Corn wet milling: separation chemistry and technology.

Corn wet milling is a complicated, large-scale, and efficient industrial process designed to separate the chemical components from corn kernels. The success of wet milling, in terms of maximum yields, is largely dependent on the success of the steeping process. Improper steeping, or steeping of corn kernels that have unusual physical or chemical structures, results in lost product and lower profits. Steeping processes, however, are still based largely on an art that was developed more than 100 years ago. In the next 20 years, major seed corn producers expect that the market for corn with unique starch characteristics and corn bred to produce speciality chemicals or have an altered composition will expand substantially. As the market increases for speciality corn, corn genetically bred with unique starch charcteristics or corn with altered chemical composition, a thorough scientific understanding of steeping chemistry and the entire wet milling process will become increasingly important.