Features of the chemical composition of corn grits at the different degerminator modes in the dent corn processing

This article is devoted to the study of transforming the chemical composition of corn grits at the different operation modes of degerminator in the dent corn processing. The experiment was conducted in industrial conditions on Skvyrskyi grain processing factory Ltd. during the processing of kernels using the degerminator of Bühler company. The operation modes of the degerminator were changed for 5 times during the experiment by means of the regulation of the gap between the shell and the drum. The study has shown that in terms of the low operation mode of the degerminator (the passage of the sieve Ø3.0 – 34.9%) there is a high output of fine fractions of the intermediate products, but the quality level of the overtail product of the degerminator is the best by fat content 1.81% and crude fiber content 6.72%, which indicates a minimal germ and bran content. In case of the increase of the gap (the passage of the sieve Ø3.0 – 12.4%), the output of fine fractions of the intermediate products, as well as the output of feed germ meal, declines, at the same time the overtail product has the high number of remnants of the germ and bran after the degerminator, as the fat content increases to 2.80% and crude fiber content increases to 9.82%. It was also found that the change of degerminator modes (increase in the passage of the sieve Ø 3.0 from 34.9 to 12.4%) leads to a decrease in the starch content from 79.36 to 75.43%, the protein content does not change. In order to provide the high quality of corn groats products, it is advisable to control the quality of the overtail products of the degerminator by the fat content. The fat content in the overtail product must not be higher than 2.2% – during the production of long shelf life products, and not higher than 2.5% – during the production of common corn products. For prompt regulation of the degerminator operation modes, it was offered to use release indicator, which can be determined by means of sieving of the 100 g of the overtail products using the Ø 3.0 sieve. In order to provide the fat content in groats within 0.6–0.8% and 0.8–1.0%, the general extraction of the fine products (release indicator) with the Ø 3.0 sieve use in the dent corn processing should vary within the range of 27–32% and 22–27%, respectively.