Method of processing ethanol byproducts and related subsystems

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Filing Information

  • Patent Number: US7601858
  • Application Number: US11122859
  • Filing date: 05/05/2005
  • Issue date: 10/13/2009
  • Prior Publication Data:
  • Predicted expiration date: 12/04/2026
  • Patent term adjustment: 578
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  • U.S. Classifications: 554/8  ·
  • International Classifications: C11B100 ·
  • Related U.S. Application Data:
    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/602,050, filed Aug. 17, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • View document at: (opens new window):
    USPTO  ·  PAIR  ·  esp@cenet  ·  Patent Family
    * Related patent documents may or may not exist on these sites
16 Claims, 5 Drawings


Abstract

In one aspect of the invention, a method recovers oil from a concentrated byproduct, such as evaporated thin stillage formed during a dry milling process used for producing ethanol. The method includes forming a concentrate from the byproduct and recovering oil from the concentrate. The step of forming the concentrate may comprise evaporating the byproduct. Further, the step of separating the oil from the concentrate may comprise using a centrifuge and, in particular, a disk stack centrifuge. Other aspects of the invention include related methods and subsystems for recovering oil from thin stillage.

References Cited

U.S. Patent Documents

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US2206024 SHARPLES CORP Brown Jul 1940
US2216904 SHARPLES CORP Brown Oct 1940
US2216905 SHARPLES CORP Brown et al. Oct 1940
US2263608 SHARPLES CORP Brown Nov 1941
US2446913 ERLICH VICTOR L Erlich Aug 1948
US2524718 SEAGRAM & SONS INC Stark Oct 1950
US2615029 NAT DISTILLERS PROD CORP Rosten Oct 1952
US2663718 LAVAL SEPARATOR CO DE Strezynski Dec 1953
US3721568 PROCTOR & SCHWARTZ INC Wilson Mar 1973
US3950230 Hanover Research Corporation Greenfield et al. Apr 1976
US4341713 CPC International Inc. Stolp et al. Jul 1982
US4407955 National Distillers and Chemical Corporation Muller et al. Oct 1983
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* cited by examiner

Other Publications

Singh, et al., “Extraction of Oil from Corn Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles”, 1998, Transactions of the ASAE, Bol. 41(6), pp. 1175 and 1176.*
Yokoyama, et al. “Liquid Fuel Production from Ethanol Fermentation Stillage” 1986, The Chemical Society of Japan, pp. 649-652.*
Minowa, T. et al., Oil Production form Buchwheat Stillage by Thermochemical Liquefactional, 1993, national Inst. for Resources and Environment, Ibaraki (Japan), STN, Abstract, NTIS database.*
Yokoyama, et al., “Liquid Fuel Production from Ethanol Fermentation Stillage,” 1986, The Chemical Society of Japan, pp. 649-652.
“Disk Stack Centrifuge Technology,” Alfa Laval website, www.alfalaval.com, Aug. 3, 2004.
N. Singh and M. Cheryan, Extraction of Oil from Corn Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles, Transactions of the ASAE, 1998, pp. 1775-1777, vol. 41(6).
Y. Dote et al., Liquefaction of Stillage from Ethanolic Fermentation and Upgrading of Liquefied Oil, Trans. Mat. Res. Soc. Jpn., 1994, pp. 285-288, vol. 18A.
(No Author Available), “Thermochemical Liquefaction”, article by Wisconsin Biorefining Development Initiative, www.wisbiorefine.org, p. 1-4, undated.
International Search Report dated Mar. 11, 2008.
International Search Report dated Aug. 20, 2008.
Alfa Laval, “NS 934 DD Decanter,” PFT00017EN 0207, PFT00018EN 0207, PFT00007EN 0207, 6 pags., 1999.
(No Author Available) “Thermochemical Liquefaction” article by Wisconsin Biorefining Development Initiative, www.wisbiorefine.org. pp. 1-4, undated, 2004.
(No Author Available), “Thermochemical Liquefaction”, article by Wisconsin Biorefining Development Initiative, www.wisbiorefine.org, pp. 1-4, undated, 2004.
Mcintyre, Craig., “Measurement solutions for Ethanol Producers”, A white paper by Endress+Hauser, Inc., Copyright 2003, pp. 1-10.
Jacques et al. “The Alcohol Textbook” 3rd Edition, published 1999, Part 1 of 4 Parts, 53 pgs.
Jacques, et al., “The Alcohol Textbook”, 3rd Edition, published 1999, Part 2 of 4 Parts, 50 pgs.
Jacques, et al., “The Alcohol Textbook”, 3rd Edition, published 1999, Part 3 of 4 Parts, 50 pgs.
Jacques, et al., “The Alcohol Textbook”, 3rd Edition, published 1999, Part 4 of 4 Parts, 42 pgs.
* cited by examiner

Referenced By

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Independent Claims | See all claims (16)

  1. 1. A method of recovering oil from thin stillage, the method comprising, in sequence: evaporating the thin stillage to remove water and form a concentrated byproduct; and recovering oil from the concentrated byproduct by heating and mechanically processing the concentrated byproduct to separate the oil from the concentrated byproduct, wherein the concentrated byproduct has a moisture content of greater than 30% and less than 90% by weight.
  2. 8. A method of recovering oil from thin stillage, comprising, in sequence: evaporating the thin stillage to create a concentrate having a moisture content of greater than 30% by weight and less than about 90% by weight; and centrifuging the concentrate to recover oil.
  3. 10. A method of processing whole stillage, comprising: recovering thin stillage from the whole stillage, the thin stillage including oil and solids; concentrating the thin stillage including the solids to produce a thin stillage concentrate, wherein the thin stillage concentrate has a moisture content of greater than 30% and less than 90% by weight; and recovering oil from the concentrate by a process consisting essentially of heating and mechanically processing the concentrate to separate the oil from the concentrate.
  4. 16. In a method for processing corn to produce ethanol and concentrated thin stillage, the improvement comprising the step of recovering a product consisting essentially of oil from the concentrated thin stillage by heating and mechanically processing the concentrated thin stillage to separate the oil from the concentrated thin stillage.