Treatment of thin spillage resulting from the production of ethanol from cereal grains

Abstract

A process for recovering a substantially free flowing product from thin stillage which contains a substantial amount of water, which thin stillage is obtained from the distillation of beer produced in a fermentation zone to produce ethanol, which process comprises conducting said thin stillage into a drying zone to produce a product having a water content of 15 wt. % or less.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A process for recovering a substantially free flowing product from thin stillage which contains a substantial amount of water, which thin stillage is obtained from the distillation of beer produced in a fermentation zone to produce ethanol, which process comprises conducting said thin stillage into a drying zone to produce a product having a water content of 15 wt. % or less.  
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein beer is produced from corn as a feedstock.  
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the water content of the substantially free flowing product is from about 10 wt. % to about 15 wt. %.  
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the drying zone includes a technique selected from spray drying, fluidized bed drying, single and double drum dehydrating, use of ring drier,  
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the thin stillage is subjected to at least one dewatering stages to drive off at least a portion of the water prior to drying.  
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1  wherein prior to drying an effective amount of an additive is introduced with the thin stillage.  
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 6  wherein the additive is selected from the group consisting of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, flavors, phytochemicals, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, binders and fillers, other streams resulting from the treatment of cereal grains, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7  wherein the additive is selected from amino acids, proteins and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 7  wherein the additive is selected from vitamins, minerals, and mixtures thereof.