Anionic Polymer Dewatering of Corn Gluten
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Solution Overview
Problem
The corn wet milling process faces a production bottleneck in gluten dewatering, which is energy-intensive and limits production efficiency, despite improvements in upstream processing.
Innovation Solution
The addition of an anionic polymer, such as sodium polyacrylate, to the wet gluten stream before dewatering significantly improves dewaterability in both vacuum and pressure filtration equipment, enhancing solids throughput and recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional dewatering methods are used, then the process is simple, but production efficiency is limited and energy consumption is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an anionic polymer (sodium polyacrylate) as a mediator between the wet gluten and the filtration equipment. This polymer enhances dewaterability by improving the separation between liquid and solid phases, allowing for more efficient water removal and thereby increasing production efficiency while reducing the energy required for conventional drying processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the gluten slurry by adding anionic polymers with specific molecular weights and charges. This modification alters the rheological properties and surface characteristics of the gluten particles, enabling improved dewatering performance and reducing the energy intensity of the overall process
2Productivity
If anionic polymer is added to improve dewaterability, then solids throughput and recovery are enhanced, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anionic polymer serves as a chemical intermediary that facilitates better solid-liquid separation. By modifying the surface properties of gluten particles, it enables higher solids throughput in filtration equipment without requiring complex mechanical modifications to the existing dewatering system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs relatively inexpensive anionic polymer additives that are consumed in the process but provide significant improvements in dewatering efficiency. The cost of these chemical additives is outweighed by the gains in productivity and energy savings, making the increased process complexity economically justified
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The use of sodium polyacrylate improves dewaterability by 5% to 30% in both vacuum and pressure filtration, optimizing gluten cake moisture content and reducing energy consumption, thereby addressing the bottleneck and increasing production efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The addition of an anionic polymer such as sodium polyacrylate to a wet gluten stream prior to the dewatering step significantly improves dewaterability
Implementation Method 2
The use of sodium polyacrylate improves dewaterability by 5% to 30% in both vacuum and pressure filtration
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method of dewatering corn gluten stream wherein coagulant is add to the corn gluten stream of the corn wet milling process. The method of dewatering corn gluten uses an effective amount of a coagulant of one or more anionic polymers, the anionic polymers comprising one or more anionic monomers. The method further includes a process for separating the water from the gluten using a solids/liquids filtration device.