53 Assessing quality in corn utilization by new pilot-plant dry milling.

M. Chaurand, J. Abecassis, and J. C. AUTRAN. INRA, Unité de Technologie des Céréales et des Agropolymères, 2 Place Viala, 34060 Montpellier cedex 2, France.

Because full-scale testing is not practical to assess suitability of corn samples to dry milling and various end-uses, a simplified but effective pilot dry milling diagram was developed for research at INRA. Fifty-kg samples of corn are conditioned to 19–21%, then degerminated in a horizontal beater-drum, so-called fragmentator, screened and aspirated to remove hulls. Recovered fractions (>2.00 mm: tail hominy), are submitted to a fluidized-bed separator to isolate large flaking grits (3.15–6.00 mm: pure hominy) and to “float off” pieces of germs. If required, intermediate fractions may be sent to roller mills for reduction into smaller fractions such as coarse grits, fine grits and flours. Satisfactory physical (granulometry) and chemical (fat and cellulose content) characteristics of the obtained fractions allowed this new diagram to be used for respectively supplying corn-flakes processing, brewery, extrusion-cooking, various foods and oil processing with fractions in the order of a few kgs. Its interest is also discussed with regard to research programmes in progress, including effects of variety or kernel size, suitability of corns to be processed into hominy, assessment of breakage susceptibility, effect of drying conditions, detection of residual GMO products in a maize milling plant.