Method of dewatering thin stillage processing streams
AssigneeNalco Company
InventorsDavid W. Scheimann, Angela S. Kowalski
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Abstract
A method dewatering thin stillage process streams generated in the processing of grain to ethanol comprising adding to the process streams an effective flocculating amount of an anionic copolymer comprising acrylic acid sodium salt, methacrylic acid sodium salt or 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid sodium salt to form a mixture of water and flocculated solids; and separating the water from the flocculated solids using a dewatering device.
Claims24
A method of removing suspended solids, fats, oils and grease from the thin stillage liquid stream from a dewatering device for stillage of a dry grind ethanol process stream comprising:
- (i) Adding to the thin stillage liquid stream from a dewatering device for stillage of a dry grind ethanol process stream an effective flocculating amount of one or more anionic polymers, the anionic polymers comprising one or more anionic monomers selected from acrylic acid sodium salt, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid sodium salt and methacrylic acid sodium salt and optionally one or more acrylamide monomers to form a mixture of water and flocculated solids, wherein the anionic polymer has a reduced specific viscosity of about 10 to about 60 dl/g;
- and
- (ii) separating the water from the flocculated solids using a solids/liquids separation device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.