Method of producing starch from grain or ground grain products by the

Abstract

The method for the production of starch from grain or ground grain products by the wet process comprises a brief steeping of the raw material during which the morphological structures are not broken down by chemical or microbiological processes, and of a comminution of the steeped raw material in a high-pressure apparatus equipped with a splitter head. In this high-pressure apparatus, the steeped raw material is subjected to a pressure of at least 10 bar, fragmented under the action of high shear forces, and exposed to the atmosphere, thus causing the necessary structural breakdown between the starch grains and the protein. For shelled corn after the addition of process water, the shelled corn is fed to a heated pressure steeping apparatus. After a maximum of three hours at a pressure of 10 to 15 bar, the necessary moisture absorption is achieved. Excess water is fed to an evaporator. A pressure reducing apparatus at the output of the steeping apparatus produces a preliminary fragmentation of the corn grains. The germs can be separated from the corn mash by means of a degerminator. In a high-pressure apparatus, equipped with a splitter head, the breakdown of the morphological structure between the starch grains and the protein matrix is performed at a pressure of approximately 100 bar, together with a fine fragmentation of the raw material.