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Maize: Wet Milling

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DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-394437-5.00239-4

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Rausch K.D., and Eckhoff S.R. (2016) Maize: Wet Milling. In: Wrigley, C., Corke, H., and
Seetharaman, K., Faubion, J., (eds.) Encyclopedia of Food Grains, 2nd Edition, pp. 467-481. Oxford:
Academic Press.

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

 Author's personal copy
Maize: Wet Milling
KD Rausch, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
SR Eckhoff, (Retired) University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
ã 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
This article is a revision of the previous edition’s article by S.R. Eckhoff, Volume 2, pp. 225–241, ã 2004, Elsevier Ltd.
Topic Highlights
• Corn (maize) wet milling is the primary process used to
produce pure starch (99.95% purity) worldwide.
• The wet milling process has evolved to be highly energy-
and water-efficient but is still a large consumer of energy
and water.
• More than 85% of starch produced results from the corn
wet milling process.
• The wet milling steeping process is a complex combination
of chemical, physical, and biological stages that prepares
the corn kernel for fractionation.
• The wet milling process results in germ for corn oil recov-
ery, corn gluten feed and gluten meal that can be used in
animal diets, and starch. The starch from wet milling can be
further processed into many bioproducts, such as sweet-
eners, ethanol, modified food starches, and biochemicals.
Learning Objectives
• To acquire a fundamental understanding of the wet milling
process technology.
• To examine economic calculations associated with wet mill
operation.
• To understand the compositions of typical coproducts.
Introduction
Worldwide production of maize (referred to as corn in the
United States) was nearly 940 million tonnes (Mt) in 2012 of
which the United States produced 32%. Maize is a starch crop,
providing needed energy for animal diets and being converted
into starch and coproducts using the maize wet milling process.
Maize is an ideal starch crop: it is readily transportable and easily
dried and yields over 66% starch on a dry basis. More than 85%
of starch produced is derived from maize globally.
Wet milling is a complex process with a wide variety of unit
operations and interdependence among process steps via recy-
cling of process water. An understanding of wet milling begins
with the maize kernel and the steeping process.
The Maize Kernel
The structure and composition of the maize kernel are covered
in detail in Grain, Morphology of Internal Structure, and so only a
pragmatic illustration of the structure and composition of the
maize kernel will be given here. The maize kernel is composed
of four main parts: pericarp, tip cap, endosperm, and germ
(Figure 1). Pericarp is the outer covering of the kernel and is
composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and various waxes, all
unappetizing components to insects and microorganisms. The
Encyclopedia of Food Grains, Second Edition http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394437-5.00239-4
Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481
pericarp is essentially a plastic grocery bag. The opening at the
top of the bag is analogous to the tip cap, the connecting tissue
between the kernel and the cob, which is the only natural
opening into the kernel. Pericarp consists of dense layers of
cells near the surface and wide-open transport cells located
next to the aleurone layer. The aleurone layer is the outer
layer of the endosperm consisting of large, dense, highly pro-
teinaceous cells, which acts as a semipermeable membrane,
restricting the flow of large molecules in or out of the endo-
sperm. The purpose of the pericarp is analogous to the plastic
bag’s: to protect the food material it contains.
The second component of the maize kernel is the germ or
embryo, the living part of the maize kernel. It contains the
enzymes and building blocks needed to quickly begin developing
roots and shoots during germination. The germ contains a high
percentage of the kernel’s oil, water-soluble protein, water-soluble
carbohydrate, ash, vitamins, and minerals. However, wet milling
processors are primarily concerned with the fact that the germ has
a high concentration of oil. In the analogy, visualize a sponge
saturated with oil. Place this oil-laden sponge into the bag.
The rest of the maize kernel is endosperm storage cells that
contain starch granules encased in a protein matrix. The gro-
cery bag with the oily sponge is taken and filled with marbles.
A bottle of glue is opened and poured into the bag, filling the
bag and encapsulating the marbles. The glue sticks the marbles
to the bag, the bag to the oily sponge, and the oily sponge to
the marbles and glue mixture. It is assumed that some of the
glue trapped many small air bubbles when it was being poured
into the bag, and the resulting glue matrix is thin and weak.
This is the soft endosperm. Hard endosperm is where the glue
matrix is thick and dense. After the glue has dried, a processor’s
mental picture of the maize kernel is obtained: a plastic bag
containing an oily sponge filled with marbles encased in a glue
matrix. The purpose of wet milling is to partially dissolve the
glue to allow for mechanical separation of the water swollen
plastic bag, the swollen oily sponge, the marbles, and the glue.
Completed milling yields a pile of nearly empty bags (fiber),
oily sponges (germ), nearly pure marbles (starch granules),
and partially degraded glue (maize gluten meal).
The Maize Wet Milling Process
Maize wet milling can be divided into five sections: steeping,
germ recovery, fiber recovery, protein recovery, and starch
washing (Figure 2). Each of these sections has unique equip-
ment and objectives, but all sections are interconnected by the
flow of process water.
Steeping
Steeping is the heart of maize wet milling and will be discussed
in more detail than the other sections. When steeping is done
467
 Author's personal copy
468 BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling
Soft
Endosperm
Hard Pericarp
Endosperm
Germ
Tip cap
Figure 1 The mature corn kernel, showing component parts. ã Eckhoff
SR, Savoy, IL.
properly, it may be possible to get a good recovery of starch
if downstream processing is performed well. If maize is not
steeped properly, no amount of downstream processing can
correct for poor steeping. Steeping is a process unto itself: a
sequence of chemical and biochemical reactions, induced
mechanical stresses, leaching, and kernel hydration.
Maize, which has been screened to remove broken pieces of
kernels and foreign material, is dropped into an insulated
hopper bottomed tank, cushioned on the bottom with a layer
of water. Broken maize and foreign material (BCFM) are
removed because they can plug the screen at the bottom of
the tank, which interferes with the steepwater circulation.
BCFM not only is usually added into the gluten feed product
but also may be sold separately to local livestock feeders.
A battery of such tanks, interconnected to route steepwater
through the tanks in a specific sequence, can vary from as few
as 6 to over 50 tanks with sizes from 12.7 Mt to over 633 Mt.
Each tank is equipped with a pump that runs continuously,
either transferring water or recirculating the water back to the
same tank. Recirculation serves the purpose of increasing tem-
perature uniformity. Tanks are equipped also with heaters to
maintain a uniform steep temperature of 52
C.
Quality steeping depends on favorable conditions for lactic
acid bacteria to outcompete other microorganisms so that
lactic acid fermentation can occur, optimizing downstream
separations. The optimal temperature for lactic acid produc-
tion is 52
C. If the steep temperature decreases below  47
C,
yeast begin to propagate and produce alcohol. If the steep
temperature increases above 56
C, acetic acid bacteria will
begin to dominate the fermentation.
The steeping process takes from 20 to 48 h to complete.
Differences in steep times depend upon the objectives of the
wet miller, product mix, and the amount of horsepower used
in the mill house. The average steep time in the United States
is 30 h, while the average steep time in Japan is more than
42 h due to higher relative value of starch compared to coprod-
ucts and use of lower mechanical energy (horsepower) per Mt
maize.
In the vast majority of maize wet milling plants worldwide,
maize is steeped countercurrently using a pull system. Dry
maize is exposed to the oldest steepwater and the longest
Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481
steeped maize is exposed to the newest steepwater (process
water to which sulfur dioxide has been added, Figure 3). As
the steepwater is pumped from the tanks with the oldest maize
to ones with the newest maize, the sulfur dioxide level
decreases from a high of about 2000 to 250 ppm. When the
sulfur dioxide level decreases to less than  300 ppm, the ubiq-
uitous lactic acid bacteria (carried in by the new maize) begin
to propagate. This results in the fermentation of glucose to
lactic acid at levels ranging from 1% to 3%. Because lactic
acid concentrations are high on one end of the process and
the sulfur dioxide concentrations are high on the other end of
the process, steepwater pH changes little during the process
and is usually in the range of 3.5–4.2.
Commercial steeping operations sequence the steepwater
flow to progress the tank contents through the process in a
countercurrent manner. Water is pulled from the tank contain-
ing the newest maize; the so-called draw rate is determined by
the steepwater evaporator capacity. When the steepwater evap-
orator feed tank is low, sensors open a valve to shunt steep-
water from the tank with the oldest steepwater. When the lower
limit switch is activated in the oldest steepwater tank, water is
shunted from the tank with the second-oldest steepwater. This
transfer of water continues from tank to tank until the tank
with the newest steepwater needs water. This tank is filled with
fresh steepwater. When the steepwater evaporator feed tank is
full, the pump valves on the tanks configure flow for internal
recycling of steepwater. At the end of the steeping period, the
tank with the oldest maize is drained and made ready for
milling. Figure 4 illustrates the sequencing required as one
tank of steeped maize is drained and the maize sent to the
grind mill and the recently filled tank of dry maize is brought
into the process. This pattern is continually repeated 24 h a
day, 7 days a week. The figure shows the tanks in a circle for
simplicity, but usually, the tanks are in rows.
Sulfur dioxide diffuses into the maize kernel during steep-
ing and disrupts the endosperm protein matrix (the glue) by
breaking inter- and intraprotein disulfide bonds. The sulfite
and lactic acid also maintain a lower pH so that endogenous
proteases can help solubilize part of the protein matrix.
The steeping process can be broken down into three stages:
(1) lactic acid-dominated, (2) sulfur dioxide diffusion, and (3)
sulfur dioxide reaction (Figures 5 and 6). These stages are each
approximately one-third of the steep time in a properly oper-
ated system.
Lactic acid-dominated stage
In the lactic acid-dominated stage, the key things that occur are
(1) rapid hydration of the kernel in the presence of 1–3% lactic
acid to near equilibrium conditions (42–52%, wb), (2) leach-
ing of soluble material from the germ into the steepwater
causing a concentrating of the oil from 35% to 50%, (3)
fermentation of the soluble carbohydrates originating from
the germ and from recycled process water to produce lactic
acid, and (4) creation of differential swelling stresses resulting
from water uptake that loosens the connecting tissue between
the component parts. The lactic acid-dominated stage starts
with the introduction of the dry maize into the steep solution
and ends when the sulfur dioxide level increases enough (i.e.,
above 300 ppm) to inhibit fermentation.
 Author's personal copy
BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling 469

Corn
Water
Steepwater Multiple Effect Evaporator
Light Steepwater Out

Water In

Steeping System
Countercurrent
Condensate
Out

Sulfur Dioxide
Heavy Steepwater

STEEPING
GERM
RECOVERY
Sluice Line
2nd Stage
Second
Grind Mill Germ Press
First
Grind “A” “B”
Screen

Wet
First Grind Germ
1st Stage Steam Tube Dryer
Mill Germ Steam
“A” “B” Hydrocyclones
Dry
Germ

Condensate
Fine
6th
Grind
Screen Cooling Water
Screen

Fine Process Water

Grind
Mill
Heavy Steepwater

Centrifugal Screen

Fiber Washing System

Gluten Rotary Dryer
FIBER
Feed
Mill Stream RECOVERY
Thickener PROTEIN Exhaust Ring Dryer
(MST) RECOVERY
Clarifer

Scrubber

Primary Vacuum Belt

Filter
Filter
Permeate
Starch Hydrocyclones
Fresh Dry Gluten
Water Recycle
Gluten Meal
Starch Wet
Gluten
Slurry
Gluten
STARCH WASHING Fan and Heater
Thickener

Figure 2 The wet milling process. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481

 Author's personal copy
470 BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling

Sulfur dioxide diffusion stage
The sulfur dioxide diffusion stage is so called because the sulfur
dioxide that diffuses into the maize kernel during this time is
the sulfur dioxide that does the work of disrupting the protein
matrix. This second stage is critical to steeping in that it stops
the fermentation before producing too much lactic acid (LA
levels greater than 1.5% can increase steepwater evaporator
fouling) and indicates a point where the sulfur dioxide has a
high enough flux to begin making significant inroads into
penetrating the kernel. During the lactic acid-dominated
stage, the sulfur dioxide flux is too low to penetrate very far
into the kernel because of the simultaneous reaction and dif-
fusion that occurs. The sulfur dioxide is a highly reactive
chemical, and in the kernel, there are many opportunities to
undergo oxidation and acid–base reactions or become
absorbed on the surface of the interstitial pores. Sulfur dioxide
that enters during the sulfur dioxide-dominated stage essen-
tially retraces the path through the maize kernel that has
already been exposed to sulfur dioxide. During the second
stage, there is also continued leaching of this from the germ,
and the sulfur dioxide begins to react with the protein matrix
creating soluble protein, which diffuses from the endosperm
into the steepwater. During this time equilibrium, moisture
levels are reached.
10
8

4
RBA SO2 Fresh
Dry steepwater 2
pH
maize
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Light Steeped
maize Tank number
steepwater LA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WE-SO2, PPM ´100 Baume

Steep number
pH Total SO2, PPM ´100

Figure 3 Profile for continuous countercurrent steeping. ã SR Figure 5 Industrial steep profiles showing pH, Baumé, and two
Eckhoff, Savoy, IL. measures of sulfur dioxide level. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

F
G
LSW 1
8 2
SO2
A 3 Cover the
7
newest maize with
steepwater Finish grinding
4 G tank 2
6 1
5 2
8
Drain water
B 3 covering fully
F – Fill 7
steeped maize
G – Grind
SO2 – Fresh SW
6 4
LSW – Light SW
5
LSW
F
1
8 2
G Tank 3 is the grind
tank, tank 2 is the
3
7 C fill tank and tank 4
has the oldest
maize and is exposed
6 4 SO2
to the fresh steep water
5

Figure 4 Sequencing of events required to change grind from one tank to another. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481

 Author's personal copy
BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Tank number
M.C., % ´5 SW protein, %
SW sol. p., % % Lactic acid
Figure 6 Industrial steep profiles showing moisture content,
steepwater protein, steepwater-soluble protein, and lactic acid. ã SR
Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.
Sulfur dioxide reaction stage
In the third stage of steeping, the sulfite absorbed during the
second stage reacts with the protein matrix in the hard endo-
sperm section of maize (reactions take less than 4 h), so the
rate-limiting part of steeping is the diffusion of sulfur dioxide
into the kernel. The reaction with the protein matrix loosens
the disulfide bonds in the protein, allowing downstream grind-
ing stages to break away the endosperm protein (glue) from
the embedded starch granules (marbles). Some of the sulfur
dioxide that the endosperm is exposed to during this stage
diffuses into the outer sections of the kernel and is carried
downstream into the process to provide microbial control.
Leaching from the kernel continues to move some of the
solubles created by steeping.
After the steep tank is drained, the swollen maize is dis-
charged from the bottom of the tank into a fast-moving stream
of water (sluice water), which carries the kernels to the first-
grind mill or degerminating mill. The sluice water is recovered
using a screen and recirculated.
Germ Recovery
The first objective after steeping is to recover the swollen germ.
If we visualize the germ as an oil-soaked sponge, it is clear that
we want to remove the oily sponge from the system as early as
possible in the process to minimize germ damage, maximize oil
recovery, and prevent the oil from interfering with subsequent
separation steps, especially starch recovery. Mechanical sheer
applied properly can separate the germ from the other compo-
nents with little damage to the germ itself. To accomplish this,
the industry uses 61 or 91 in diameter disk mills (224 kW) with
specially designed intermeshing teeth (Figure 7) using rela-
tively loose gap settings that allow one or two whole kernels
per handful. This operational parameter allows for the vast
majority of the kernels to be broken open with minimal dam-
age to the germ. A tighter gap setting that gives 100% germ
release would also create excessive germ damage. This initial
coarse milling step is often called first grind.
The milled maize slurry is pumped through a two-stage
hydrocyclone system to recover germ. These germ hydrocy-
clones are 15.25–22.86 cm diameter and 0.6–1.1 m tall.
Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481
471
Stationary disk
Feed
Rotating disk
MOTOR
Discharge
Figure 7 Single-disk mill used in germ recovery. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy,
IL.
Operating pressures are generally 275–310 kPa with the specific
density of the slurry adjusted to between 8 and 9 Baumé. At
these conditions, the free germs (being 42–52% oil) float and
will be forced to the center of the hydrocyclone, away from the
wall, where it goes out of the vortex finder (Figure 8). The
heavier material is forced to the wall of the hydrocyclone by
centrifugal force and works its way by gravity to the bottom
discharge. In the two-stage hydrocyclone system, stage 1 hydro-
cyclones are ‘A’-type cyclones designed for a qualitative split
between the germ and the remaining slurry. Stage 2 hydrocy-
clones are designed for quantitative recovery of germ, with
larger diameter feed and vortex finder connections and are
designated ‘B’-type hydrocyclones. Because of flow and capacity
differences, there are generally two ‘A’ cyclones for every ‘B’
cyclone. The overflow of the ‘A’ cyclone (light material, i.e.,
germ) and the underflow of the ‘B’ cyclone can be regulated
by a flow control valve to achieve the desired split. The overflow
of the ‘B’ hydrocyclone is sent back to the feed tank of the ‘A’
hydrocyclone (see Figure 2).
The slurry going out from the bottom of the ‘B’ hydrocy-
clone is sent to a second single-disk mill (known as the second-
grind mill), with the intermeshing plates set just close enough
to make sure that all remaining kernels are properly ground.
The resulting slurry is pumped through a second two-stage
hydrocyclone system. Just as before, the second hydrocyclone
overflow is sent back to the feed tank of the first hydrocyclone.
The overflow of the second-grind, first-stage hydrocyclone is
sent back to the feed tank of the first-grind, first-stage hydro-
cyclone. With this setup, the germ leaves the hydrocyclone
system only from the first-grind, first-stage hydrocyclone,
where it is sent to germ washing. Operation of the germ recov-
ery system is a series of compromises. Attempts to increase the
purity of the germ by restricting first-grind ‘A’ cyclone overflow
increase the recycle and can result in plugged cyclones or a
decrease in overall plant grind rate. Approximate flow rates of
the overflow are 20% of the feed rate for ‘A’ cyclones, 30% of
the feed rate for first-grind ‘B’ cyclones, and 30–45% of the feed
rate for second-grind ‘B’ cyclones.
Most wet milling plants operate with this two-grind, two-
stage hydrocyclone system, which essentially gives a minimum
of four chances to recover germ. In-plant experimental data
show that  85% of the germ is recovered by the first-grind
 Author's personal copy
472 BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling
Less dense
particles
Vortex
finder
Feed
More dense particles
Figure 8 Operation of a germ hydrocyclone. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.
hydrocyclones and the remainder by the second-grind hydro-
cyclones. To reduce capital costs, some plants have only a
single-stage hydrocyclone system after the second grind.
Unrecovered germ will be recovered primarily with the fiber
or gluten meal. Quantitative recovery of the germ is an eco-
nomic decision based on the relative values of maize oil and
gluten feed and a quality decision based on the sensitivity of
the plant’s starch product mix.
The germ fraction usually is washed countercurrently to
remove residual starch in a three-stage process. Washed germs
are sent to a germ press and dried to less than 3% moisture for
shipment to a solvent extraction plant, unless the wet mill has
its own extraction facility. Germ must be <3% moisture to
prevent oxidation of the oil during transport. The germ fraction
contains 42–55% oil depending on a number of factors includ-
ing the amount of residual pericarp that floats with the germ,
steep time, and maize hybrid or variety. Rotary steam tube
dryers are commonly used to dry germ because the exposure
time for any individual germ to be in contact with a steam tube
is minimal. More recently, fluidized bed dryers are used
because they give more uniform moisture content although it
is generally a less-efficient drying method. Dryer types that
expose the germ to temperatures >80
C for extended periods
of time should be avoided because the oil will be heat-
damaged and extraction efficiencies and oil quality decreased.
Fiber Recovery
The underflow of the second-grind, ‘B’ hydrocyclone is passed
over a 50 mm 120
wedge bar screen (Figure 9) to dewater
slurry and to allow starch and protein that has already been
released from the fiber to go directly to the mill stream thick-
ener (MST) in the protein recovery section of the process.
Material retained by the screen is passed through a double-
disk refiner mill to release remaining starch from the weakened
Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481
Starch Slurry
Protein
Fiber
Spray
nozzle
Starch and Fiber
protein
Figure 9 Pressure-fed screen with magnified view of the wedge bars. ã
SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.
protein matrix. The double-disk mill is similar to the single-
disk mill used for degermination except that the disks rotate in
opposite directions with each disk driven by a large electric
motor. This arrangement maximizes the shear that is experi-
enced by the particles. Most double-disk refiners used in the
United States have 91 cm disks operating at 1800 rpm and are
equipped with 187 kW electric motors on each disk. Recently,
some companies have used a 132 cm diameter single-disk mill
with a 746 kW motor in place of the double-disk mill. When
operated at 1250 rpm, this large single-disk mill has disk tip
differential velocity similar to the double-disk refiner.
The finely ground slurry is pumped onto a six-stage fiber
washing system. The pressure-fed screens come in several con-
figurations but most commonly used is the 120
screen
(Figure 9). The finely ground fiber–starch–protein slurry is
sprayed across the top of the screen at a pressure of
 275 kPa. The pressure and force of gravity cause the fiber to
orient parallel to the direction of flow where the wedge bar
screens will scrape off residual starch and protein still attached
to the fiber. The 120
arc of the screen ensures contact between
the fiber and the wedge bars. At the top of the screen, the
pressure accelerates the fiber, pushing it along the surface of
the screen. When the screen becomes more vertical near the
center, the fiber has decelerated and the principal force on the
fiber is gravity. By the time the fiber is on the lower portion of
the screen, it has been dewatered significantly and the fiber
bunches up to allow for more dewatering before it is forced
from the screen. Moisture contents are 80–90%, wb.
The first-stage screen is a 50 mm screen and is known as the
fiber block. The other five screens are 75 mm screens. The
theory is that fiber sized between 50 and 75 mm agglomerates
with other fiber during the initial dewatering and is carried out
to the feed house. The 75 mm screens are used because they
have a 50% larger open area, and less screen area is needed to
achieve adequate dewatering in stages 2–6. There are some
who consider this arrangement of screens to be a fine fiber
 Author's personal copy
BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling
generator because the 50–75 mm particles will recirculate
between the 50 mm screen and the 75 mm screens until the
particle is reduced in size enough to pass the 50 mm screen.
The fiber stream coming off stage 6 screen is further dewa-
tered using either a screening centrifuge, a screw press, or both
in series. Screening centrifuges can decrease moisture to
65–75%, wb, while a screw press can decrease fiber moisture
an additional 10% points. This so-called white fiber is mixed
with previously dried fiber and heavy steepwater to form a
mixture containing 35–40% moisture, wb, which can be dried
to 10–12%, wb, using either a direct fired rotary dryer or a steam
maize tube dryer. Spent germ (germ meal left after solvent
extraction of the oil), broken maize, or spent filter media
from syrup production can be added dry to the fiber when
available. Adding germ meal or filter media to the wet fiber
before drying results in excessive dryer smoke. The final product
is known as gluten feed.
Protein Recovery
Protein separation depends upon the principle of density dif-
ference between the starch and the protein. The density of the
maize kernel components remaining is highest for starch and
lowest for any cell wall or fiber that passes through the pressure-
fed screens (Table 1). The density difference between good
starch and protein is sufficient for good separation. 70 years
ago, all maize starch, as well as other types of starch, was
purified by pouring the starch–protein mixture onto tables
that were 30–100 m long, about 1 m wide, and sloped
1.04 cm m1. Starch would settle onto the table, while the
protein mixture was carried along by the water and ultimately
off the end of the table. This technology is still used today in
Table 1 Density differences in components found in starch slurries
Component Density (g ml1)
Sand, dirt >2
Starch 1.55
Protein 1.10
Cell walls, fine fiber 1.05
Water 1.00
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ISI Technical Memorandum on Production of Corn Starch. http://www.starch.dk/isi/
starch/tm18www-corn.htm, Science Park Aarhus, Denmark. (3) US Grains Council,
1996. 1995–1996 Value-Enhanced Grains Quality Report. US Grains Council,
Washington DC, USA. (4) US Grains Council, 1997. 1996–1997 Value-Enhanced
Grains Quality Report. US Grains Council, Washington DC, USA. (5) US Grains
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Washington DC, USA. (8) US Grains Council, 2001. 2000–2001 Value-Enhanced
Grains Quality Report. US Grains Council, Washington DC, USA. (9) Blanchard, P.H.,
1992. Technology of Corn Wet Milling, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 73.
(10) Radley, J.A. (Ed.), 1976, Starch Production Technology, Applied Science, London,
p. 123. (11) May, J.B. 1987, Wet milling. In: Watson, S.A., Ramstad, P.E. (Eds.), Corn:
Chemistry and Technology. American Association of Cereal Chemists, St. Paul,
Minnesota, p. 390. (12) Johnson, L.A., 1991. Corn: production, processing and
utilization, In: Lorenz, K.J., Kulp, K. (Eds.) Handbook of Cereal Science and Technology.
Marcel Dekker, New York, p. 58. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.
Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481
473
laboratory milling (with much smaller tables) because the
starch purity recovered from the starch table is nearly as good
as from a wet milling plant. The large amount of space needed
for the tables eventually dictated that new technology be devel-
oped. The development of the disk-nozzle centrifuge systems
for starch–protein separation greatly reduced space require-
ments and allowed wet millers to grow in size.
The principal piece of equipment in a typical wet milling
centrifuge system is the primary centrifuge. A disk-nozzle pri-
mary centrifuge is a continuous centrifuge where a light frac-
tion is separated from a heavier fraction as it is being forced to
flow in between rotating disks in a disk stack, with the lighter
phase going up between the disks and being discharged as
overflow. The heavier phase flows down the disks and is ulti-
mately forced out of the centrifuge through nozzles located at
the periphery (Figure 10). The mill starch is pumped into the
centrifuge, at a constant rate, to a location near the underside
of the disk stack. Approximately 1/4 of the way up the disk,
there are a series of holes, 2.5–5 cm diameter, located every
30
radially. These holes are lined up in the disk stack to
provide an entry point for the feed (input) material. As mill
starch enters the space between the disks; starch, protein, and
fiber particles in the slurry are subjected to the centrifugal force
caused by the rotating action of the disk stack, the force of
gravity, and the hydraulic force resulting from pumping
(Figure 11). The acceleration force due to gravity can be
neglected, since it is relatively small at high centrifugal forces.
The separating ability of the disk-nozzle centrifuge depends on
the relative acceleration of the particle due to centrifugal forces
and due to the hydraulic force. For a given particle, the hydrau-
lic force depends upon its position in the flow field. The
velocity of the fluid is greatest at the center between the two
disks and drops off to zero at the surface of each disk. The force
experienced by the particles due to centrifugal action depends
upon the mass of the particle, the angular velocity (o) of
the centrifuge, and the settling rate of the particle based on
Stokes’ law.
Figure 11 illustrates the paths taken by light and dense
particles. The dense particles are accelerated toward the top
surface of the disk by the centrifugal force that is larger than
the hydraulic forces even at the center of the channel. As they
approach the upper surface of the channel, the hydraulic forces
continue to decrease due to the decreasing velocity near the top
surface of the channel. The centrifugal forces dominate and
pull the dense particles toward the outer edge of the disk stack
channel. Eventually, the dense particles are forced toward the
nozzle where it is discharged from the centrifuge. The lighter
particles do not have as large a centrifugal force acting on them,
but the hydraulic force is just as large as for the dense particles.
As the lighter particles move toward the center of the channel,
the hydraulic forces dominate and the lighter particles are
pulled up toward the discharge. Figure 11 shows lighter parti-
cles and denser particles in different stack channels for illustra-
tive purposes, but in actuality, their movement is occurring
simultaneously in all channels of the disk stack. The primary
centrifuge’s disk stack is designed to maximize separation
between starch and protein at a specified feed rate. Disk stack
diameters range from 23 cm (pilot plant size) to 91 cm (com-
mercial size). A 91 cm diameter primary centrifuge can process
over 1000 Mt day1 when driven with a 150 kW motor.
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474 BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling

Overflow
Feed
Casing
Disk
Pump stack
Rotor

Nozzle

Drive shaft
Underflow
Figure 10 Disk-nozzle centrifuge. Reproduced with permission from Blanchard P.H., 1992. Technology of Corn Wet Milling. Elsevier Science,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 393.

Resultant force thickener, where the gluten stream is dewatered up to 16.5%

Pu solids. The overflow from the gluten thickener is used as pro-
m
for ping cess water for germ and fiber washing. The cake from the
ce Centrifugal force =
Mass ´ acc = mass ´ rw2
vacuum belt filter is mixed with dry gluten meal to reduce
tackiness and improve handling characteristics of the wet glu-
ten. It is dried to 11% moisture using a ring dryer. The
protein content of the resulting gluten meal is established at
the primary centrifuge.
file
pro w
Flo

The underflow of the primary centrifuge still contains

He
avy
pa
Lig rtic
ht p les
art
icle
s known as the clarifier. The overflow to the clarifier is relatively
Feed
Recycle/wash
Figure 11 Illustration of the movement of particles between disks in a
disk-nozzle centrifuge. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.
If the disk stack configuration and/or pump volume is
changed to lower the hydraulic forces relative to the centrifugal
forces, the centrifuge can be used to recover insoluble solids. It
essentially becomes a dewatering centrifuge. Disk-nozzle cen-
trifuge systems for separating starch and protein can have 2–4
centrifuges. One is the primary, while the other 1–3 centrifuges
are dewatering centrifuges. The most common centrifuge sys-
tem used in wet milling is the high-density four-centrifuge
system shown in Figure 2. To increase the capacity of the
primary centrifuge, MST is used to remove water from the
starch–protein slurry coming from the fiber recovery system.
The density is increased from  8 to  12 Baumé. The overflow
from the MST is used as process water for the steeping system.
The overflow from the primary centrifuge is high in protein,
nearly 70%, db, but is only 1.5–3.0% solids. Prior to dewater-
ing to 40% solids using a vacuum belt filter, the protein-rich
stream is dewatered using a centrifuge known as the gluten
1.5–3% protein and is sent to the starch washing system,
where starch is washed repeatedly to recover more of the
Nozzle
remaining protein and fine fiber particles. The overflow of
the starch washing system is sent to a dewatering centrifuge
clean water and is used as germ and/or fiber washing process
water. The underflow from the clarifier is mixed with the
underflow of the MST and is fed to the primary centrifuge. In
the four-centrifuge system, the MST, gluten thickener, and
clarifier are all designed for dewatering. There are various
two- and three-centrifuge systems that take out one or more
of the dewatering centrifuges and have application primarily in
smaller plants where capacity is less than can be handled by
one primary centrifuge.
Starch Washing
Starch washing is the last step of the wet milling process and is
the only location in the process where freshwater is added into
the system. Starch washing is performed countercurrently
using 10–14 stages of 10 mm diameter hydrocyclones
(Figure 2). Each stage of the starch washing system contains
enough hydrocyclones to handle the flow rate of the starch
slurry at that point. Approximately 1200–1500 l of freshwater
per Mt of maize (2.1–2.6 lbs water per lb of dry starch) is used
to countercurrently wash the starch to a protein level of
0.25–0.5%. There are several styles of containers for the
numerous parallel 10 mm cyclonettes needed for starch wash-
ing. The most popular style still in use in the United States is a

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BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling 475

clamshell arrangement shown in Figure 12 in which up to 480
individual cyclonettes can be packed into one clamshell and
can handle 890 Mt day1. Newer units are designed for rapid
changing of cyclonettes to minimize downtime of the unit. The
underflow of the last starch washing unit is at 23 Baumé.
From this point, the slurry can be used to produce unmodified
starch, chemically modified and dried or hydrolyzed to make a
variety of maize syrups, dextrins, or glucose syrups. Drying
usually is done with a ring dryer after dewatering the starch
using basket centrifuges or vacuum belt filters.
Capital Requirements and Energy Use
Maize wet milling is a capital- and energy-intensive process
(Table 2). The values shown are the purchased equipment
and energy for a 2667 Mt day1 wet mill, which produces
only dry starch. To calculate total fixed capital costs, on-site
costs need to be known, which can be calculated as a percent-
age of the purchase equipment costs, based on historical data
for processing plants of this type. Fixed capital costs are
1.81  the on-site costs and as shown in Table 3 are  US
$127 million.
Starch dewatering and drying is the largest single user of
energy and capital in the wet milling process. However, most
maize wet millers do not produce just dry starch but have a
wide variety of starch hydrolysate products, as well as modified
starches. A similar-sized plant dedicated to making fructose
would have a total fixed capital cost of US$206 million,
and a wet mill dedicated to producing ethanol has a total
fixed capital cost of nearly US$171 million. These values will
vary depending upon plant location, local labor costs, and

Starch-gluten
Seals

Gluten Starch
Starch-gluten Starch-gluten

Gluten Starch
Figure 12 The flow of starch and protein in a 10 mm (clamshell-type) hydrocyclone system for starch washing. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

Table 2 Equipment cost and energy use for a 2668 Mt day1 maize wet mill

Item kWh Mt1 % of total $ (1000s) % of total

Corn receiving 4.66 0.54 3500 9.45

Steeping 38.97 4.62 4332 11.69
Steepwater evaporation 230.86 27.41 2037.5 5.50
Germ recovery (first grind) 7.88 0.94 911.5 2.46
Germ recovery (second grind) 3.92 0.52 640.5 1.73
Germ recovery (germ washing) 0.27 0.03 251 0.68
Germ dewatering and drying 44.34 5.26 1069 2.89
Fiber recovery 23.60 2.80 2304.5 6.22
Fiber dewatering 0.42 0.49 1923 5.19
Protein recovery 10.96 1.30 3071.5 8.29
Gluten thickening and drying 75.76 9.00 2740 7.39
Starch washing 5.26 0.62 1302.5 3.52
Starch dewatering and drying 243.76 28.94 9030 24.38
Gluten feed dryer 147.73 17.53 3940 10.65
841.09 100.00 37 053 100.00

Assumptions: (1) 2668 Mt d1 grind, (2) modern plant, (3) feed house integrated to maximize energy efficiency, (4) incoming freshwater to starch washing heated with waste heat.
Blanchard, P.H., 1992. Technology of Corn Wet Milling. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Wideman, J., 2003 Handout at AACC Wet Milling Short Course, Urbana,
IL, 27–30 May 2003. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

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476 BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling
Table 3 Calculating on-site and fixed capital cost
Category Cost ($)
1. Purchased equipment cost (PEC) 37 053 000
2. Purchased equipment installation (35% of PEC) 12 968 550
3. Instrumentation and controls (10% of PEC) 3 705 300
4. Piping and material handling (30% of PEC) 11 115 900
5. Electrical equipment and material (15% of PEC) 5 557 950
On-site costs ¼ 70 400 700
Fixed capital costs (1.81  on-site costs) 127 425 267
Douglas, J.M., 1988. Conceptual Design of Chemical Processes. McGraw-Hill,
New York, NY.
product mix, yet because the equipment suppliers market inter-
nationally, the equipment costs will be similar.
Water Flow and Mass Balance
Balancing water flow in a wet mill is critical to profitable oper-
ation. In general, any problem can be made a little bit easier by
adding more water. The downside of running a dilute wet mill is
that all the water must be properly discharged. Wet mills have
been bottled up for  80 years, that is, with all water leaving the
products or being evaporated into the air. The average wet mill
will spend $0.35 per bushel in energy, more than at any single
operating expense except the maize itself.
Freshwater enters the process only at the last stage of starch
washing and works its way through the process, where it
washes the primary centrifuge, fiber, and germ. Process water,
now laden with solubles and some insolubles, ends up as
‘fresh’ steepwater (process water with sulfur dioxide added)
moving through the steep battery and finally concentrated in
the evaporators to produce heavy steepwater. Some seal water
and rinse water enter the process but usually amount to less
than 8% of total water added (shown on Figure 13 as extra
water). Of the 1200–1500 l water per Mt maize, which enters
starch washing,  700 l Mt1 is needed to hydrate maize dur-
ing steeping. Another 420 l Mt1 is needed to fill the void space
in the tank so that the maize is not left uncovered. While
1200–1500 l water per Mt maize is significant, 1120 l Mt1 is
needed just to be able to run the process.
The mass balance shows how much water and solids are
recycled in the process (Figure 13 and Table 4). Even though
the inflow rate of maize and water combined is over 10 000 -
lbs min1, individual streams are in excess of 17 500 lbs -
min1. Variability in maize characteristics (fraction yields,
water-holding capacity, millability, etc.) can cause great swings
in process flows. For example, switching from maize with an
equilibrium moisture after steeping of maize at 44–52% causes
a swing in the water going to the steepwater evaporator of
255 l Mt1 or  40% of the flow.
Wet Milling Products
Wet milling results in four main products: starch, oil, gluten
meal, and gluten feed. Compositional data for these products
as well as for specific components of gluten feed are shown in
Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481
Table 5. Starch is the prime product but coproduct value can
greatly influence overall plant economics. Coproducts make
up 30–40% of the total product yield, yet 20–25% of the kernel
is processed without increasing value, even though oil and
gluten meal have higher value than starch in the US market.
There is a wide range of products that can be made from starch
(Figure 14), while nonanimal food uses of the coproducts are
more limited. However, there is an increasing research and
commercial interest in improving the existing coproducts, find-
ing new industrial uses, or extracting nutraceuticals from
coproducts.
Factors Affecting Starch Yield
Kernel Composition
On a per kg coproduct basis, maize oil is the most valuable
component of the maize kernel ($0.66 kg1), followed by
gluten meal ($0.30 kg1), starch ($0.22 kg1), and gluten
feed ($0.07 kg1). These simple facts often lead to an assump-
tion that maize with enhanced quantities of oil or protein
would be desirable in a wet mill. This is generally not true
because the change in composition effects mill balance. The
mill is designed to process maize of average composition. To
handle more germ or more protein, the plant often has to
decrease its grind rate (the number of bushels processed per
day), which increases processing costs per bushel. It is also
possible to expand or redesign wet milling plants to handle
maize with altered compositional characteristics. However,
these redesigned mills need to ensure themselves of sufficient
quantities of reasonably priced enhanced composition maize
to justify the added capital.
There are situations where specific mills have economic
reasons to desire enhanced compositional characteristics. For
example, most of the specialty food and industrial starch plants
are smaller, older, landlocked facilities, which cannot econom-
ically expand their maize handling or coproduct handling
facilities. High-extractable-starch maize will allow them to
expand production of high-value specialty starches without
expanding their handling capabilities. Japanese wet millers
also desire high-extractable-starch maize due to low coproduct
values.
Changes in the ‘quality’ of the components, that is, better
amino acid balance in the endosperm glutelin protein or more
desirable fatty acid composition, would not affect the mill
balance and thus are attractive to wet millers if (1) any pre-
mium they pay for the maize can be more than offset by the
increased coproduct value and (2) they can be assured of
sufficient quantity of maize to effectively run their facility. In
general, wet milling companies want yellow dent maize with
average compositional characteristics.
Test Weight
Higher test weight as controlled by genetics is most often
related to the percentage of hard or vitreous endosperm
found in the kernel. Hard endosperm takes longer to steep
and generally results in less starch release due to the reduced
diffusional characteristics of hard endosperm and increased
disulfite bonding. Wet millers desire sound, solid kernels, but
 Author's personal copy
BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling 477

Wet milling yields % db

67.3 Starch
7.2 Germ 2668 Mt d–1 0.031 Mt s–1
5.7 Gluten meal 14.5% mc 0.031 Mt s–1
12.8 Fiber 855 kg ds Mt–1 26.31 kg s–1 Total
7.0 SWS 145 kg Water Mt–1 4.47 kg s–1

A 3% ds
Steeping

B 44% mc

1.90 kg s–1 Germ

C Germ 1.90 kg s–1 Water
recovery
50% mc
D E

Equal flow 8.45 kg s–1 Total

3.38 kg s–1 ds Fiber
F Fiber
recovery 5.07 kg s–1 Water
60% mc
G

Mill
H Stream
thickener

I
1.51 kg s–1 Gluten
K 2.26 kg s–1 Water
Process 60% mc
water tank J 3.76 kg s–1 Total

Primary M Gluten N Vacuum

3.02 kg s–1 Water centrifuge thickener belt filter
P
extra water
X V
S
R 17.78 kg s–1 Starch
T 22.2 Be = 41.05 % ds
Starch
Clarifier Ó 113 F
washing
25.53 kg s–1 Water
43.30 kg s–1 Total
U Fresh 44.80 kg s–1 Total
water 1450.89 kg Water Mt–1
2.5 kg Water kg–1Starch
Figure 13 Mass balance on maize wet mill. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

test weights above 1036 kg Mt1 indicate kernels that probably
will require longer steep times and potentially will have lower
starch yields. Flint-type maize is undesirable, not only for the
higher percentage of hard endosperm it contains but also
because it has been found to take considerably longer to
steep than dent maize, even when diffusional barriers are
removed.
The effect of environment on test weight is varied. Hot, dry
weather will increase test weight by inducing the formation of a
higher percentage of hard or vitreous endosperm. Cool, wet
weather has the opposite effect. A recent study found no dif-
ference in the yield of starch, even though test weights varied
from 700 to 800 kg Mt1 range to over 1075 kg Mt1 due to
weather. Low test weight can also be caused by an early frost
causing the maize not to ‘fill out’ or physiologically mature,
which has a negative effect on starch yield.
Although test weight differences caused by weather do not
affect starch yield, they can affect wet mill economics. Steeping
is a volume-limited process so that lower test weight means
less maize in the steep tank, and if the steep time is held
constant, the mill’s grind rate is decreased. Test weights below
1000 l Mt1 should be discounted at a rate of $0.03 per
18 l Mt1 below 1000 l Mt1 to compensate for the loss of
grind capacity. Because much of the rest of the wet milling
process is dry solids-limited, there is no advantage to having
higher-test-weight maize.

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478 BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling

Table 4 Stream composition for wet mill mass balance shown in Figure 13

Letter Location kg s1 total kg s1 ds kg s1 H2O Bauméa %ds

A Light steepwater 19.38 1.89 17.74 5.00 9.50

B Steeped corn 45.70 25.90 20.35 NA 56.00
C Germ wash water 50.85 0.19 51.26 ffi0 0.37
D Mill slurry 93.85 24.16 53.73 14.49 25.75
E Fresh steepwater 34.61 1.04 33.57 1.69 3.00
F Fiber wash water 50.85 0.19 51.26 ffi0 0.37
G Defibered mill stream 136.75 20.93 115.82 8.61 15.31
H Germ and fiber wash 102.91 0.38 102.53 ffi0 0.37
I MST underflow 102.14 19.89 82.25 10.96 19.48
J Gluten thickener overflow 65.76 0.23 60.97 ffi0 0.35
K Primary feed 126.56 24.84 100.95 11.04 19.6
M Primary overflow 69.57 1.75 63.26 1.42 2.52
N Feed to vacuum belt filter 9.89 0.01 8.37 8.67 15.40
P Clarifier overflow extra 34.09 0.15 33.94 ffi0 0.44
R Clarifier overflow 45.91 0.19 45.72 ffi0 0.41
S Primary underflow 68.81 23.12 45.69 18.91 33.61
T 1st-stage starch washing 70.33 5.14 65.19 4.11 7.30
U Clarifier underflow 24.41 4.95 19.47 11.40 20.26
V Belt filter water 6.08 0.00 6.08 0 0
X Primary wash water 11.82 0.04 11.78 ffi0 0.32
a
%ds (dry solids) ¼ 1.777  Baumé; light steepwater used relationship in Blanchard, P.H., 1992. Technology of Corn Wet Milling. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, ã
SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

Table 5 Range of compositional values for wet milling coproducts

Starch Condensed steepwater Gluten feed Gluten meal Germ meal Oil

Moisture (% wb) 10–12 45–55 10–2 10–12 10–12 0

Protein (% db) 0.30 40–50 21–24 66–70 20–28 0
Oil (% db) 0.02 0 2–3 2 1–2 100
Starch (% db) 99 NA 15 NA NA 0
NFE (% dba) NA 30–40 50 22–30 50–56 0
Crude fiber (% db) 0.03 0 8–9 1 10–12 0
Ash (% db) 0.10 6–8 8–9 2–3 3–5 0
a
NFE is nitrogen-free extract.
Blanchard, P.H., 1992, Technology of Corn Wet Milling. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Johnson, L.A., 1991. Corn: production, processing and utilization, In: Lorenz,
K.J., Kulp, K. (Eds.), Handbook of Cereal Science and Technology. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 55–132 and Wright, K.N., 1987. Nutritional properties and feeding values of corn and
its by-products. In: Watson, S.A., Ramstad, P.E. (Eds.), Corn: Chemistry and Technology. American Association of Cereal Chemists, Minnesota, St. Paul. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

Millability steepwater flow and poor steeping. When the endosperm

Millability is defined as the ease of component separation.
Genetically, some hybrids are easier to process than others.
Such hybrids do not contain more starch, but milling them
results in higher starch yields. Germs float more readily, fiber
dewaters more easily, starch content of the fiber is lower, starch
and protein are easier to separate, and other qualitative and
quantitative characteristics have been observed. Figure 15
shows the variability in starch yields for 1244 commercially
available hybrids (breeder samples) in the Midwest during a 6-
year period. Starch yields varied from less than 50 up to 72%
with an average near 63.5% and a peak frequency at 66%.
Mechanical Damage
Mechanical damage to the kernel resulting in broken maize is
not desired by wet millers. The broken maize plugs screens at
the bottom of the steep tanks resulting in nonuniform
regions are directly exposed to the steepwater, the starch gran-
ules are exposed to sulfur dioxide for longer periods of time.
The sulfur dioxide acts as a weak acid to alter the gelatinization
and cooking characteristics of the raw starch, generally lower-
ing peak viscosities, which is an undesired effect. Broken maize
also results in excess loss of solids into the steepwater and can
cause evaporator fouling problems.
Drying
Rapid high-temperature drying is the single most detrimental
operation done to maize to reduce its starch yield. Numerous
studies have shown that drying air temperatures above 70
C can
result in partial gelatinization of the starch, protein denaturation,
and endogenous proteolytic enzyme denaturation.
Figure 16 shows effects of drying air temperature on starch
yield of three hybrids. Starch yields decreased as drying air

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 Author's personal copy
BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling 479

Starch Fiber SWS

Unmodified Modified Hydrolysate

starch starch

Food Paper Beverges Industrial Food Fermentation

products additives

Ethanol; Industrial Pharmaceuticals;

biofuels chemicals nutraceuticals

Oil Protein
Figure 14 Diagram showing the use of various wet milling coproducts in food and industrial products. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.

200
70
180
65

Starch yield %
160
60
140 55
120 50
Frequency

100 45

80
60
40
20
0 three maize hybrids. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.
50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72
Starch yield
Figure 15 The frequency distribution of maize hybrid starch yields. ã
SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.
temperature increased above 70
C. As much as 10% yield loss
of starch was observed. Figure 17 shows wet milling yields for
nine commercial hybrids representing a range of endosperm
hardnesses, harvested at two moisture contents and dried by
either ambient air or 110
C drying air. Drying from a higher
initial moisture content (> 28%) had a severe effect on starch
yield. Hybrid variability in sensitivity to drying temperature
was also observed.
Storage
Wet millers have reported over the years that the milling qual-
ity of maize diminishes over the course of the season, with
considerable milling difficulty in the summer months. It was
perceived that there was some intrinsic loss in quality associ-
ated with storage time, possibly due to loss or gain of some
enzymatic activity. Wet millers also reported difficulty in the
40
25 50
70 90 110
Hybrid C Temperature ⬚C
Hybrid B
Hybrid A
Figure 16 The effect of drying temperature on starch extractability from
fall in processing new crop maize. They complained of foam-
ing problems and reduced starch yield. These problems gener-
ally disappeared after 1–2 months.
Recent studies indicate that there is no intrinsic long-term
degradable loss in starch yield due to storage at either ambient
conditions or 4
C until after 4 years. It is likely that the effect
of storage observed by the industry in the same crop year is due
to the blending of low-quality maize with higher-quality maize
to meet minimum grade standards. The amount of microbial
and insect damaged maize increases after the spring thaw and
accounts for the lower starch yields and greater processing
difficulties. The excessive foaming observed with fresh maize
is probably related to natural proteolytic activity, which
decreases with time.
Milling Unique Hybrid Maize
High Amylose
High-amylose maize is a genetic mutant that has higher levels
of the linear form of starch than the 27% normally found in

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480 BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling
110C 35% 110C 22% 25C 35%
Extractable starch, %db
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Hybrid
Figure 17 The effect of drying temperature and harvest moisture on
starch extractability for nine commercial hybrids. ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy,
IL. Reproduced with permission from Singh, V., Haken, A.E., Paulsen,
M.R., and Eckhoff, S.R., 1998. Starch yield sensitivity of maize hybrids to
drying temperature and harvest moisture content. Starke 49 (10),
181–183.
dent maize. Two classes of high amylose are generally grown:
Amy 5, which is a group of hybrids containing  50% amylose,
and Amy 7, which is a group of hybrids containing  70%
amylose. High-amylose starch is produced for a variety of
food applications and industrially used in the production of
biodegradable packing peanuts. Starch granules of high-
amylose maize are generally smaller and more irregularly
shaped than normal dent maize starch granules. As a result,
high-amylose maize is difficult to mill and recover quantitative
amounts of starch. When steeping high-amylose maize, care
must be taken to account for the high degree of swelling that
occurs. Regular dent maize will swell 60–65% by volume, but
high-amylose maize will swell 105–128%. In swelling this
amount, the maize also absorbs a proportionally larger
amount of water. It is usually stated that because amylose has
a higher gelatinization temperature, it should be steeped at
temperatures 3
C warmer than those for normal dent maize.
However, in practice, industry does not adjust the temperature.
This may be due to the optimal temperature for lactic acid
fermentation being 52
C. High-amylose maize requires a lon-
ger steep time, has greater difficulty in achieving starch–protein
separation, and yields only 80–90% as much starch as dent
maize.
Waxy
Waxy maize is a genetic mutant that has 100% amylopectin
starch. Amylopectin is the branched form of starch and has a
lower pasting temperature than normal dent maize starch.
Waxy starch is produced for a variety of food applications.
Nearly all the anticipated demand for waxy maize by wet
millers is produced under contract. However, the yield drag
associated with waxy maize production has disappeared, and
now that a lot of speculative waxy is being produced, in a year
when the contracted acreage does not yield sufficiently to meet
demand, speculative waxy is sought out by the wet millers at a
sizable premium.
Starch–protein separation is much easier with waxy maize
than for dent maize, primarily due to the larger granule size of
Encyclopedia of Food Grains, (2016), vol. 3, pp. 467-481
Author's personal copy
25C 22%
the starch. However, starch yields are 5–10% points lower than
dent maize. This appears to be an issue with the density of the
starch. Even though the starch granules are larger, the absence
of amylose in the starch granule apparently does not allow the
granule density to be as high. Because waxy starch will gelati-
nize at a lower temperature than dent maize, it is often recom-
mended that it be steeped 3
C cooler (49
C). In practice, the
temperature is not adjusted.
High Oil
9
High-oil maize contains  7% oil primarily by increasing the
size of the germ, although most hybrids have some degree of
elevated germ oil concentration as well. Development of high-
oil maize was primarily for livestock feeding, but considerable
interest was generated by wet milling companies because of the
high value of oil. Most wet milling companies had trouble
adapting high-oil maize into their system because they did
not have sufficient germ processing capacity to handle the
large influx of germ.
High-oil maize hybrids produced by the male sterile polli-
nator method generally have wet milling characteristics that
are comparable to normal dent maize, with the exception that
there was considerably more germ. Starch yields vary from 55
to  61%, db. Germs tend to float better primarily because they
are larger in size and have higher oil content than normal dent
maize. Starch–protein separation does not seem to be affected
in the hybrids tested.
Genetically Modified
Genetically modified is a large, diverse, and growing group of
hybrids. Most of the commercially available genetically modi-
fied maize hybrids have been genetically modified for some
agronomic characteristic. These hybrids, to date, have
improved or have comparable wet milling characteristics to
their nongenetically modified counter parts (Table 6). The
generally accepted rationale for improvement of the wet mill-
ing characteristics is based on the improved agronomic condi-
tions, that is, less insect or disease stress on the plants. Hybrids
will eventually become available that have been genetically
modified to produce nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, specialty
chemicals, and hormones or to contain enhanced nutrient or
functional characteristics. Even if the wet milling characteristics
of these hybrids are not altered, alternative fractionation pro-
cedures are needed to be developed to maximize recovery of
the high-value product or to retain the enhanced nutrient or
functional characteristics through the milling operation.
Exercises for Revision
• What are the main processing steps in the corn wet milling
process?
• What are the objectives of the steeping process?
• What are the main coproducts produced by wet milling?
What are typical uses of each coproduct?
• When wet milling high-amylose corn, what are the main
difficulties in recovering this type of starch?
 Author's personal copy
BARLEY, RICE AND MAIZE PROCESSING | Maize: Wet Milling 481

Table 6 Yield of wet mill fractions for different maize phenotypes and genotypes

Dent
a
Fraction (% db) Normal dent High extract Bt Non Bt Waxy High amyb High oil Hard endoc White Industry dent

Starch 65.5 68.5 64.2 63.7 61.3 40.1 57.4 64.3 63.9 66.8
Germ 5.5 5.4 6.3 6.5 5.4 5.5 8.7 5.7 5.7 7.6
Fiber 14.2 12.7 14.3 13.8 15.4 18.3 14.5 16.0 14.7 11.8
Gluten meal 10.0 9.3 10.3 11.1 12.7 32.7 13.9 9.4 10.9 5.9
Steepwater 4.2 3.5 4.3 4.1 4.0 3.5 4.2 3.9 3.8 7.0
# of samples 110 49 8 8 90 9 5 45 90 4

All data except ‘Industry dent’ are from 100 g Laboratory Milling, ã SR Eckhoff, Savoy, IL.
a
High extractable maize.
b
High amylose.
c
Hard endosperm.
US Grains Council, 1996. 1995–1996 Value-Enhanced Grains Quality Report. US Grains Council, Washington DC, USA and Eckhoff, S.R., 2003, Unpublished data. University of
Illinois, Urbana, IL.

• Wet milling of high-oil corn has potential for high oil See also: Barley, Rice and Maize Processing: Maize: Dry
yields, which has relatively high value. What is one obstacle Milling; Breeding of Grains: Maize: Breeding; Genetics of Grains:
for wide acceptance of high-oil corn by wet millers? Maize: Genetics; Maize: Quality Protein Maize; Non-wheat Foods:
Maize: Foods from Maize.

Exercises for Readers to Explore the Topic Further

There are several trends that emerge when examining the maize
wet milling industry. They are given as follows:
• Although wet mills recycle large amounts of water prior to
discharging the water in its coproducts or as vapor from
evaporators, they remain large consumers of water. The
industry will continue to adopt technology that reduces its
water consumption.
• Large commodity markets have reached maturity, and there
does not seem to be any new large-scale markets in the near
future. The result is that many wet milling companies are
looking to higher-valued products with smaller markets
and to biobased products for industrial markets.
• The industry seems to be a steadily improving technology
to address food safety concerns via coproduct traceability.
• There is considerable interest in developing new technology
for wet milling that reduces the use of sulfur dioxide. ‘E-
milling,’ where specifically designed proteases (enzymes)
are used to release the starch from the protein matrix in the
endosperm, is one example. Because of government regu-
lations on sulfur dioxide emissions, taste and odor prob-
lems associated with coproducts exposed to sulfites, and
potential for new product development, the industry is
more willing than they have been (due to the large capital
investment they have in place with current technology) to
embrace new fractionation technology.
Further Reading
Blanchard PH (1992) Technology of Corn Wet Milling. Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
Elsevier Science.
Douglas JM (1988) Conceptual Design of Chemical Processes. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Eckhoff SR, Paulsen MR, and Yang Ping DS (2003) Maize. In: Caballero B, Trugo LC,
and Finglas PM (eds.) Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition, vol. 4,
pp. 3647–3653. London: Elsevier Science.
Jackson DS and Shandera Jr. DL Jr. (1995) Corn wet milling: separation chemistry and
technology. In: Kinsella JE and Taylor SL (eds.) Advances in Food and Nutrition
Research, vol. 38, pp. 271–299. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Johnson LA (1991) Corn: production, processing and utilization. In: Lorenz KJ and
Kulp K (eds.) Handbook of Cereal Science and Technology, pp. 55–132. New York:
Marcel Dekker.
Radley JA (ed.) (1976) Starch Production Technology. London: Applied Science.
Singh V, Eckhoff SR, and Tumbleson ME (eds.) (2001) Proceedings of the Second Annual
International Starch Technology Conference, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois.
Watson SA and Eckhoff SR (2003) Corn and sorghum starches: Production.
In: Whistler RL, BeMiller JN, and Paschall EF (eds.) Starch Chemistry and
Technology. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science.
Watson SA and Ramstad PE (eds.) (1987) Corn: Chemistry and Technology. St. Paul,
MN: American Association of Cereal Chemists.
Whistler RL, Bemiller JN, and Paschall EF (eds.) (1984) Starch: Chemistry and
Technology. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Relevant Websites
http://www.corn.org – Corn Refiners Association.
http://www.grains.org – US Grains Council.
http://www.ncga.com; http://lepton.marz.com – National Corn Growers Association.
http://www.starch.dk – International Starch Institute (Denmark).

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