Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12C—BEER; PREPARATION OF BEER BY FERMENTATION; PREPARATION OF MALT FOR MAKING BEER; PREPARATION OF HOPS FOR MAKING BEER
  • C12C7/00—Preparation of wort
  • C12C7/04—Preparation or treatment of the mash
  • C12C7/06—Mashing apparatus
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08B—POLYSACCHARIDES; DERIVATIVES THEREOF
  • C08B30/00—Preparation of starch, degraded or non-chemically modified starch, amylose, or amylopectin
  • C08B30/12—Degraded, destructured or non-chemically modified starch, e.g. mechanically, enzymatically or by irradiation; Bleaching of starch

Definitions

• prepared batches or cereal are cooked or heated under pressure to reach fixed temperatures in closed vessels by direct injection of steam for specified times to solubilise the starches or produce soluble extracts.
• the vessel On completion of this cooking stage, the vessel is emptied and the excess heat content above the atmospheric saturation temperature flashes off as steam or water vapour at low pressure.
• a continuous flow of prepared ground cereal slurry is pumped at a known rate through a known swept volume of plant in the form of a continuous tube or in series flow through a number of column type vessels.
• the primary objects of the invention are to reduce the energy input requirements and the energy losses.
• the present invention provides for the recycling of heat energy hitherto dissipated to the atmosphere, and for lowering of the gross energy. requirements by improving the method of adding the enzymic materials and so lowering the final cooking temperature.
• the. recycling of heat energy is achieved by permitting the dissipation of heat energy to take place by the formation of flash steam and, subsequently, recovering and using the latent heat and a portion of the sensible heat of this flash steam at or below atmospheric pressure to heat the incoming slurry in stages, to approach the flash steam saturation temperature, prior to entry to the existing cooker.
• the use of live steam generated at the works steam boiler plant is replaced by flash steam and the nett energy input of the process is reduced.
• Selected enzymic material is preferably added before the staged preheating by flash steam to accelerate the hydrolysis of the starch, reduce the viscosity of the intermediate product and make it possible to carry out the final cooking reaction at a lower temperature.
• Fig.l illustrates diagrammatically plant used in a known process for the continuouscooking of prepared ground cereal slurry for the production of grain spirits
• Fig. 2 shows the flow diagram of a continuous flow cereal, cooking plant in accordance with the present invention.
• Fig. 1 water and ground maize are fed through respective supply lines 10 and 11 into a wetting out tank 12 equipped with a stirrer 13.
• the resulting slurry is at 60°C and leaves the tank 12 through the bottom thereof along a pipe 14 and reaches the supply side of cooker supply pumps 15 wherefrom it is pumped through a pipe 16 to a bank 17 of cooker tubes.
• the level of the slurry in the tank 12 is controlled by level controller 18 via line 19 linking a pneumatic control valve 20.
• the line 14 is fitted with a manually-controlled isolating valve 21.
• each pump 15 At the suction side of each pump 15 is a manually-controlled isolating valve 22 and at the discharge side of each pump 15 is a manually-controlled isolating valve 23 directly downstream of which is a non-return valve 24.
• the line 16 Prior to linking with the bank 17 of cooker tubes, the line 16 is fitted with a manually-controlled isolating valve 25 downstream of which is a non-return valve 26, and, immediately upstream of the bank 17 of cooker tubes, steam at a pressure of 9 - 13 atmospheres and supplied from a boiler is blown through a line 27 directly into the slurry in the line 16.
• a non-return valve 28 is fitted into the line 27 prior to linking with the line 16 and upstream of the valve 28 in the line 27 is a pneumatic control valve 29 where a line 30 from a temperature controller 31 links with the line 27, the temperature controller 31 controlling the temperature of the steam-slurry mixture at input to the bank 17 of cooker tubes.
• the temperature of the steam- slurry mixture is raised to the required level (say 150°C) for the required time to produce the required solubility.
• the next stage in the process is to cool the cooked product initially to 100°C and finally to the reaction temperature for conversion to sugars by an enzymic reaction. To this end the cooked product leaving the bank 17 of cooker tubes passes through a line 32 into a first stage cooler 33.
• a pneumatic control valve 34 is fitted into the line 32 where a line 35 from a pressure controller 36 links with the line 32 upstream of the cooler 33, the pressure controller 36 controlling the pressure of the cooked product immediately prior to leaving the bank 17 of cooker tubes. Heat energy released from the cooked product in the first stage cooler 33 is vented to atmosphere. The heat energy rejected or dissipated to atmosphere in this way, represents at least 55% of the heat energy added to cook the slurry.
• the cooked product passes through the bottom of the first stage cooler 33 by way of a pipe 39 to a second stage cooler 40, entering the latter substantially midway of the height thereof.
• the level of the cooked product in the first stage cooler 33 is controlled by a level controller 41, a line 42 from which is linked by way of a pneumatic control valve 43 with the line 39.
• Vapour rising from the cooked product in the second stage cooler 40 flows through a line 44 to a condenser 45 whence the foul condensate is discharged to drain through a line 46.
• a pressure controller 47 for control of the pressure in the second stage cooler 40 is linked through a line 48 with the line 44 by way of a pneumatic control valve 49.
• the malt is supplied from a malt slurry tank 51 through a discharge line 52 therefrom, through malt pumps 53 and 54, and a line 55 to the convertor tubes, a flow meter 56 intercepting the line 55.
• the enzyme is supplied from an enzyme tank 57 through a discharge line 58 therefrom, through enzyme pumps 59 and 60, and a line 61 to the convertor tubes, a flow meter 62 intercepting the line 61.
• a suitable enzyme selected according to the end product of the plant (e.g. grain whisky or neutral spirit for other uses) is pumped by first stage slurry heater pumps 65 to a first stage heater 66, where it is instantly heated by recycled low-pressure steam (flash steam), supplied through line 67, to the appropriate temperature to optimise the relationship between reaction rate and lifespan for the enzyme in use.
• first stage slurry heater pumps 65 to a first stage heater 66, where it is instantly heated by recycled low-pressure steam (flash steam), supplied through line 67, to the appropriate temperature to optimise the relationship between reaction rate and lifespan for the enzyme in use.
• the output from the first stage slurry heater 66 drops to a holding tank 68.
• This tank 68 is sized to supply the reaction time necessary to permit part of the thinning reaction of the enzyme to take place as far as is possible in a single continuously mixed reaction vessel.
• the partially thinned product is then pumped, by second stage slurry heater pumps 69, in 'slug' flow through a bank 70 of pre-cooker tubes to ensure that all of the product has a minimum of the required reaction time and temperature to ensure a satisfactory enzyme reaction.
• the product from the bank 70 of pre-cooker tubes is discharged through the nozzle of the second stage slurry heater 71 where it is instantly heated to a level close to its atmospheric boiling point by the remaining recycled low pressure vapour (flash steam) supplied through line 72.
• Discharge from the second stage slurry heater 71 is direct to a small head tank 73, connected to the main cooker supply pumps 74 through line 75.
• the necessary heat to complete the liquefaction and extraction process of the starch and heat the remaining insoluble slurry is then supplied by the direct injection of steam from the works boiler plant through the line 27.
• the slurry output from the bank 17 of main cooker tubes at a controlled pressure related to the final processing or cooking temperature passes through the pressure reducing or let down valve 34 to the first stage cooler 33 which operates at a normal condition of 1-2 p.s.i.g. 216°F.
• the slurry heaters used employ the principle of the jet pump.
• the slurry in each case is pumped at pressure through a nozzle and the depression in pressure, created by the liquid jet velocity, is used to induce the flow of low pressure vapour into the vena contracta so formed.
• the recovered flash steam can be induced into the slurry at pressures close to or slightly below atmospheric and totally condensed.
• a process according to the invention for the continuous or batch "cooking" of ground or crushed cereals or slurries is epecially applicable in distilleries.
• the process is, however, generally applicable to the conversion in insoluble starches to soluble starches and the conversion of these soluble starches to sugars.

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• 1981
  • 1981-06-11 EP EP19810901522 patent/EP0054556A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1981-06-11 WO PCT/GB1981/000099 patent/WO1981003662A1/en not_active Ceased

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