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Title: PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF GROUND CORN AND DDGS FROM DRY GRIND PROCESSING

Author
item RAUSCH, K - UNIV. OF ILLINOIS
item BELYEA, R - UNIV. OF MISSOURI
item ELLERSIECK, M - UNIV. OF MISSOURI
item SINGH, V - UNIV. OF ILLINOIS
item Johnston, David
item TUMBLESON, M - UNIV. OF ILLINOIS

Submitted to: American Society of Agricultural Engineers
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/21/2004
Publication Date: 1/14/2005
Citation: Rausch, K.D., Belyea, R.L., Ellersieck, M.R., Singh, V., Johnston, D., Tumbleson, M.E., 2005. Particle size distribution of ground corn and ddgs from dry grind processing. American Society of Agricultural Engineers. V. 48(1):p.273-277.

Interpretive Summary: Ethanol production has increased significantly in the past decade as a result of growth in the dry grind (DG)ethanol industry. In the DG process, the unfractionated corn kernel is fermented into ethanol; the first processing step is grinding corn. The particle size of the resulting ground corn could have important effects on the other processing steps and product yields, but little information is available on this topic. The objective of this work was to determine the particle size distributions of ground corn and distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), a coproduct of DG processing. Samples of ground corn and DDGS were obtained from nine DG plants in the upper Midwest and the particle size distribution for each was measured. Most of the ground corn and DDGS particles were recovered in the largest particle size categories (0.60 mm dia and greater). There were few significant correlations among ground corn particle sizes and DDGS particle sizes. Particle size distribution of corn did not affect the particle size of DDGS. Variation in particle size distribution of ground corn contributes to differences in processing times and efficiency among DG plants. This information will be of use to other researchers in DG processing and to operators of DG facilities.

Technical Abstract: Ethanol production has increased significantly in the past decade as a result of growth in the dry grind (DG)ethanol industry. In the DG process, the unfractionated corn kernel is fermented into ethanol; the first processing step is grinding corn. The particle size of resulting ground corn could have important effects on the fermentation process, but few data are available to characterize particle size distributions. The objective was to determine the particle size distributions of ground corn and distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), a coproduct of DG processing. Samples of ground corn and DDGS were obtained from nine DG plants in the upper Midwest; particle size distribution was measured using a dry sieving technique. Most of the ground corn and DDGS particles were recovered in the largest particle size categories (0.60 mm dia and greater). For both the ground corn and DDGS, there was considerable variation among plants for the largest particle size categories but not the smaller categories. There were few significant correlations among ground corn particle sizes and DDGS particle sizes. Particle size distribution of corn did not affect the particle size of DDGS. Variation in particle size distribution of ground corn contributes to differences in processing times and efficiency among DG plants.