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Corn Products International, Inc. <br /> 3. GERM SEPARATION <br /> Cyclone separators spin the low density corn germ out of <br /> the slurry. The germ, which contains about 85% of the <br /> corn's oil, is pumped onto screens and washed repeatedly <br /> to remove any starch left in the mixture. A combination of <br /> mechanical and solvent processes extracts the oil from <br /> the germ. The oil is then refined and filtered into finished <br /> corn oil. The germ residue is saved as another useful <br /> component of animal feeds. <br /> 4. FINE GRINDING AND SCREENING <br /> The corn and water slurry leaves the germ separator for a <br /> second, more thorough, grinding to release the starch and <br /> gluten from the fiber in the kernel. The suspension of <br /> starch, gluten and fiber flows over fixed concave screens <br /> (illustrated) that catch fiber but allow starch and gluten to <br /> pass through. The fiber is collected, slurried and screened <br /> again to reclaim any residual starch or protein, which is <br /> then used as a major ingredient of animal feeds. The <br /> starch-gluten suspension, called mill starch, is piped to <br /> the starch separators. <br /> 5. STARCH SEPARATION <br /> Gluten has a low density compared to starch. By passing <br /> mill starch through a centrifuge, the gluten is readily spun <br /> out for use in animal feeds. The starch, with just one or <br /> two percent protein remaining, is diluted, washed 8 to 14 <br /> times, rediluted and washed again in hydroclones to <br /> remove the last trace of protein and produce high quality <br /> starch, typically greater than 99.5 percent pure. Some of <br /> the starch is dried and marketed as unmodified corn <br /> starch, some is modified into specialty starches, but most <br /> is converted into corn syrups and dextrose. <br /> -more- <br />