 (de) * 2009-10-23 2011-05-19 S4 Invest Gmbh & Co. Kg Verfahren zum Herstellen von Alkohol aus Biomasse
US20110287497A1 (en) * 2010-04-26 2011-11-24 Holtzapple Mark T Anaerobic organisms in a process for converting biomass
WO2012131700A3 (fr) * 2011-03-25 2013-03-21 Praj Industries Limited Système et procédé destinés à traiter un matériau à base d'amidon
US9334516B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2016-05-10 Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, Inc. Method for adding enzymes to obtain high ethanol yield from cereal mash
CN110982863A (zh) * 2019-12-31 2020-04-10 广州舒国生物科技有限公司 一种产呈味核苷酸二钠的微生物发酵方法
CN110982863B (zh) * 2019-12-31 2023-02-03 广州舒国生物科技有限公司 一种产呈味核苷酸二钠的微生物发酵方法
WO2023244840A1 (fr) * 2022-06-17 2023-12-21 Lee Tech Llc Système et procédé de production d'une bouillie d'amidon pur et d'alcool à l'aide d'un processus combinant un broyage de maïs humide et des processus de broyage de maïs sec

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