Claims
- 1. A corn meal remaining after the extraction of oil from whole corn.
- 2. The corn meal of claim 1, wherein the whole corn has an oil content of from about 3% to about 6%.
- 3. The corn meal of claim 2, wherein the whole corn is tempered prior to extraction of the oil.
- 4. The corn meal according to claim 3, wherein the tempered corn is cracked prior to extraction of the oil.
- 5. The corn meal according to claim 4, wherein the cracked corn is conditioned prior to extraction of the oil.
- 6. The corn meal according to claim 5, wherein the conditioned corn is flaked prior to extraction of the oil.
- 7. A method for processing whole corn comprising:
1) conditioning the whole corn; 2) flaking the conditioned whole corn; and 3) extracting the flaked corn to produce corn meal and corn oil.
- 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the whole corn has an oil content of from about 3% to about 6%.
- 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of tempering the whole corn.
- 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of tempering is before the step of conditioning the whole corn.
- 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of cracking the whole corn.
- 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the step of cracking is before the step of conditioning the whole corn.
- 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of cracking is after the step of tempering and before the step of conditioning the whole corn.
- 14. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of drying the whole corn.
- 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step of drying is after the step of cracking and before the step of conditioning.
- 16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step of drying is after the step of flaking and before the step of extracting.
- 17. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of extracting is accomplished by extracting corn oil from grain flaked corn using a continuous solvent extraction process.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the flaked corn remains in contact with the solvent for a time sufficient to extract the desired amount of oil.
- 19. A corn oil remaining after the extraction of flaked corn from whole corn having an oil content of from about 3% to about 6%.
- 20. The corn oil of claim 19, wherein the whole corn is tempered prior to extraction of the flaked corn.
- 21. The corn oil according to claim 20, wherein the tempered corn is cracked prior to extraction of the flaked corn.
- 22. The corn oil according to claim 21, wherein the cracked corn is conditioned prior to extraction of the flaked corn.
- 23. The corn oil of claim 21, wherein the cracked corn is dried prior to extraction of the flaked corn.
- 24. The corn oil of claim 19, wherein the flaked corn is dried prior to extraction.
- 25. A method of processing whole corn comprising:
1) tempering the whole corn; 2) cracking the tempered corn; 3) conditioning the cracked corn; and 4) flaking the conditioned corn.
- 26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the whole corn has an oil content of from about 3% to about 6%.
- 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of extracting the flaked corn to produce corn meal and corn oil.
- 28. An oil produced by the extraction of whole corn.
- 29. The oil of claim 28, wherein the whole corn has an oil content of from about 3% to about 6%.
- 30. A biodiesel comprising corn oil produced by the extraction of the oil from corn.
- 31. A method of recovering lighter particles generated during the processing of corn comprising separating lighter particles from heavier particles by passing a stream of gas over the corn such that lighter particles are carried away in the gas stream.
- 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the gas is selected from the group consisting of air, nitrogen and argon.
- 33. A method of recovering lighter particles generated during the processing of corn comprising separating lighter particles from heavier particles by passing a liquid spray over the corn such that the lighter particles are carried away.
- 34. The method of claim 33 wherein the liquid spray is water.
- 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the liquid spray further comprises at least one component selected from the group consisting of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and combinations thereof.
- 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the liquid spray further comprises a caustic liquid.
- 37. A biodegradable product made from solvent extracted corn meal from corn.
- 38. The biodegradable product of claim 37, wherein the solvent extracted corn meal is treated with an organic solvent.
- 39. The biodegradable product of claim 37, wherein the solvent extracted corn meal is treated with a cross-linking agent.
- 40. The biodegradable product of claim 39, wherein the cross-linking agent is selected from the group consisting of an aldehyde, an acid anhydride, an epoxide or combinations thereof.
- 41. A method of producing fermentation based products comprising:
1) combining the corn meal remaining after the extraction of oil from whole corn with water and alpha-amylase enzyme; 2) incubating the combination and including at least one additive to the combination; and 3) mixing the combination with a micro-organism capable of fermenting a carbon source to produce the fermentation based product.
- 42. The method of claim 41, wherein the additive is selected from the group consisting of glucoamylase and protease.
Parent Case Info
[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/927,836, filed Aug. 10, 2001, which was a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/637,843, filed Aug. 10, 2000, which was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/249,280, filed Feb. 11, 1999, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Continuation in Parts (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09927836 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Child |
10046856 |
Jan 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09637843 |
Aug 2000 |
US |
Child |
09927836 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09249280 |
Feb 1999 |
US |
Child |
09637843 |
Aug 2000 |
US |