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Effect of Maize Tempering on Throughput and Product Yields

¹Former doctoral student, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of, Urbana, IL 61801. Current address: Cargill Foods Inc., Dayton, OH. ²Visiting scholar, Dept. Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801. ³Corresponding author. Email: dgupta@sugar.age.uiuc.edu Phone: 217/344-9510. ⁴Professor, Dept. Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801. ⁵Professor, Dept. Veterinary Biosciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801.

Scientifically researched 2- and 3-stage tempering procedures and the commercially practiced 1-stage procedure were compared for throughput and corn dry-milling product yields at pilot-scale (30-kg lots) operation. The throughput and product yields were influenced by the temper procedure and the tailgate weight distance. For most corn dry-milling products, yields corresponding to 2- or 3-stage tempering procedures could be equaled or surpassed using the 1-stage tempering procedure at specific temper durations. In general, yields from the 2-stage and 3-stage procedures were comparable to the yields from the 1-stage procedure at temper durations of 30–40 and 50–60 min, respectively. An increase in the tailgate weight distance improved the product yields for temper durations <30 min but reduced the yields for longer temper durations. An increase in temper duration ≤50 min resulted in a reduction in throughput but an improvement in flaking grit yield. The temper duration and tailgate weight distance could be suitably adjusted for obtaining the desired output.