Corn Sugar (Corn Syrup)

Background

Corn syrup is one of several natural sweeteners derived from corn starch. It is used in a wide
variety of food products including cookies, crackers, catsups, cereals, flavored yogurts, ice
cream, preserved meats, canned fruits and vegetables, soups, beers, and many others. It is
also used to provide an acceptable taste to sealable envelopes, stamps, and aspirins. One
derivative of corn syrup is high fructose corn syrup, which is as sweet as sugar and is often used
in soft drinks. Corn syrup may be shipped and used as a thick liquid or it may be dried to form
a crystalline powder.

The use of corn, as a food product, dates to about 4000 B.C. when it was grown near what is
now Oaxaca in Mexico. Because of its natural hardiness, corn was successfully cultivated by
people in much of the Western Hemisphere. It was imported to Spain from the West Indies in
about 1520 A.D. and soon became a popular food throughout Europe.

As the use of corn as a food product spread, various machines were developed to help process
it. Water-powered mills, which had been used to grind wheat and other grains for thousands of
years, were adapted to grind dried corn. By the early 1700s, a device to shell corn—remove the
dried corn kernels from the cob—had been patented. The refining process used to separate
corn starch from corn kernels is called the wet milling process. It was patented by Orlando
Jones in 1841, and Thomas Kingsford established the first commercial wet milling plant in the
United States in 1842.

The process for converting starches into sugars was first developed in Japan in the 800s using
arrowroot. In 1811, the Russian chemist G.S.C. Kirchoff rediscovered this process when he
heated potato starch in a weak solution of sulfuric acid to produce several starch-derived
sweeteners, including dextrose. In the United States, this acid conversion method was adapted
to corn starch in the mid-1800s and the first corn sweeteners were produced in a plant in
Buffalo, New York, in 1866. This process remained the principal source of corn syrup until 1967,
when the enzyme conversion method for producing high fructose corn syrup was
commercialized. At first, this was a batch process requiring several days. In 1972, a continuous
enzyme conversion process was developed that reduced the time to several minutes or hours.

Today, corn syrups are an important part of many products. In 1996, there were 28 corn-
refining plants in the United States that processed a total of about 72 billion lb (33 billion kg) of
corn. Of that amount, about 25 billion lb (11.4 billion kg) were converted into corn syrups and
other corn sweeteners. These corn-based products supplied more than 55% of the nutritive
sweetener market in the United States.

Raw Materials
There are several thousand varieties of corn, but the variety known as yellow #2 dent corn is
the primary source of corn syrup. It is a common variety grown in the Midwestern portion of
the United States and elsewhere in the world. It belongs to a family of corn that derive their
name from the small dent in the end of every kernel.

Other materials used during the process of converting corn to corn syrup include sulfur dioxide,
hydrochloric acid or various enzymes, and water.

The Manufacturing Process

Corn syrup is produced in processing plants known as wet corn mills. In addition to corn syrup,
these mills produce many other corn products including corn oil, corn starch, dextrose, soap
stock, animal feed, and several chemicals used in other industrial processes.

Separating corn starch from corn

1. Dried, shelled corn kernels are transported to the mill in trucks, railcars, or barges. The
corn is unloaded into a storage pit where it is weighed and sampled.
2. The kernels are taken from the pit on conveyors and are passed over a set of vibrating
screens or perforated metal grates to remove any sticks, husks, stones, and pieces of
cob. A controlled blast of air blows away any chaff and dust, while electromagnets
capture any nails, screws, or bits of metal that may have fallen in among the kernels
during harvesting, shelling, or shipping.
3. The cleaned kernels are placed in a series of large stainless-steel tanks called steep
tanks. Each tank holds about 168,000 lb (76,000 kg) of kernels. Warm water with a
small amount of sulfur dioxide is circulated through the tanks. The sulfur dioxide reacts
with the water to form a weak sulfurous acid solution. This process continues for about
20-40 hours and is used to soften the kernels and make it easier to separate the
starch.
4. The softened kernels are passed through coarse grinding mills to remove the inner
portion of the kernel, called the germ, which contains most of the corn oil. Each mill has
one stationary and one rotating disk. The clearance between the two disks is adjusted
to tear the kernel apart without crushing the germ.
5. The resulting pulp is transferred to a set of cyclone separators called germ separators
or hydroclones. The germs, which are less dense than the other parts of the kernel, are
spun out of the pulp by centrifugal force. The germs are then pumped onto a series of
screens and washed several times to remove any remaining starch. The cleaned germs
are heated and pressed to extract the corn oil for further processing into food
products and soap stock.
6. The remaining material from the germ separators is a slurry composed of starch,
protein, and fiber. This slurry passes through another set of mills to tear the starch lose
from the fiber. The fiber is then trapped on a set of washing screens and is dried to
become animal feed or corn bran fiber for use in cereals.
7. The starch and protein mixture, called mill starch, is pumped into a set of centrifugal
separators that spin the mixture at high speeds. Because of a difference in specific
 gravity between the two materials, the heavier starch can be separated from the lighter
protein, which is called the gluten. The gluten is dried and sold as animal feed.
8. The starch is diluted with water before being washed and filtered 8-14 times to
remove any remaining protein. It is then re-diluted and run through a second set of
centrifugal separators. The resulting starch is more than 99.5% pure. Some of this corn
starch is dried and packaged for use in food products, building materials, or to produce
various chemicals. The rest of it, usually the majority, is converted into corn sweeteners
including corn syrup.
Converting corn starch into corn syrup
9. Corn starch is converted into ordinary corn syrup through a process called acid
hydrolysis. In this process, the wet starch is mixed with a weak solution of hydrochloric
acid and is heated under pressure. The hydrochloric acid and heat break down the
starch molecules and convert them into a sugar. The hydrolysis can be interrupted at
different key points to produce corn syrups of varying sweetness. The longer the
process is allowed to proceed, the sweeter the resulting syrup.
10. This syrup is then filtered or otherwise clarified to remove any objectionable flavor or
color. It is further refined and evaporated to reduce the amount of water.
11. To produce a corn syrup powder, also called corn syrup solids, the liquid corn syrup is
passed through a drum or spray dryer to remove 97% of the water. This produces a
crystalline corn syrup powder.
Converting corn syrup into high fructose corn syrup
12. Ordinary corn syrup contains dextrose sugar which is about three-quarters as sweet as
the sucrose sugar in cane or beet sugar. In many sweetener applications this is an
advantage because it does not overpower the other flavors in the food. Howev-. er, in
some applications, such as soft drinks, a sweeter taste is desired. To improve the
sweetness of ordinary corn syrup, it undergoes a further process called enzyme
conversion. In this process, the dextrose sugars in the syrup are converted into sweeter
fructose sugars by the action of an enzyme in a series of steps under carefully controlled
temperatures, pressures, and acidity. This produces a high fructose corn syrup with a
42% fructose content. It is used in canned fruits and condiments.
13. To produce corn syrups with a fructose level above 50%, syrupsthe 42% fructose syrup is
passed through a series of fractionation columns, which separate and hold the fructose
content. The separated portion is about 80-90% fructose and is flushed from the
columns with deionized water. A portion of this is retained and sold for use in "light"
foods where only a small amount of liquid sweetener is needed. The remainder is
blended with other 42% fructose syrup to produce a 55% fructose syrup, which is used
in soft drinks, ice cream, and frozen desserts.
14. Powdered high fructose corn syrups can be produced by evaporating the water from the
syrup and then encapsulating the powder grains to prevent them from reabsorbing
moisture. Pure fructose crystals may be obtained by further processing the 80-90%
fructose syrup. It is used in cake mixes and other food products where a highly
concentrated, dry sweetener is desired.

Quality Control
Corn syrup is primarily used as a food product. In the United States, its production and use falls
under the control of the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which sets rigid quality
standards. The corn refiners, working through the Corn Refiners Association, have developed
comprehensive analytical procedures for testing the properties of corn products, including corn
syrup. Some of the important properties of corn syrup are dextrose or fructose content,
carbohydrate composition, solids content, sweetness, solubility, viscosity, and acidity. In
addition to monitoring the materials and processes used to make corn syrup, manufacturers
also take frequent samples of the finished product for analysis.

Glucose from tapioca starch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-hX4mMA9ZU
Making tapioca starch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1_bJYi7nNc

PROCESS AND MACHINERY INVESTIGATION

MECHANIZED PROCESSING
PROCESS MACHINE
A. CORN STARCH MAKING
Bahan Baku: Jagung Pipil Kering
Produk: Pati Jagung
Proses:
1. Pembersihan biji jagung Vibrating Screen
- Vibrasi: solid Compressed Air
- Udara kompresi: debu Electromagnet/Magnet Trap
- Elektromagnet: metal
2. Perendaman Steep Tank
- Air hangat + SO2 (perhatikan % SO2)
- 20-40 jam
3. Penggilingan Disk mill
4. Pemisahan lembaga Germ Separator/Hydrocyclone
- Lembaga yang dipisah bisa
dimanfaatkan menjadi minyak jagung
5. Ekstraksi Pati (Sentrifugasi) Centrifugal Separator
- Memisahkan pati dengan gluten
6. Pemurnian Centrifugal Separator
- Dilution
- Washing
- Filtration
- Re-dilution
- Centrifugation
B. CORN STARCH CONVERSION
Bahan Baku: Pati Jagung
Produk: Gula Jagung Serbuk
Proses:
1. Hidrolisis asam Double Jacket Mixing Tank
- Menggunakan larutan HCl lemah
- Dipanaskan (dengan tekanan)
2. Pemurnian/Penyaringan
- Menggunakan filtrasi
- Menggunakan carbon treatment
3. Pengeringan Drum Dryer/Rotary Dryer (yang ada scrap)
- Menjadi serbuk (https://www.gemdryers.com/products/
single-drum-flaker-single-drum-dryer/?
https://www.gemdryers.com/products/
single-drum-flaker-single-drum-dryer/
&gclid=CjwKCAiA5sieBhBnEiwAR9oh2h12ML
VvL4sXdCkphUW5cKjHjns1JVFmDAL-
0llibx9RfZCBQwf3EhoCfBQQAvD_BwE )
Spray Dryer

TRADITIONAL PROCESSING
PROCESS MACHINE
C. CORN STARCH MAKING
Bahan Baku: Jagung Pipil Kering
Produk: Pati Jagung
Proses:
1. Perendaman Dandang perendaman
- Air hangat + Na-Bisulfit 0.2%
- 24 jam
2. Penggilingan Disk mill
3. Ekstraksi pati Saringan dan Kain saringan
- Ekstrasi dengan cara ditekan
- Ekstraksi berulang
D. CORN STARCH CONVERSION
Bahan Baku: Pati Jagung
Produk: Gula Jagung Serbuk
Proses:
1. Hidrolisis enzim Kompor dan Panci
- Menggunakan enzim alfa amilase (1
mL/3 L air)
- Dimasak hingga berubah warna
- Ditambahkan enzim glukoamilase (1
mL/3 L air)
- Didiamkan selama 24 jam
2. Pemurnian/Penyaringan (Opsional) Resin Anion dan Kation (Alat berupa Tube,
- Menggunakan resin anion dan kation metode pengaliran)
- Menggunakan carbon treatment Arang Aktif
3. Penyaringan Saringan dan Kain saringan
4. Pemekatan/Evaporasi Kompor dan Panci
5. Dehidrasi/Pengeringan Kompor dan Panci
- Proses evaporasi dengan waktu lama
hingga terbentuk kristal gula.