Membrane Sugar Stream Filtration for Dry Grind Grain Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dry grind processes for producing biochemicals from grains are costly and inefficient, requiring extensive capital and operational expenses, and yield low-value co-products like DDGS due to the inability to effectively separate and recover high-value components such as oil, protein, and fiber.
Innovation Solution
A dry milling system utilizing membrane filtration to produce a sugar stream similar to wet milling systems, involving grinding, liquefaction, saccharification, and membrane filtration to separate and purify simple sugars, while removing unfermentable solids and recovering high-value components like oil and protein.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional dry grind processes are used to produce biochemicals from grains, then the process is simpler and requires less capital investment, but the production cost is high and the yield of high-value co-products is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates high-value components (oil, protein, fiber) from the grain processing stream using membrane filtration technology. This allows the recovery of valuable substances that would otherwise be lost or sold as low-value co-products, thereby reducing production costs while maintaining process simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the processing system by introducing membrane filtration with specific pore sizes (0.01-10 micrometers) to separate components based on size. This parameter change enables the recovery of high-value components without requiring complex multi-step processing, thus reducing both cost and complexity
2Device complexity
If conventional dry grind processes are used, then the process is simpler, but the ability to separate and recover high-value components like oil, protein, and fiber is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical separation methods (centrifugation, filtration, decantation) with membrane filtration technology. This substitution provides more precise separation based on molecular size, enabling efficient recovery of oil, protein, and fiber components while maintaining relatively simple process equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses porous membrane materials with controlled pore sizes (0.01-10 micrometers) to separate components based on their size. This porous structure allows small molecules like sugars to pass through while retaining larger molecules like proteins and fibers, achieving high separation efficiency with a single type of equipment
3Productivity
If membrane filtration is introduced to separate and purify simple sugars, then the yield of high-value sugar stream increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies membrane filtration technology that serves multiple functions: it separates sugars from solids, purifies the sugar stream, and concentrates valuable components. This multi-functionality increases sugar stream yield while avoiding the need for multiple separate processing units, thus limiting the increase in system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the separation parameter by using membranes with specific pore size ranges (0.01-10 micrometers) to optimize sugar recovery. This parameter optimization allows high sugar stream yield to be achieved with a single filtration step rather than requiring multiple processing stages
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 system achieves a high-yield, cost-effective production of a sugar stream with a dextrose equivalent of at least 20 D.E. and less than 30% unfermentable solids, generating additional revenue from high-value by-products like oil and protein, thus improving the economic viability of biochemical production.
Implementation Method 1
the liquid portion is separated into an oil portion including the free oil, a second solids portion, and a sugar portion including the simple sugars. Then, the sugar portion is subjected to membrane filtration to produce a third solids portion and a filtered sugar portion
Implementation Method 2
grinding grain and/or grain components into grain particles to release oil from the grains
Implementation Method 3
the slurry is subjected to liquefaction followed by saccharification to convert the starch to simple sugars
Implementation Method 4
liquefaction followed by saccharification to convert the starch to simple sugars
Data Source
AI summary
An improved dry grind system and method for producing a sugar stream from grains or similar carbohydrate sources and/or residues, such as for biofuel production, using membrane filtration. In particular, a sugar/carbohydrate stream, which includes a desired Dextrose Equivalent (DE) where DE describes the degree of conversion of starch to dextrose (aka glucose) and/or has had removed therefrom an undesirable amount of unfermentable components, can be produced after saccharification and prior to fermentation (or other sugar conversion process) using membrane filtration, with such sugar stream being available for biofuel production, e.g., alcohol production, or other processes. In addition, the systems and methods also can involve the removal of certain grain components, e.g., corn kernel components, including protein, oil and/or fiber, prior to fermentation or other conversion systems. In other words, sugar stream production and/or grain component separation occurs on the front end of the system and method.