Co-products from corn refining make important contributions to livestock feeds. Production of high- quality corn oil increases in direct proportion to the growing volume of corn going to starch, sweetener, ethanol and bioproduct production, and the oil has found a unique and special place among edible oils.
What is a corn refining process?
It is the goal of the corn refining process to separate each component and then further refine it into specific products. Corn arrives at the refining facility by truck, barge or railcar. Refinery staff inspect arriving corn shipments and clean them twice to remove pieces of cob, dust, chaff, and foreign materials.
What are the residues and byproducts of corn oil refining?
The residues and byproducts from corn oil refining amount to 8 to 10 percent of the crude oil entering the process. The bulk of these residues are in the form of soapstock, which contains the neutralized free fatty acids and phosphati- des.
How is corn oil made?
The germs, containing about 85 percent of corn’s oil, are pumped onto screens and washed repeatedly to remove any starch left in the mixture. A combination of mechanical and solvent processes extracts the oil from the germ. The oil is then refined and filtered into finished corn oil.