# US 8,783,588 B2 · Recovery of aleurone-rich flour from bran > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,783,588 B2 - Document ID: US8783588B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/293,254 - Filed: 2011-11-10 - Published: 2013-05-16 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2011-11-10 - Assignees: Applied Milling Systems, Inc.; SuperBrix Internacional S.A. - Applicants: Warner Travis Pape; Ricardo Martin Ghisays Galindo - Inventors: Warner Travis Pape; Ricardo Martin Ghisays Galindo - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8783588B2 ## CPC - B02C 9/02: Cutting or splitting grain - 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}) ## Abstract A bran finishing process in grain milling employs a milling machine in which bran that contains some endosperm, including aleurone, is fed into an annular milling chamber defined on an inner side by an eccentric cylindrical rotor and on an outer side by a frame assembly that includes perforated screens and abrasive surfaces. Longitudinal lobes protrude radially from the rotor. The lobes compress the bran as they rotate, while the lesser diameter of the rotor between lobes allows the bran to decompress, causing bran particles to rub together for detaching endosperm from the bran by friction forces. Bran particles also rub against the abrasive surfaces for scraping endosperm off the bran. Air flows through the milling chamber and carries the endosperm through the perforated screens, while the bran particles are discharged without passing through the screens. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A process for recovering aleurone from bran, comprising the steps of: (a) processing wheat to produce flour and a first bran stream, wherein the first bran stream comprises bran and an aleurone-rich flour adhered to the bran; (b) feeding the first bran stream to a milling machine, wherein the milling machine comprises: a housing; an elongated shaft received in the housing; a rotor fixed to the shaft, wherein the rotor has a length and a radial-outermost surface along its length; and a frame assembly received in the housing, wherein the frame assembly has a plurality of holes, wherein a milling chamber is defined between the radial-outermost surface of the rotor and the frame assembly, wherein the radial-outermost surface of the rotor provides a boundary wall for the milling chamber, wherein the housing has an inlet opening for receiving the first bran stream into the milling chamber, and wherein the housing has first and second discharge outlets; (c) operating the milling machine such that the shaft rotates thereby rotating the rotor thereby dislodging a portion of the aleurone-rich flour from the bran; (d) recovering an aleurone-rich flour product from the milling chamber through the plurality of holes in the frame assembly and through the first discharge outlet; and (e) recovering a second bran stream from the milling chamber through the second discharge outlet. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the frame assembly has a length, is generally cylindrical in shape and has a radial-innermost surface, wherein the frame assembly surrounds the rotor, wherein the milling chamber comprises an annular space defined between the radial-outermost surface of the rotor and the radial-innermost surface of the frame assembly. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The process of claim 2, wherein a transverse cross-section of the frame assembly has the shape of a polygon along the radial-innermost surface of the frame assembly. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the frame assembly comprises frame parts and screen parts, wherein the frame parts and screen parts form a hollow cylindrical shape while assembled, wherein the cylindrical shape has a transverse cross section that is circular or non-circular, wherein the frame assembly surrounds the rotor, wherein the plurality of holes in the frame assembly is located in the screen parts, and wherein the plurality of holes comprise screen holes, wherein the screen holes are generally circular and/or polygonal in shape and have a diameter of less than about 4.0 mm. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the plurality of holes comprise milling chamber discharge ports, and wherein the milling chamber discharge ports are generally circular and/or polygonal in shape and have a diameter of less than about 3.0 mm. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The process of claim 5, wherein the milling chamber discharge ports have a diameter of less than or equal to about 2.0 mm. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the frame assembly has essentially the shape of a hollow cylinder, wherein the shape of a transverse cross-section of the frame assembly may be circular or non-circular or polygonal, wherein the frame assembly surrounds the rotor, wherein a transverse cross-section of the milling chamber has a ring shape, wherein the ring shape may be circular or non-circular or polygonal, and wherein the rotor has at least one lobe that protrudes radially outwardly along the length of the rotor. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the frame assembly has a length that is about as long as the length of the rotor, wherein the frame assembly has a longitudinal axis and a bore along its longitudinal axis that extends the length of the frame assembly, wherein the rotor is received in the bore, wherein the frame assembly has a radial-innermost surface that defines a radial-outermost surface of the milling chamber, and wherein the radial-innermost surface of the frame assembly defines a generally-circular shape in a transverse cross section of the frame assembly. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The process of claim 8, wherein the generally-circular shape defined by the radial-innermost surface of the frame assembly in a transverse cross section of the frame assembly comprises multiple straight-line portions. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the second bran stream is discharged from the milling chamber without passing through the plurality of holes in the frame assembly. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the rotor comprises components that, while assembled and fixed to the shaft, comprise essentially a cylinder, wherein the cylinder may be solid or may have a hollow longitudinal bore, wherein a transverse cross-section of the rotor may or may not have the shape of a circle along the radial-outermost surface of the rotor, and wherein the radial-outermost surface of the rotor may have an irregular shape. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The process of claim 11, wherein the rotor comprises at least one lobe that projects radially outwardly, and wherein the at least one lobe extends essentially the length of the rotor. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The process of claim 12, wherein the at least one lobe has an outer surface that partially defines the milling chamber, and wherein the outer surface of the at least one lobe is abrasive for scraping the aleurone-rich flour from the bran. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the surfaces that define the milling chamber is an abrasive surface for scraping the aleurone-rich flour from the bran. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the rotor comprises an assembly of rotor parts, wherein the rotor parts include a plurality of abrasive rollers, and wherein the abrasive rollers have an abrasive outer circumferential surface that partially defines the milling chamber. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the frame assembly has a length that is about as long as the length of the rotor, wherein the frame assembly surrounds the rotor, wherein the frame assembly has a radial-innermost surface that defines a radial-outermost surface of the milling chamber, wherein a transverse cross section of the frame assembly has a generally-circular shape defined by the radial-innermost surface of the frame assembly, wherein the generally-circular shape comprises multiple straight-line portions, and wherein the rotor has a lobe that projects radially outwardly along its length. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, further comprising flowing air through the housing. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The process of claim 17, wherein the air flows into and through the milling chamber and out through the plurality of holes for removing the aleurone-rich flour from the milling chamber. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The process of claim 18, wherein the rotor has a bore along its longitudinal axis, wherein the rotor has radial openings, and wherein the air flows into the bore and out through the radial openings into the milling chamber. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the rotor has one or more radial projections extending essentially the length of the rotor that partially define the radial-outermost surface of the rotor unit, or wherein the rotor comprises a plurality of rotor parts, wherein the rotor parts include a plurality of abrasive rollers and a plurality of plates that have radially-extending spokes. ### Claim 21 A process for finishing bran, comprising the steps of: (a) processing grain; (b) recovering aleurone-rich bran from the grain, wherein the aleurone-rich bran comprises aleurone components adhered to bran components; (c) processing the aleurone-rich bran in a milling machine, wherein the milling machine has a rotor assembly, wherein the rotor assembly has a length, an irregular cylindrical shape and a radial outermost surface along its length, wherein the milling machine has a basket assembly that has an open central longitudinal portion in which the rotor assembly is received, wherein a milling chamber is defined between the radial outermost surface of the rotor assembly and the basket assembly for receiving the aleurone-rich bran, wherein the basket assembly includes a screen with openings, wherein the milling machine detaches a portion of the aleurone components from the bran components by compressing the aleurone-rich bran and/or by scraping the aleurone components off of the bran components while the aleurone-rich bran is in the milling chamber; (d) separating the aleurone components from the bran components with the milling machine by passing the aleurone components through the openings in the screen in the basket assembly; (e) recovering the aleurone components from the milling machine; and (f) recovering the bran components from the milling machine without passing a significant amount of the bran components through the openings in the screen in the basket assembly. ### Claim 22 A process for recovering aleurone from grain, the grain comprising endosperm, aleurone and bran, the process comprising the steps of: separating a major portion of the endosperm from the aleurone and bran; recovering a bran stream that is rich in aleurone, wherein the aleurone is generally attached to the bran; providing a milling machine that has a rotor unit and a screen unit spaced from the rotor unit, wherein the rotor unit has a radial-outermost surface, wherein a milling chamber is defined between the radial-outermost surface of the rotor unit and the screen unit, and wherein the screen unit has a plurality of holes; feeding the bran stream into the milling chamber; detaching a portion of the aleurone from the bran inside the milling chamber by squeezing the bran stream between the rotor unit and the screen unit and/or by scraping the aleurone off of the bran, thereby forming a mixture comprising an aleurone product and a bran product; and recovering the aleurone product from the milling chamber through the plurality of holes in the screen unit. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein the rotor unit comprises a shaft and a rotor assembly attached to the shaft, and wherein the rotor assembly does not comprise a plurality of spaced-apart hubs having spokes for supporting beater plates. ### Claim 24 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein the milling chamber has an inlet opening through which the bran stream is received and an outlet opening, further comprising recovering the bran product through the outlet opening without the bran product passing through the plurality of holes in the screen unit. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The process of claim 24, wherein the screen unit has an irregular cylindrical shape, wherein the screen unit surrounds the rotor unit, and wherein the milling chamber has an irregular annular shape, further comprising flowing air through the milling chamber for assisting in separating the aleurone product from the bran product. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The process of claim 25, wherein the milling machine has an auger, wherein rotation of the auger provides a force for moving the bran stream into the milling chamber, and wherein a vacuum is drawn outside the screen unit. ### Claim 27 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein the rotor unit has at least one lobe that extends radially outwardly, wherein the screen unit has a plurality of relatively flat and elongated sides arranged to form an inside surface having a transverse cross-section that is generally, but not absolutely, circular in shape, and wherein rotation of the rotor unit presses the bran stream between the at least one lobe and the inside surface of the screen unit for detaching the aleurone from the bran. ### Claim 28 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein the milling machine has an inlet opening through which the bran stream is received into the milling chamber and a outlet chute through which the bran product is discharged from the milling chamber, wherein the milling machine has a hinged flapper over the outlet chute and a weight on the flapper, and wherein the pressure in the milling chamber can be controlled. ### Claim 29 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein the shape of the holes in the plurality of holes in the screen unit is generally circular and/or polygonal and is not generally elongated. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The process of claim 29, wherein the holes in the plurality of holes in the perforated screen have a diameter of less than or equal to about 3 mm. ### Claim 31 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein a transverse cross-section of the milling chamber has a ring shape, and wherein the ring shape does not have a uniform thickness. ### Claim 32 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein at least a portion of the surfaces that define the milling chamber is abrasive for scraping the aleurone off of the bran. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The process of claim 32, wherein the rotor unit comprises abrasive rollers. ### Claim 34 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein the grain is rye, barley, wheat, durum, durum wheat, hard wheat, soft wheat, triticale or a combination thereof. ### Claim 35 (depends on 22) The process of claim 22, wherein the grain is wheat. ### Claim 36 A process for reducing the amount of endosperm, including aleurone, in a bran stream recovered from a cereal-grain milling process, wherein the bran stream comprises bran components and endosperm components adhered to the bran components, the process comprising the steps of: feeding the bran stream into a milling machine that has a rotor unit and a screen unit surrounding the rotor unit, wherein the rotor unit has an irregular cylindrical shape and a radial-outermost surface, wherein a milling chamber having an irregular annular shape is defined between the screen unit and the radial-outermost surface of the rotor unit, and wherein the screen unit has a plurality of holes; detaching a portion of the endosperm components from the bran components inside the milling chamber by squeezing the bran stream between the rotor unit and the screen unit and/or by scraping the endosperm components off of the bran components, thereby forming a mixture comprising an endosperm product and a bran product; recovering the endosperm product from the milling chamber through the plurality of holes in the screen unit; and recovering the bran product from the milling chamber, wherein the bran product does not pass through the plurality of holes in the screen unit.