Fluid Quip Technologies, LLC

A modified dry grind method and system for biochemical and/or biofuel production, such as alcohol, in which dried grain (e.g., corn) feedstock is initially wetted prior to being milled to reduce the complexity and the amount of electricity typically consumed in the grain handling and milling part of a dry grind process. In one example, the method and system can include mixing a grain feedstock with a liquid in a holding tank to initially wet the grain. Then, the mixture can be subjected to a milling step in which the grain can be broken down, such as by a disc mill, into smaller ground pieces. Prior to being milled, the mixture of wet corn and liquid can be subjected to a dewatering device to remove liquid from the wet grain. Once milled, the milled grain can be further subjected to traditional, modified traditional, or non-traditional dry grind steps to produce biofuel and/or biochemicals.

A method and system for distilling alcohol in an alcohol production process utilizes mechanical vapor recompression (MVR), by way of an MVR device, such as to improve vacuum distillation column capacity. The MVR device is used as a way to increase vapor pressure/density and reduce vapor volume providing for increased volumetric flowrate and thereby increasing the capacity of a distillation system. In particular, the MVR takes a low value waste heat from stillage evaporators and compresses it to a higher temperature/pressure to create useful energy. By raising the pressure in the beer column with an MVR device, the vapor density increases, vapor volume decreases, and vapor velocity increases so that more vapor can be fed to and through the beer column. That is, additional mass flow can be added to the stillage evaporators and beer column to return the overall vapor velocity at the beer column to the original velocity constraint point. As such, the throughput of the beer column can be increased until it reaches its original velocity design constraint.

A method and system for increasing the purity of protein from a system that produces protein, such as a high protein meal, from dry milling of grains including, for example, corn and wheat. The purity of the high protein meal, for example, can be increased by back end enzyme treatment of yeast, which has been separated along with protein from whole stillage. The enzyme(s) can breakdown the yeast into its yeast components that can be removed from the protein to provide for an increased purity of a resulting high protein product.

An improved dry grind system and method for producing a sugar stream from grains or similar carbohydrate sources and/or residues, such as for biochemical production. In particular, after saccharification and prior to a sugar conversion process, a sugar/carbohydrate stream is removed from a saccharified stream. The sugar/carbohydrate stream includes a desired Dextrose Equivalent (DE) where DE describes the degree of conversion of starch to dextrose can be produced, with the such sugar stream being available for biochemical 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 and/or fiber. Sugar stream production occurs on the front end of the system and method.

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.

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. 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), 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.

An improved dry grind method and system for recovering oil from insoluble solids (fiber wet cake) separated from the whole stillage byproduct in a plant that derives a biochemical, such as alcohol (e.g., ethanol), from corn, wheat, or other cereal grains. In one embodiment, the method includes subjecting the fiber wet cake to one or more dryers to provide a desirable moisture content in a resulting dried fiber cake. Then, the dried fiber cake can be subjected to one or more oil press devices, such as an expeller press, that extracts bound oil from the dried fiber cake by squeezing or pressing the fiber cake under high pressure and at a desired temperature to provide an oil filtrate. The oil in the oil filtrate can be recovered via an oil recovery centrifuge and can be sold as a separate high value product.

Systems and methods for producing carbohydrate (e.g., sugar) streams (and recycling enzymes) from a pretreated or untreated biomass such as cellulosic feedstock, including, for example, “brown stock” feedstock, or waste or recycled fiber sludge produced in the pulp and paper industry, such as for biochemical (e.g., biofuel) production, are provided. In one example, the system and method can produce high purity C6 (glucose and/or fructose) and/or C5 (xylose) sugar streams, and other carbohydrates and/or fibrous materials, from cellulosic feedstocks, such as brown stock or waste fiber sludge, that can be effectively converted into various biochemical products, such as ethanol.

A system and process is disclosed for adding pre-fermentation separated non-fermentables, e.g., fiber, germ/oil, and/or protein, to a post-fermentation stream in a corn (or similar carbohydrate-containing grain) dry milling process for making alcohol and/or other biofuels/biochemical. The process includes mixing grain particles with a liquid to produce a slurry having starch and non-fermentables. The slurry is subjected to liquefaction to convert the starch in the slurry to complex sugars and produce a liquefied stream including the complex sugars and non-fermentables. After liquefaction but prior to fermentation of simple sugars resulting from conversion of the complex sugars, the non-fermentables are separated out to define a non-fermentables portion and an aqueous solution including the complex and/or simple sugars. The simple sugars are fermented to provide a fermented stream. Then, the separated non-fermentables portion is reincorporated back into the process into a post-fermentation stream. In one example, the non-fermentables may be mainly fiber.

An improved dry grind system and method for producing a sugar stream from grains or similar carbohydrate sources and/or residues, such as for biochemical production, with front end oil separation. Prior to or after saccharification, oil can be removed from a sugar/carbohydrate stream. After saccharification and prior to a sugar conversion process, the sugar/carbohydrate stream includes a desired Dextrose Equivalent (DE) where DE describes the degree of conversion of starch to dextrose can be produced, with such sugar stream being available for biochemical 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 and/or fiber. In other words, oil separation and sugar stream production occurs on the front end of the system and method.