# US 2020/0399663 A1 · High purity starch stream methods and systems > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0399663 A1 - Document ID: US20200399663A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/009,456 - Filed: 2020-09-01 - Published: 2020-12-24 - Earliest claimed: 2014-12-31 - Assignees: POET Research, Inc. - Applicants: POET Research, Inc. - Inventors: Steven Redford; Todd Peterson - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200399663A1 ## CPC - C12P 7/06: Ethanol, i.e. non-beverage - B02C 9/04: Systems or sequences of operations; Plant - B02C 13/22: with intermeshing pins {; Pin Disk Mills} - B02C 23/08: Separating or sorting of material, associated with crushing or disintegrating (B02C23/18 takes precedence {; beater mills combined with sifting devices B02C13/13, B02C13/14; for tumbling mills B02C17/1835}) - B02C 23/14: with more than one separator - C12P 7/10: substrate containing cellulosic material - Y02E 50/10: Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel - C12P: FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE {(brewing of beer C12C; producing vinegar C12J; producing specific peptides or proteins C07K; producing enzymes C12N9/00; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification C12N15/00; measuring or testing processes involving enzymes or microorganisms C12Q; measuring or testing processes involving nucleic acid amplification reactions C12Q1/6844; fermentation processes to form a food composition, A21 or A23; compounds in general, see the relevant compound class, e.g. C01, C07)} - B02C: CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN ({household tools and machines for pulverising foodstuffs, e.g. coffee and spice mills A47J42/00; pharmaceutical mortars A61J3/02; mechanical processing of refuse and garbage B03B9/06; dressing mould materials by grinding B22C5/04}; obtaining metallic powder by crushing, grinding or milling B22F9/04; {recovery of plastics by disintegrating B29B17/00; crushing raw materials in starch making C08B30/02; beaters for papermaking D21D1/02; crushing devices specially for transport in mines E21F13/002; slag crushing devices F23J1/00; fuel milling devices in combustion apparatus F23K1/00; household devices for crushing coal F24B15/02; ice disintegrating devices F25C5/02}) - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION ## Abstract Methods and systems for isolating a high purity starch stream are provided. The methods provide an initial treatment step in advance of traditional grinding or fractionation operations (such as dry milling or wet milling operations) that facilitate separation of starch from other components of starch-based grains, for example facilitate separation of soft endosperm from other components of corn kernels including hard endosperm. The systems include a first treatment system for separating a high purity starch stream from other components of the grain stream, wherein the system can be configured as a bolt on for traditional milling operations such as wet milling and dry milling operations. ## Claims ### Claim at position 1 -5. (canceled) ### Claim 6 A process for producing starch streams in a dry mill ethanol fermentation facility, the process comprising: a. pretreating corn to produce a first stream which facilitates separation of at least a portion of soft endosperm from the corn; and, b. separating a second stream comprising soft endosperm from the first stream, resulting in a third stream suitable for use as feedstock in a dry mill or wet mill corn fermentation process; and c. providing the second stream to a non-ethanol process, wherein the non-ethanol process comprises producing one or more non-ethanol bio-products. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) A process according to claim 6 wherein pretreating comprises milling. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) A process according to claim 6, wherein the second stream comprises up to about 50% of the soft endosperm in the corn. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) A process according to claim 6, wherein pretreating results in at least a portion of the soft endosperm having a sufficiently small enough size to facilitate separating the portion of soft endosperm from the corn by size. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) A process according to claim 9, wherein the size is about 500 microns or less. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) A process according to claim 6, wherein the second stream is at least about 90% starch on a dry basis. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) A process according to claim 11, wherein the second stream is at least about 94% starch on a dry basis. ### Claim 13 (depends on 6) A process according to claim 6, further comprising using the third stream as feedstock for a dry mill or wet mill corn-to-ethanol fermentation process, and producing ethanol from the feedstock. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) A process according to claim 13, wherein the corn-to-ethanol fermentation process comprises using a grind rate that is increased relative to a similar conventional corn fermentation process using corn kernels for which soft endosperm has not been removed as feedstock. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) A process according to claim 14, wherein the grind rate is increased sufficiently to offset reduction in end product resulting from removing soft endosperm and using the same grind rate as a similar conventional fermentation process using corn kernels as feedstock. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) A process according to claim 14, further comprising removing at least a portion of additional non-starch components present as a result of the increased grind rate to achieve a ratio of fermentable to non-fermentable components sufficiently equivalent to that of a similar conventional corn fermentation process using corn kernels for which soft endosperm has not been removed to maintain ethanol production at the level of the similar convention corn fermentation process. ### Claim 17 (canceled) ### Claim 18 A process for producing starch streams in a dry mill ethanol fermentation facility, the process comprising: (a) dry milling corn grain to produce a milled stream, wherein the milled stream comprises starch, fiber and germ; (b) downstream from dry milling, separating starch into a first stream comprising at least about 88% starch on a dry basis, wherein the separating forms a second stream comprising fiber, germ and starch; (c) providing the first stream to a non-ethanol process, wherein the non-ethanol process comprises producing one or more non-ethanol bio-products; and (d) providing the second stream to a fermentation process that produces ethanol. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The process of claim 18, wherein dry milling comprises milling corn grain with a pin mill. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The process of claim 18, further comprising: a) saccharifying starch in the first stream into sugar; and b) after saccharifying starch in the first stream, producing one or more non-ethanol bio-products. ### Claim 21 (depends on 18) The process of claim 18, further comprising: (a) saccharifying starch in the second stream into sugar; and (b) fermenting sugar in the second stream into ethanol. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The process of claim 21, wherein saccharifying is performed before fermenting. ### Claim 23 (depends on 21) The process of claim 21, wherein saccharifying and fermenting are performed simultaneously. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) The process of claim 21, further comprising processing the second stream through a grinding operation prior to saccharifying starch into sugar. ### Claim 25 A process for producing starch streams in a dry mill ethanol fermentation facility, the process comprising: (a) dry milling corn grain to produce a first stream including soft endosperm, hard endosperm, and other corn grain components; wherein the other corn grain components comprise fiber and germ; (b) separating the first stream into a second stream and a third stream, the second stream being a high starch stream comprising soft endosperm; (c) providing the second stream to a non-ethanol process, wherein the non-ethanol process comprises producing one or more non-ethanol bio-products from the second stream; and (d) processing the third stream in a fermentation process into ethanol, wherein the third stream comprises hard endosperm and other corn grain components; wherein the other corn grain components comprise fiber and germ. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The process of claim 25, further comprising: a) saccharifying starch in the second stream into sugar; and b) after saccharifying starch in the stream stream, producing one or more non-ethanol bio-products.