WET-MILLING HIGH-AMYLOSE CORN IN THE INDUSTRIAL SCALE

Due to its properties, high-amylose corn containing about 70% amylose can be better wet milled by including some modifications in the process conditions. The most important changes can be made in the steps of steeping and protein separation. In this paper we compared the results obtained during three procedures of high-amylose corn processing performed in a starch factory located in the south-eastern part of Romania. The aim is to establish the optimal processing procedure for high-amylose corn in an industrial scale. To obtain a reliable process evaluation, the amylose content of the starch produced was analysed by using two different conventional colorimetric methods, a potentiometric method and a spectrofotometric one. As compared to the laboratory and pilot scale the industrial scale wet-milling has some advantages materialized in higher starch yields and protein content of starch.