HYDROCYCLONE SEPARATION OF DRY-MILLED CORN

Corn milled to <1 mm using a screen mill was sieved and the particles >590 mu m were soaked for 1 hr in solutions with a range of glucose co ncentration providing liquid specific gravities above and below that o f the lighter fraction (corn germ). A suspension of these particles wa s pumped through a hydrocyclone to separate the germ particles and to rinse water-soluble compounds from the corn. The specific gravity of t he hydrocyclone streams (suspensions), as well as Liquid phase (after solids settling) was measured, and product compositions and particle s izes were determined. This work shows that a germ-enriched fraction of corn ground to <1 mm, can be separated with a hydrocyclone. To enable computer simulation of the corn-treatment process, the experimental d ata was used to construct a two-component model of the hydrocyclone se paration of the milled corn. In the model, the milled and sieved corn is virtually separated into germ and endosperm streams that are fed to paired hydrocyclone models. Hydrocyclone bypassing streams that simul ate particles entrained to the contrary outlet (underflow far germ and overflow for endosperm particles) were included in the simulation to bring the model into agreement with the experimental product compositi ons.