DisplayTitle

Hybrid-Dependent Effect of Lactic Acid on Corn Starch Yields

¹Graduate research assistant, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801. Mention of product or trade names does not imply endorsement by the University of Illinois. ²Corresponding author. E-mail: vsingh@uiuc.edu ³Research associates, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801. ⁴Professor, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801.

The effect of lactic acid on starch yields of different corn hybrids was determined by wet-milling 18 commercial corn hybrids at three levels of lactic acid. All 18 hybrid samples tested had higher starch yields when lactic acid was added to the steep solution, although the magnitude of the increased starch yields varied between 2.9 and 12.0%. The optimal lactic acid concentration for maximum starch recovery was found to be between 0.55 and 1.67% lactic acid, by wet-milling nine of the same 18 corn hybrids with seven levels of added lactic acid. Between 0.83 and 1.67% lactic acid, the starch yields of eight of the nine hybrids were constant (within ±0.5%). Results showed that the average starch yield across all hybrids decreased with a lactic acid concentration <0.55% and a lactic acid concentration >1.67%.