GB2064941A - Improvements introduced in processes for conditioning grain or seed for the subsequent milling and/or sowing thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

In a process for conditioning grain or seed for subsequent milling and/or sowing, the grain or seed is subjected to a heating phase using hot water spraying, the grain or seed then being stored and subsequently subjected to a cooling phase carried out by a stream of cold air which passes through the mass of grains from the top to the bottom. The conditioned grain may be used in the production of flour or animal feed.

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements introduced in processes for conditioning grasses for the subsequent milling andlor sowing thereof The present invention refers to improvements introduced in processes for conditioning grassesforthe subsequent milling andlorsowing thereof, consisting of a duly coordinated process for heating and cooling all the cereals and legumes.

The heat-cooling treatment proportions considerable and important advantages to the processes for obtaining flours from cereals and legumes, which are prolonged thereafter considerably potentiating the intrinsic qualities of the flours, whether bread flour or flour for other uses (confectionery, industrial pastrymaking, special breads, biscuits, semolina for soup pastes, etc.) and the intrinsic qualities of the flours obtained from cereals and legumes to be used in simple or composite animal feed (as components of a given formula), for livestock in general, the convertibility index of which into meat is substantially increased. Likewise, the benefits obtained from this heat-cooling processes are extensible to the grains of all cereals and legumes for sowing.

Thus, the object of the invention resides in improving the final yields of the intrinsic qualities of the products made in the subsequently mentioned industries, increasing furthermore the productivity of such industries.

a) Flourmills Bread flours, special flours for use in pastries and cakes (home made and industrial), special breads, biscuits, and other products in which the main ingredient is wheat flour.

b) Semolina factories Wheat semolina for use in the manufacture of soup pastes and other alimentary products, in the manufacture of which wheat semolina is the raw material.

c) Corn mills Semolinas and flours from the milling of corn to be used in the manufacture of bread, special products, pastry-making and all those alimentary products in which they act as a component of the raw materials thereof.

d) Composite animal feed factories and animal feed mills Manufactured products to be used in livestock feeding in general, whether as simple or composite animal feeds, having a suitable formula or not.

e) Sowable seed selecting plants Selection, preparation and launching into the market of seeds for cultivating all kinds of cereals and legumes.

Presently, in flour and semolina mills, the wheat is adapted to the conditions required for milling thereof as follows: Once the wheat has been cleaned, in a prior operation to that of milling, it is wet-sprayed in a more or less automatised manner, so that the water is added thereto always at a normal temperature in the amount required by the structure of the grains and the milling characteristics. The wheat is then allowed to stand in special silos for a longer or shorter period of time, to facilitate wetting of the complete granary mass, which varies depending on the hardness of the texture of the wheat which can be soft, floury, hard or vitreous.

This conventional system for conditioning wheat in flour and semolina mills forces said industries to have a large number of silos, duly partitioned, depending on the milling capacity of the factories.

Normally, the ratio necessary is of 3:1, i.e. an industry having a daily milling capacity of 100,000 kilos would need a series of silos capable of storing, for conditioning, approximately 300,000 kilos.

In corn mills, the grain is presently dryconditioned, or the corn is very slightly wetted before entering the milling process.

In composite animal feed factories and animal feed mills, the cereals, legumes, and other materials are presently dry-milled, i.e. they are not subjected to any prior wet-conditioning and they are, therefore, milled in their natural wet or accidentally altered state.

In seed selecting plants, a dry-preparation and selection is always carried out. In other words, the seeds are cleaned and selected without any prior, posterior or final wet-conditioning, always operating with ambient temperature and with the natrual wetness of the seeds, without being expressly and normally altered.

The disadvantages derived from the mentioned state of the art will now be explained.

An important disadvantage presented in flour and semolina mills is that relating to the inevitable need of a high number of silos for conditioning or storing the wheat. This, undoubtedly, restrains the expansion of the milling capacity of these industries and forces large investments to be made in the construction of a higher number of silos and in the maintenance of larger stocks of semi-manufactured products. Thus, the need of providing the cereals with a much longer storage time is clear.

Since a conditioning process, as that contemplated by the improvements of the instant invention, is not at present used, the milling productivity and the production of flours and semolinas are not increased and the intrinsic qualities thereof are not potentiated, which permits them to increase the yield of the end products for consumption, improving the plastic quality thereof and the preservation quality of both the bread and the pastes for soups and the like.

A greater consumption of energy since a harder and less prepared wheat should be milled due to the non-optimization of the conditioning of the wheat.

Therefore, to reduce the wheat to flours, the cylinders function with an overpressure, which overpressure produces a higher temperature in the products with the consequent procreation of destructive larva, larvas or moulds which cause serious problems in the siftings, conductions and storages in bulk. Thus, both in the factory and during storage in silos of the manufactured products, the condensation indices are increased and, consequently, the losses due to a poor conservation thereof are also increased.

With respect to corn factories, composite animal feed factories and animal feed mills, dry milling of the cereals and legumes produces an increase in the temperature which is transmitted to the manufactured products, with the consequent increase in oxidation of the conductions and an increase in condensation in the bulk storage silos. Thus, this increases the problems and losses, as well as a high percentage of wastes motivated by the evaporation of the natural moisture, which evaporation is accelerated due to the greater action of the elevated heat caused, as already mentioned, by the effect of dry milling the cereals and legumes.

With respect to seed selecting plants, there is no apparent mechanical disadvantage. However, the quality of the products manufactured by these plants are today deprived of the important improvement since a conditioning process as that contemplated by the improvements of this invention is not applied thereto which, furthermore, permits the economic benefits, as will subsequently be seen, to be considerably increased.

We shall now refer to the advantages derived from the process for conditioning grasses of the instant invention.

In flour mills, the storage time of the wheat is shortened in 50 to 75%. In fact, when the wheat, after being cleaned, is sprayed with water, pre-heated to a temperature of from 20 to 90"C, the pores of the bran and those of the endosperm of the grain expand, whereby the grain is more rapidly hydrated and the moisture is more equally distributed throughout the mass thereof, with the consequent improvement in the conditioning thereof for an optimum milling.

In this phase of the conditioning process, very favourable biochemical reactions are produced.

Thus, when spraying the wheat with hot water, the temperature during the storage period (16to 20 hours) is considerably raised with respect to that reached in the conventional conditioning system.

This temperature, which acts on the complete granary mass, produces a series of biological changes which are potentiated, improving the qualities of the proteins, starches, sugars, enzymes, etc.

The invested capital is reduced and extensions are possible. This is perfectly possble due to the fact that the storage time of the wheat is reduced to 75% when compared with the time required in conventional conditioning systems. This, undoubtedly, permitts a lesser investment of capital both in designing new factories and in enlarging those already existing, since such a large space in the silos is not required for storing the grain, nor is so much capital invested in maintaining stocks of stored cereals as in conventional systems. This potentiation of the storage capacity of a factory in operation, when increasing the milling capacity, completely eliminates the problem of lack of space, since the storage silos should be extended to enlarge the milling capacity of the industry.

According to the process of this invention, the milling. capacity is increased. When the cereal reaches a more or less elevated temperature, as a result of the heat treatment to which it has been subjected, and it is then rapidly reduced by cooling the grain to a temperature of from -2 to 0 C, either by cold air or by contacting the grain with cooled tubes, a more regulated cooling of its structure is obtained which permits, with the help of the cold air entering the first milling passes of the factory, a higher and smoother milling. This is so since the grain becomes less sticky and it is looser, preventing the proliferation of germs, destructive larva, larvas, and mould, which, together with the elimination of oxidation in the conductions and machines, perfect the siftings and facilitate 100% of its surface to be utilised.All this permits, with a slight additional cost, the milling capacity to be increased of from 50 to 100% of the actual capacity thereof.

The production of flour is slightly increased. In fact, due to the better conditioning by heating the water and cooling the wheat by refrigeration, a better refining of the brans in the milling process is possible, without prejudicing in any way the quality of the flours. Productions in flour, greater than those reached with conventional processes, of up to 5% per 100 kgs. of milled wheat are obtained.

The conservation of the products is slightly improved and losses are reduced due to the better conditioning of the temperature of the wheat subsequent to cooling thereof in the pre-milling section and also due to the cooling subjected to the first T-1 passes, products having a normal and even a lower temperature are obtained, thereby permitting final flours and by-products to be obtained without the over-heatings which take place in present day factories. Thus, the bothersome condensations in silos, for storing either flour or by-products, are prevented and since there are no condensations, fermentations, compressions of products and prevention of germs and larvas are avoided, permitting a better and more prolonged conservation of the finished products, therefore reducing losses due to evaporations and deteriorated storages.

The bread qualities of the flours obtained by the conditioning process now claimed are potentiated in a very significant manner when compared with flours presently obtained. In other words, the intrinsic qualities of the flours are substantially improved.

- The bread flours having a low gluten content are improved, a very advantageous quality due to the high proliferation of hybrid wheat from a good agricultural productivity but having poor breadmaking qualities, primarily due to the fact that they yield flours having a low gluten content.

-The power of absorbing water is increased in percentage of from 2 to 7% (depending on the quality of the wheat used).

- The mass resulting from the cultivation is lighter and easy to handle.

- Fermentation of the mass is more regular, whereby the optimum period of time for conditioning the pieces is prolonged, facilitating the use thereof in different products, otherthan bread and in bread factories.

- The mass is domesticated (in bread-making terms) making it lighter.

- Behaviour during conditioning is improved, since it opens more readily and growth thereof is better, substantially reducing loss during baking.

- Once baked and normally cooled, the following is observed: A greater volume. A crispy, finer plastic crust. A more brilliantwhitnessofthecrumbs, more regular alveola, a more "spongy" texture which cannot crumble.

- The quality is conserved 72 hours after elaboration, the "freshness" therefore lasting for a longer time and drying out and crumbling being prevented, serious consequences in a premature aging of the bread.

- The production of bread with relation to the flour elaborated is increased to percentage of up to 10% (this is a result of a greater absorbing power of the water, reduced loss in the baking process, and other biological changes of the mass); the ranges of the percentages in the increase and the genetics, together with the origin of the elaborated wheats for the obtention of the flours, playing a very important role.

The advantages proportioned by the process in semolina factories are those already described for flour mills, with the exception that the derivatives of the flours thereof, since they are now semolina flours, will be used in the elaboration of pastes for soups or other products wherein wheat semolina is used.

With respect to corn factories, we refer to the comments made in connection with semolina factories.

In composite animal feed factories and animal feed mills, the main advantage proportioned by the process to the mechanical part of these industries, can be summarized in the least elevation of the heat of the feeds made by the milling process thereof due to the softening achieved in the heat conditioning of the hot water which is supplied in an amount equal to approximately 21% of the weight of the grain to be treated and which will subsequently be stored for a period of from 10 to 20 hours after which the grain acquires a temperature of approximately 30"C and it is ready to be cooled by a stream of air at a temperature of from 0 to -1 50C, the main advantage, as stated, is the considerable reduction in losses due to evaporations and the improvement of the storage conditions in bulk, since condensations in the conditions and ensilages of the finished animal feeds are also prevented, thus eliminating almost completely the substantial losses produced in this storage section.

The extraordinary advantage proportioned by the process in question to these industries is constituted by the elevation in the assimilative capacity of the finished animal feeds, simple or composite, by livestock in general, especially in those cases where the alimentary diet requires the use of cereals or legumes or flours thereof. The process reduces the conversion indices (feed-kilo meat) up to 20%, depending on the physiological-digestive characteristics of each animal species.

In the sowable seed selecting plants, the biological reactions take place in the cereals and legumes to be sowed, either in a natural state or after cleaning and selection thereof, enriching the alimentary power of the endosperm for the assimilation by the embryo at the time of germination and subsequent initial growth of the plant.

The thermal-hydrant conditioning proportioned to the seed based on the addition of hot water in an amount equivalent to 10% of the weight of the grain, causes the embryo to germinate rapidly and consequently an acceleration in its earliness, and a greater multiplying productivity and the consequent reduction in the percentage of non-germinated seeds, due to the potentiation of the nutritive qualities of the endosperm to feed the plants through the embryo, permitting a substantial saving in fertilizer consumption.

By adding water to the sowable seed, a moisture of 23% is reached. It is then stored in a sealed reservoir for a period of from 10 to 16 hours. After this storage phase the mass is rapidly cooled for approximately 20 minutes with air at a temperature of from 0 to -1 5"C, whereby the germinative power of the seed is stabilized from its pre-initiation upto the time of planting, and the indices of its good conservation, from the elaboration thereof in the selecting plant to the moment of its germination in the field, are improved.

It can be seen from the foregoing that the process for conditioni grasses, object of this invention, comprise two phases: Phase 1 Thermo-hydrant conditioning (natural or artificial) of the cereals, legumes, and other grasses, prior to the more or less prolonged "storage" thereof applied in a natural commercial state or after a mechanical wet- or dry-cleaning or a combination of both.

Phase 2 Cooled conditioning (natural or artificial) of the cereals, legumes, and other grasses after the thermo-hydrant conditioning with a more or less prolonged "storage" time, priorto or during milling thereof, when they are used to obtain flours, semolinas, animal feeds for livestock in general, and by-products, or during the industrial selection of sowable seeds.

Both phases can consequently be used, coordinated or independent from one another. In other words, the first phase can be used without the second phase or the second phase can be used without the first. However, this will not imply different processes, but the partial use of the conditioning process.

We shall now explain the practical applications of the mentioned phases of the process: Phase 1 The cereals, legumes and other grasses either in a natural commercial state or after a more or less intensive dry or wet cleaning thereof, or a combina tion of both, by mechanical means, are subjected to a more or less automatised and a more or less intensive spraying with hot water (naturally or expressly heated) at temperatures of up to 900C, and after a convenient mixture to hydrate the complete surface of the grains, they are introduced in silos having a variable capacity and duly partitioned to allow them to be stored for a more or less prolonged period, of from 8 to 48 hours, depending on the texture of the cereals, legumes or grasses being treated, and the optimum milling conditions required by the industry in question.During this storage and if there are sufficient silos, they can be subjected to the "classic" turns so that the moisture can be better distributed throughout the mass and a more effective homogeneization of the temperatures reached in this storage period can be obtained.

Phase 2 When it is considered that the conditioning of the cereals, legumes or grasses has reached its optimum point, the storage period is interrupted and they are transported to a pre-milling silo or silos where they are subjected to a strong current of cold air, either natural (Winter) or expressly refrigerated using any one of the refrigerating equipment already existing in the market, so that the cold air may enter the silo at a temperature which can reach the 1"C limit.

When this stream of cold air passes through the complete mass of cereals or legumes, due to the peripheric contact thereof, the complete endosperm of the grains will also be cooled gradually at a greater or lesser intensity; the cooling time varying depending on the temperature at which they should be milled.

The grasses can also be cooled by passing them, after the first conditioning phase, through the interior of various vertically disposed tubes, the outer part of the walls of which will be intensively cooled, through which walls and by contact, the grasses will be cooled as they slowly pass, at will, through the interior of the mentioned tubes.

The grasses can also be cooled by horizontal apparatus having a fixed or rotary drum, by moving the grasses with rotating shovels which force them to rotate against the wall of the drum which will be suitably cooled at a very low temperature.

If the outlet of cold air from the silo or through a by-pass of the outlet from the air cooling equipment is properly utilised, inlets will lead to one, to various or to all the milling passes of the flour, semolina or corn factories, or to the cereal and legume milling plants in the composite animal feed factories and animal feed mills, whereby cooling will be more accentuated since the cold air acts in direct contact with the inner mass of the grains which have been opened by these machines.

The use of this second cooling step will be optional, depending on whether the cooling of the cereals, and legumes, and therefore the flours, semolinas and by-products thereof should be more or less intensified, which, besides improving milling, proportions a better conservation during storage and a safeguarding of the intrinsic qualities thereof until their consumption or final industrial use.

This system can be validly applied to milling industries such as: flour, semolina, corn, composite animal feed, and animal feed milling plants since the first phase will be applied integrally to sowable seed selecting plants, and all the variants of the second phase will be applied, either in the industrial phase of the selection of the seeds or at the time of pre-packing or pre-delivery them in bulk for the distribution and subsequent planting thereof.

Claims (5)

1. Improvements introduced in processes for conditioning grasses for the subsequent milling and/or sowing thereof, essentially characterised in subjecting the grain to a heating phase and subse quentlya cooling phase, the heating taking place by water spraying, the grain then being stored to subsequently subject it to the cooling phase carried out by a stream of cold air which passes through the mass of grains from the top to the bottom.

2. Improvements introduced in processes for conditioning grasses for the subsequent milling and/or sowing thereof according to claim 1, characterised in that the grain to be used in the production of bread flours for human consumption is heated with water at a temperature of from 80 to 90"C, it is then stored for a period of from 16 to 20 hours, after which the grain is cooled at a temperature of from -2 to 0 C.

3. Improvements introduced in processes for conditioning grasses for the subsequent milling and/or sowing thereof according to claim 1, characterised in that the grain to be used in the production of animal feed receives the hot water in an amount equivalent to approximately 21% of the weight of the grain to be treated, it is then stored for a period of from 10 to 20 hours, after which the grain acquires a temperature of approximately 30"C, and it is ready to be cooled by a stream of air at a temperature of from 0 to -15"C.

4. Improvements introduced in processes for conditioning grasses for the subsequent milling and/or sowing thereof according to claim 1, characterised in that the grain to be used as a sowable seed receives the hot water in an amount equivalent to 10% of the weight of the grain, which should reach a moisture of 23%, to then be stored in a sealed reservoir for a period of from 10 to 16 hours, after which storage phase it is rapidly cooled for approximately 20 minutes with air at a temperature of from Oto -1S0C.

5. A process for treating vegetable matter, which comprises spraying hot water on the vegetable matter and then cooling it.