Corn germ oil is a by-product of the corn oil milling process. Most corn that is harvested is used as feed but the proportion of the corn that is milled is increasing because of bioethanol production. During the wet milling process, the germ is isolated from the starch using cyclone separators, washed, and dried.
What is corn germ?
Corn germ is a substantial byproduct of the wet milling and alcohol industry of corn. Corn germ (dry) contains 35–56 % oil, with linoleic acid (C18:2) being the predominant fatty acid (49–61.9 %) and the highest level of tocopherol and phytosterol amongst all vegetable oils, which is a cost-effective resource for healthy nutritious oil.
How is corn germ oil extracted from milled corn germ?
Corn germ oil was extracted from milled corn germ using diluted aqueous ethanol as solvent. Batch extractions were carried out in 500 mL glass reactor vessels which were series connected with a constant temperature water bath machine (MP-501 A, Shanghai Yiheng Scientific Instrument Co., Ltd., China).
Can corn germs be milled before oil extraction?
Grinding oilseeds prior to oil extraction may enlarge the interface between material particles and aqueous solvent or enzyme, and then enhance free oil yield. In previous research, colloid milling was employed to mill corn germs (Dickey et al. 2010 ). In this study, a dry milling method was developed to grind corn germ.