Author
McAloon, Andrew | |
Ramirez, Edna |
Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2006 Publication Date: 6/5/2006 Citation: Mcaloon, A.J., Ramirez, E.C. Modeling the wet milling process. Corn Utilization Technology Conference Proceedings,Dallas, Texas, June 5-7, 2006. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Process engineering and cost models for a conventional corn wet milling process have been developed to aid research being conducted by the USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center. Information on the corn wet milling process was obtained from various technical sources including commercial wet milling companies, industry experts, suppliers of technology and equipment to the corn wet milling industry and others knowledgeable in the wet milling of corn. A design was developed with process and cost simulation programs (SuperPro Designer® and Aspen Plus) for a generic corn wet milling facility processing 100,000 bushels of corn per day. Based on the information from the model, we can estimate the cost of production per pound of dry starch using the input prices for corn and other wet milling coproducts. We have also used the model to conduct a variety of sensitivity studies utilizing modifications such as feedstock costs, water usage, corn compositional variations, and the sale of wet corn gluten feed. The model is also being used as a base-case for the development of models to test alternative processing technologies such as enzymatic wet milling (E-Milling) and to help in the scale-up and commercialization of new wet milling technologies. |