Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 7
Chapter 2
Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production:
designing for 23% ethanol and maximum yield
D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons
Alltech Inc., Nicholasville, Kentucky, US
This chapter deals with the milling and cooking
stages of alcohol production from whole cereals.
In brief, in this process the whole cereal, normally
corn (maize), is ground in a mill to a fine particle
size and mixed with liquid, usually a mixture of
water and backset stillage. This slurry is then
treated with a liquefying enzyme to hydrolyze
the cereal to dextrins, which are oligosaccharides.
The hydrolysis of starch with the liquefying
enzyme, called "-amylase, is helped along by
cooking the mash at an appropriate temperature
to break down the granular structure of the starch
and cause it to gelatinize. Finally the dextrins
produced in the cooking process are further
hydrolyzed to glucose in a saccharification
process using the exoenzyme glucoamylase and
another enzyme (Rhizozyme™) that may be
added to the yeast propagation tank or the
fermenter. These separate stages of milling,
cooking and saccharification will be explained
in more detail.
Milling
The incoming cereal is usually inspected upon
receipt. The distiller will check the grain for bushel
weight, moisture content, mold infestation and
general appearance. If the cereal complies with
the quality control standards, it will be unloaded
into silos in preparation for milling.
The purpose of milling is to break up the cereal
grains to as small a particle size as possible in
order to facilitate subsequent penetration of
water in the cooking process. A wide variety of
milling equipment is available to grind the whole
cereal to a meal. Normally, most distilleries use
hammer mills, although some may use roller mills,
particularly for small cereal grains.
Hammer mills
With a hammermill, the cereal grain is fed into a
grinding chamber in which a number of hammers
rotate at high speed. The collision of the hammers
with the grain causes a breakdown to a meal.
The mill outlet contains a retention screen that
holds back larger particles until they are broken
down further so that there will be a known
maximum particle size in the meal. The screens
are normally in the size range of 1/8-3/16 in.
A size distribution test or ‘sieve analysis’ of
the meal should be conducted regularly. Sieve
analysis shows whether the hammermill screens
are in good order and whether the mill is correctly
8 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons

adjusted. Table 1 shows a typical sieve analysis It is recommended that a sieve analysis of the
for corn. The two largest screens retain only 11% meal be done at least once per shift. The distiller
of the particles while the quantity passing through should set specifications for the percentage of
the 60 mesh screen is also fairly low at 7%. For particles on each sieve; and when the measured
efficient processing of the cereal starch into quantity falls outside of these specifications the
alcohol, the particles should be as fine as possible. mill should be adjusted. Normally the hammers
However a compromise must be made such that in a hammer mill are turned every 15 days,
the particles are not too fine and cause balling in depending on usage; and every 60 days a
the slurry tank or problems in the by-product decision should be made as to whether or not
recovery process. to replace the hammers and screens.
Since sieve analysis is critical, a case can also
Table 1. Typical results of a sieve analysis of corn be made for recycling to the hammer mill any
meal. grain not ground sufficiently fine. Fineness of the
grind also has an important bearing on
Screen size Hole size (in) Corn on screen (%) centrifugation of the stillage post-distillation. A
12 0.0661 3.0 finer grind may yield more solubles and hence
16 0.0469 8.0 place a greater load on the evaporator. However
20 0.0331 36.0 since the key is to maximize yield, dry house
30 0.0234 20.0 considerations, while important, cannot override
40 0.0165 14.0 yield considerations.
60 0.0098 12.0
Through 60 7.0
Roller mills
Fineness of the grind is a significant factor in the Some distillers use roller mills (e.g. malt whisky
final alcohol yield. It is possible to obtain a 5- producers), particularly where cereals containing
10% difference in yield between a fine and a substantial quantities of husk material are used.
coarse meal. Table 2 shows the typical alcohol In a roller mill, the cereal is nipped as it passes
yield from various cereals. It can be seen that through the rollers, thus exerting a compressive
the normal yield from corn is 2.65 gallons of force. In certain cases, the rollers operate at
anhydrous ethanol per bushel (56 lbs). However, different speeds so that a shearing force can be
the yield with coarsely ground corn may drop to applied. The roller surfaces are usually grooved
2.45 gallons per bushel, a reduction in yield of to aid in the shearing and disintegration. Figure
7.5%. This is a highly significant reduction and 1 shows the general configuration of a roller mill.
would have serious economic consequences for In Scotland the solids in whisky mash, made
any distiller. entirely from malted barley, are usually removed
by using a brewery-type lauter tun, which is a
Table 2. Typical alcohol yields from various cereals. vessel with a perforated bottom like a large
colander. In this case, a roller mill should be used
Cereal Yielda
as the shear force allows the husk to be separated
(US gallons of anhydrous
with minimal damage. The husk then acts as the
alcohol/bushel)
filter bed in the lauter tun for the efficient
Fine grind corn, 3/16 in. 2.65 separation of solids and liquid.
Coarse grind corn, 5/16 in. 2.45
Milo 2.60
Barley 2.50 Cooking
Rye 2.40
Cooking is the entire process beginning with
a
Note that a distiller’s bushel is always a measure of mixing the grain meal with water (and possibly
weight. It is always 56 lb, regardless of the type of grain.
 Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 9

backset stillage) through to delivery of a mash

ready for fermentation. Figure 2 shows the
components that make up a typical milling and
cooking system. This schematic diagram could
represent the processes involved in beverage,
industrial or fuel alcohol production, except that
nowadays only the whisky distillers use malt as a
source of liquefying and saccharifying enzymes.
All other alcohol producers use microbial enz-
yme preparations. The key to cooking is to sim-
ply liquefy the starch so it can be pumped.

Hydrolysis of starch

Before discussing cooking operations, it is

necessary to consider the biochemical processes
involved. The source of alcohol from cereal grains
is the glucose polymer known as starch. The
purpose of cooking and saccharification is to
Figure 1. Roller mill.
achieve hydrolysis of starch into fermentable
sugars. Hydrolysis normally involves use of the

Figure 2. Typical milling and cooking system.

10 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons

Figure 3. Chemical structure of amylose. The polymer can have several thousand "-1,4 glucosidic linkages.

Figure 4. Chemical structure of amylopectin illustrating the "-1,4 and "-1-6 bonds and the general structure of
the molecule.
 Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 11
endoenzyme " -amylase followed by the
exoenzyme glucoamylase (amylo-glucosidase, to
produce glucose. However, when malt is used
as a source of both " -amylase and the
exoenzyme ß-amylase, the fermentable sugar
produced is maltose, a dimer made up of two
glucose units.
Starch exists in two forms. One form is the
straight-chained amylose, where the glucose units
are linked by "-1,4 glucosidic linkages (Figure
3). The amylose content of corn is about 10% of
the total starch; and the amylose chain length
can be up to 1,000 glucose units. The other form
of starch is called amylopectin, which represents
about 90% of the starch in corn. Amylopectin
has a branched structure (Figure 4). It has the
same "-1,4 glucosidic linkages as in amylose,
but also has branches connected by "-1,6
linkages. The number of glucose units in amylo-
pectin can be as high as 10,000. The "-amylase
enzyme used for the initial liquefaction or
hydrolysis of the starch acts randomly on the "-
1,4 glucosidic linkages but will not break the "-
1,6 linkages of amylopectin. Corn, wheat and
milo have similar levels of starch (Table 3). That
is why they are the most commonly used cereals
in the alcohol distilling industry.
Table 3. Starch content of various cereal grains.
Raw material Starch (%)
Corn 60-68
Wheat 60-65
Oats 50-53
Barley 55-65
Milo 60-65
Potato 10-25
Cassava 25-30
Rye 60-63
Rice (polished) 70-72
Sorghum (millet) 75-80
In order for the "-amylase to bring about
hydrolysis of the starch to dextrins, the granular
structure of the starch must first be broken down
in the process known as gelatinization. When
the slurry of meal and water are cooked, the
starch granules start to adsorb water and swell.
They gradually lose their crystalline structure until
they become large, gel-filled sacs that tend to fill
all of the available space and break with agitation
and abrasion.
The peak of gelatinization is also the point of
maximum viscosity of a mash. Figures 5, 6 and 7
show the progressive gelatinization of cornstarch,
as viewed on a microscopic hot stage. In Figure
5 the granules are quite distinct and separate
from the surrounding liquid. In Figure 6 these
same granules have swollen in size and some of
the liquid has entered the granules. Figure 7
shows the granules as indistinct entities in which
the liquid has entered to expand them
considerably.
Gelatinization temperatures vary for the
different cereals (Table 4). Some distillers
consider it important for the slurrying temper-
ature of the meal to be below the temperature
of gelatinization. This avoids coating of grain
particles with an impervious layer of gelatinized
starch that prevents the enzymes from
penetrating to the starch granules and leads to
incomplete conversion. Many distillers, however,
go to the other extreme and slurry at temper-
atures as high as 90 oC. At these temper-atures
starch gelatinizes almost immediately and with
adequate agitation there is no increase in
viscosity and no loss of yield.
Table 4. Temperature range for the gelatinization
of cereal starches.
Cereal Gelatinization range (oC)
Barley 52-59
Wheat 58-64
Rye 57-70
Corn (maize) 62-72
High amylose corn 67- >80
Rice 68-77
Sorghum 68-77
Figure 8 shows the hydrolysis reaction of the "-
1,4 glucosidic linkage and represents the break-
down of starch to the less viscous dextrins.
Dextrins are oligosaccharides resulting from the
12 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons

Figure 5. Gelatinization of cornstarch. Group of granules viewed

on microscope hot stage at 67 oC under normal illumination.

Figure 6. Gelatinization of cornstarch. Same group of granules as in Figure 5,

viewed on microscope hot stage at 75 oC under normal illumination.
 Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 13

Figure 7. Gelatinization of cornstarch. Same group of granules as in Figure 6,

viewed on microscope hot stage at 85 oC under normal illumination.

Figure 8. Hydrolysis of the "-1,4 glucosidic linkage in starch.

14 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons
hydrolysis of starch using the endoenzyme "-
amylase. "-amylase works randomly and rapidly
to catalyze hydrolysis of the starch molecule. The
dextrins will be of varying chain lengths.
However, the shorter the chain length the less
work remaining for the exoenzyme
glucoamylase, which releases single glucose
molecules by hydrolyzing successive "-1,4
linkages beginning at the non-reducing end of
the dextrin chain. Glucoamylase also hydrolyzes
"-1,6 branch linkages, but at a much slower rate.
Premixing, cooking and liquefaction
In considering all the different processes that
make up cooking, it should first be explained that
there are a variety of types of both batch and
continuous cooking systems. For a batch system
Figure 9. Batch cooking system.
there is usually only one tank, which serves as
slurrying, cooking and liquefaction vessels. Live
steam jets are typically installed in the vessel to
bring the mash to boiling temperature along with
cooling coils to cool the mash for liquefaction.
Figure 9 shows a typical batch cooking system.
In the batch cooking system, a weighed
quantity of meal is mixed into the vessel with a
known quantity of water and backset stillage.
These constituents of the mash are mixed in
simultaneously to ensure thorough mixing. The
quantity of liquid mixed with the meal will
determine the eventual alcohol content of the
fermented mash. When a distiller refers to a ’25
gallon beer’, it means 25 gallons of liquid per
bushel of cereal. For example, for a corn distillery
with an alcohol yield of 2.5 gallons of absolute
alcohol per bushel, the 25 gallons of liquid would
contain 2.5 gallons of alcohol. Therefore it would
 Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 15
contain 10% alcohol by volume. Using the
distillery alcohol yield, the distiller can determine
the quantity of cereals and liquid to use. Most
distilleries operate with beers in the 10-15%
alcohol range, although some beverage plants
run at alcohol levels as low as 8%.
In the batch cooking system, a small quantity
of "-amylase is added at the beginning (0.02%
w/w of cereal) to facilitate agitation in the high
viscosity stage at gelatinization. After boiling,
usually for 30-60 minutes, the mash is cooled to
75-90 oC and the second addition of "-amylase
made (0.04-0.06% w/w cereal). Liquefaction then
takes place, usually over a holding period of 45-
90 minutes. The mash should always be checked
at this stage to make certain that no starch
remains. Starch produces a blue or purple color
with iodine. Mash should not be transferred from
the liquefaction hold until it is ‘starch-negative’.
The pH range for efficient "-amylase usage
is 6.0-6.5. Therefore, mash pH should be
controlled in this range from the first enzyme
addition until the end of liquefaction. The
Figure 10. Continuous columnar cooking system.
glucoamylase enzyme has a lower pH range (4.0-
5.5), so after liquefaction the pH of the mash
should be adjusted with either sulfuric acid or
backset stillage, or a combination of the two.
The quantity of backset stillage as a percen-
tage of the total liquid varies from 10 to 50%.
On one hand, the backset stillage supplies
nutrients essential for yeast growth. However too
much backset stillage can result in the oversupply
of certain minerals and ions that suppress good
fermentation. Especially noteworthy are the
sodium and lactate ions. Sodium concentrations
above 500 ppm or lactate above 0.8% inhibit
yeast growth and can slow or possibly stop the
fermentation prematurely. Overuse of backset
must be avoided to prevent serious fermentation
problems.
In the continuous cooking process (Figure 10)
meal, water and backset stillage are continually
fed into a premix tank at a temperature just below
that of gelatinization. The mash is pumped
continuously through a jet cooker, where the
temperature is instantly raised to 120 oC. It then
16 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons
Figure 11. High-temperature, short-time, continuous U-tube cooking system.
passes into the top of a vertical column. With
plug flow, the mash moves down the column in
about 20 minutes and passes into the flash
chamber for liquefaction at 80-90 oC. High
temperature-tolerant "-amylase is added at
0.05-0.08% w/w cereal to bring about lique-
faction. The retention time in the liquefaction/
flash chamber is 30 minutes. The pH from
slurrying through to the liquefaction vessel must
be controlled within the 6.0-6.5 range. The
greatest advantage of this system is that no
enzyme is needed in the slurrying stage, leading
to significant savings in enzyme usage. From the
liquefaction chamber, the mash is pumped
through a heat exchanger to be cooled for
saccharification or fermentation.
The continuous U tube cooking system
(Figure 11) differs from the columnar cooking
system in that the jet cooker heats the mash to
120-140oC prior to being transferred through a
continuous U tube. The retention time in the U
tube is only three minutes, after which it is flashed
into the liquefaction vessel at 80-90oC and the
enzyme is added (high temperature-tolerant "-
amylase 0.05-0.08% w/w cereal). The residence
time in the liquefaction vessel is a minimum of
30 minutes.
The main advantage of this system is the
relatively short residence period in the U tube. If
properly designed there is no need to add any
"-amylase enzyme in the slurrying stage.
However, because of the relatively narrow
diameter of the tubes, some distillers add a small
amount of enzyme to the slurry tank to guarantee
a free flow.
The relative heat requirements of the three
cooking systems can be seen in Table 5.
Surprisingly, the batch system is the most energy-
efficient. Batch systems also generally use less
enzyme than the other systems, possibly due to
the difficulty of accurate dosing and good mixing
with the continuous systems. The main
disadvantage of the batch system compared to
the continuous system is the poor utilization or
productivity per unit of time. The temperature-
 Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 17

Figure 12. Temperature-time sequences in various types of cooking systems.

time sequences for the three systems shown in
Figure 12 demonstrate how much more
efficiently time is used in continuous systems
compared to the batch system.
Table 5. Relative heat requirements of cooking
systems.
Batch 1 mechanical energy put into the mash via agitation
Continuous columnar 1.18
Continuous U-tube 1.37
In the continuous systems, the flow diagrams
show steam addition to raise the mash
temperature. This temperature increase is
brought about instantaneously by a jet cooker
or ‘hydroheater’ as shown in Figure 13.
One purpose of the cooking process is to
cleave the hydrogen bonds that link the starch
molecules, thus breaking the granular structure
and converting it to a colloidal suspension.
Another factor in the breakdown of starch is the
of the different vessels in which the cooking
process takes place. Well-designed agitation is
very important in a cooking system; and the
problem is intensified when plug flow is also
desired.

Figure 13. Automatic hydroheater.

18 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons

Mash viscosities give an indication of the

relative ease or difficulty with which some cereals
are liquefied. Figure 14 compares viscosity
against temperature for corn and waxy maize
(amioca) and demonstrates the difference in
viscosity profiles.
All of the cooking systems described require
the addition of enzymes at least for the
liquefaction stage where most of the hydrolysis
takes place. Many distilleries now use a high
temperature-tolerant "-amylase produced by
the microorganism Bacillus lichenformis. The
optimum pH range for this enzyme is between
6.0 and 6.5, although it shows good stability up
to pH 8.5 (Figure 15) while the optimum temper-
ature range is 88oC-93oC (Figure 16). Typically,
this type of enzyme would be used at between
0.06% and 0.08% by weight of cereal. Where it Figure 15. Effect of pH on the
is necessary to add some "-amylase enzyme to activity of "-amylase.
the slurrying vessel, the dosage rate may be
slightly higher.
The reaction time for enzyme-catalyzed
reactions is directly proportional to the concen-
tration of enzyme. Consequently, distillers wish-
ing to minimize the quantity of enzyme used
should design equipment to have long residence
times to allow the reactions to be completed with
the minimal dosage of enzyme.

Saccharification - yes or no?

Saccharification of distillery mashes is a

somewhat controversial subject. Over the last

Figure 16. Activity of high temperature-tolerant

"-amylase in relation to temperature.

ten years many distillers have changed from

Figure 14. Viscosity build up in
cooking corn meal.
saccharifying mash in a dedicated saccharifi-cation
vessel (or sacc’ tank) to adding the saccharifying
enzyme directly to the fermenter in a process
referred to as Simultaneous Saccharification and
Fermentation. Saccharifi-cation in a separate
 Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 19
vessel is still the practice in some distilleries,
particularly for beverage production.
A further complication occurs if Rhizozyme™,
a surface culture enzyme, is used. Rhizozyme™
has an optimum pH of 3.5-4.5 and an optimum
temperature of 30-350C. As such, it is a gluco-
amylase more suited to a distillery fermenter
(Table 6). Rhizozyme™ has particularly found
favor in SSF situations because the enzyme can
work at near its optimum in the fermenter. The
enzyme also contains side activities that assist in
releasing more carbohydrate and protein (Table
6).
Table 6. Advantages of Rhizozyme™ over
conventional glucoamylase.
Conventional
glucoamylase Rhizozyme™
Temperature optimum, 0C 60+ 30+
pH optimum 4.5-6 3.5-4.5
Amylase activity,
SKB units None 50,000
Cellulase activity,
CMC-ase units None 2500
Amylopectinase, AP units None 5000
If saccharification step is used
Mash from the liquefaction vessel is cooled,
usually to 60-65 o C, and transferred to a
liquefaction vessel where the glucoamylase
(amyloglucosidase) enzyme is added. This
exoenzyme starts hydrolyzing the dextrins from
the non-reducing end of the molecule and
progressively, though slowly compared to
endoenzymes, releases glucose. The
saccharifying process is usually carried out with
a residence time of between 45 and 90 minutes
and the glucoamylase is added at 0.12% by
weight of cereal used. Some distillers actually
measure the quantity of glucose produced by
measuring the dextrose equivalent (DE) of the
mash. A DE of 100 represents pure glucose,
while zero represents the absence of glucose.
This test is rarely used nowadays, as many
distillers have high performance liquid
chromatography systems that can measure
sugars directly. Recent experience, however,
shows that DE, provided it is above 10, is of no
concern. In focusing on 23% ethanol, the key
in any cooking and liquefaction process is to
liquefy, i.e., lower viscosity, so that mash can be
pumped through heat exchanger to the
fermenter (for SSF) or to the saccharification
tank.
The functional characteristics of glucoamylase,
which is usually prepared from the micro-
organism Aspergillus niger, can be seen in Figures
17-20. Two parameters, temperature and pH,
dictate how enzymes can be used. While lique-
faction is carried out at a pH of 6.0-6.5 and a
temperature of 90oC, this is not at all acceptable
for saccharification. The pH must be in the 4-5
range for saccharification; and the optimum
temperature for the glucoamylase activity is 75oC.
The mash, therefore, must be acidified with either
sulfuric acid or backset stillage or both before
addition of the glucoamylase. Temperature must
also be adjusted. As mentioned previously,
normal mash saccharification temperature is 60-
65oC; although for microbiological reasons
70-75oC would be preferable. Lactobacillus can
survive at 60 oC; and frequent infection of
saccharification systems has caused many
distillers to change to saccharifying in the
fermenter as described below.
If no saccharification step is used
If no saccharification step is planned, the liquefied
mash is simply cooled from 90° C through a heat
exchanger and transferred to the fermenter. A
portion of the liquefied mash is diverted to a yeast
starter tank where yeast, glucoamylase and
the RhizozymeTM is added. Conventionaly
glucoamylase (L300) is added at 0.08% with
0.01% Rhizozyme™ recommended as a supp-
lement. Rhizozyme™ alone can be added at
0.05%.
20 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons
Raw materials
Corn
Corn contains 60-68% starch and is certainly the
most widely used cereal in dry milling operations.
It is easy to process from cooking through
Figure 17. Influence of pH on the
stability of glucoamylase
Figure 18. Influence of pH on the
activity of glucoamylase.
fermentation. A bushel of corn weighs 56 lbs
and generally contains approximately 32 lbs of
starch, which is present in the endosperm portion
of the kernel in the form of granules. When
hydrolyzed, this starch yields about 36 lbs of
glucose. (The weight increases as water is taken
up in the hydrolysis process.)
Figure 19. Influence of temperature on the stability
of glucoamylase.
Figure 20. Influence of temperature on the activity
of glucoamylase.
 Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 21
Barley
Barley is used in many countries as a raw material
for alcohol production both in its ungerminated
form and in its germinated state when it is called
barley malt. This cereal contains starch at levels
of 55-65% of dry weight. The starch is easily
processed using methods similar to those used
for corn, although barley is much more abrasive
to equipment than corn due to its high fiber
content.
Both the two row and six row varieties of
barley contain high levels (1-4%) of the
polysaccharide gum known as betaglucan. This
is a very viscous gum and can lead to processing
problems unless the mash is treated with a
betaglucanase enzyme to hydrolyze the gum to
glucose.
Alcohol yields from barley are slightly lower
than for corn, normally 2.2-2.3 US gallons of
anhydrous alcohol per 56 lb bushel.
Milo (millet or grain sorghum)
Milo has a smaller kernel than corn but yields
about the same quantity of alcohol per bushel.
The cereal is treated in the same way as corn.
Occasionally foaming problems occur during
fermentation; and the distillers dried grain has a
slightly different color. As milo is purchased at a
lower price per bushel than corn, the alcohol
may be produced at a lower raw material cost.
An important feature of milo fermentation is the
formation of a crusty head above the liquid,
which requires constant agitation to break up.
For this reason, some distillers who use milo
regularly install an extra agitator just below the
fermenter’s fill level.
Rye
Rye contains almost as much starch as corn, and
is used for alcohol production in rye-producing
regions. The alcohol yield is 2.4 gallons per
bushel. It is an unusual cereal in that unger-
minated rye contains a high level of "-amylase
and the mash can almost be liquefied without
the addition of "-amylase from external sources.
During cooking, a hold at 65-70oC allows these
enzymes to work. Normally microbial "-amylase
preparations are added at 0.03% w/w rye. The
fermenting mashes have a tendency to foam; and
rye also contains gums that lead to serious
viscosity problems. Treatment of rye mashes with
betaglucanase enzyme helps reduce the
viscosity, but the problem is not as easy to solve
as with barley. The bitter taste of rye results in a
distillers dried grain with a different character to
that of corn, but the plants in North America that
use rye exclusively have no difficulty in selling
this by-product.
Wheat
While vast quantities of wheat are grown in the
US and Canada, little has been directly used in
distilleries because it generally tends to be more
expensive than corn. The by-product wheat
gluten may be extracted before converting the
starch to alcohol as shown in the wheat gluten
processing system in Figure 21.
Depending on the end use of gluten, it can
be extracted by washing the wheat starch with
water or by dissolving in ammonium hydroxide.
Water is used when the gluten is intended for
bread baking, while ammonia is used when the
gluten is intended for use as a protein
supplement or is to be processed further. When
the gluten is removed, the resulting product may
be deficient in free amino acid nitrogen and yeast
food may need to be added to the mash to
ensure a satisfactory fermentation.
Recommendations
Given the goals and the variable involved, which
cooking system should be chosen? A comparison
of systems used in four distilleries demonstrates
the diversity of approach possible, yet points out
many similarities (Table 7). It would appear that
there are three schools of thought:
22 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons
a) A long liquefaction period (1-2 hrs at 90+ 0C)
prior to the high temperature jet cooker.
b) A short liquefaction prior to, but a long
liquefaction period (1-2 hrs at 90+ 0C) after
the high temperature jet cooker.
c) No saccharification step.
From the experience of the authors, all the
systems described in Table 7 work; however the
saccharification step is used to suit the
glucoamylase. Furthermore it runs the risk of
Figure 21. Wheat processing including gluten separation.
infection and over-production of glucose
(detrimental to the yeast). A long liquefaction
period (pre- or post-jet cooking), no
saccharification and addition of glucoamylase
plus Rhizozyme™ to yeast starter or fermenter
would be recommended, and is now in use in
many distilleries. However, if the objective is to
‘spoon-feed’ the yeast with glucose and hence
achieve high alcohol levels, saccharification
should not be used.
Table 7. Variations in the cooking process used by different distilleries.

Steps and functions Distillery 1 Distillery 2 Distillery 3 Distillery 4

Slurry 1400F 1400F 1350F 1400F

· Mix corn with water - Add 1/3 "-amylase - Adjust pH to 6.15 Adjust pH to 5.8-6.0
· Hydrate starch (0.03%) - Add 50% "-amylase Add lime
· Adjust pH
Pre-liquefaction 1800F 1900F 1950F No pre-liquefaction
· Not always carried out - Add 50% "-amylase - 6 minutes
· a-2 low or high - (0.04% High T L120)
temperature enzyme
· Temperature near point - 30 minutes
where starch gels
· Time: 6 minutes to 2 hrs
Liquefaction 2200F for 2200F for 2200F for 2200F
· Typically jet cooker 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 6 minutes, release vacuum

Grain dry milling and cooking for alcohol production 23

· Short time/high temperature release vacuum release vacuum release vacuum
under pressure
Post-liquefaction 1900F 1850F 1850F 1850F
· Release vacuum, temperature drops - Add 50% "-amylase - Add 2/3 "-amylase - 2 hrs - 2 hrs
· Add a-2 enzyme (0.04% High T L120) (0.06%) - Add 50% "-amylase - Cool
· Typically 180-1900C - Cool - Cool - Cool
· Time: 1-2 hrs
Saccharification 140-1500F No saccharification step No saccharification step No saccharification step
· Generate sugars: is it necessary? - Add glucoamylase
· Temperature: 1400F (0.07% Allcoholase L300)
· Add glucoamylase from Aspergillus
(not Rhizozyme)
Fermentation 90°F 90°F 90°F 90°F
· Typically 900F Add 0.01% Rhizozyme Add glucoamylase Add glucoamylase Add protease
· Add glucoamylase (0.12% Allcoholase (0.08% Allcoholase Add glucoamylase
(Aspergillus or Rhizozyme) II L300) II L400) (0.08% Allcoholase
Add 0.01% Rhizozyme II L300)
Add 0.01% Rhizozyme
24 D.R. Kelsall and T.P. Lyons