GH5 and GH30 in wet milling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11746366-B2
Application number	US-201816628788-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 24, 2018
Priority date	Jul 24, 2017
Publication date	Sep 5, 2023
Grant date	Sep 5, 2023

Abstract

The instant application provides methods to improve the total starch yield and/or gluten yield from corn kernels in a wet milling process, the method comprising admixing corn kernels or a fraction of the corn kernels with an enzyme composition comprising an effective amount of one or more hydrolytic enzymes, wherein at least one of said hydrolytic enzymes is selected from the group consisting of a GH30 polypeptide, a GH5 polypeptide or a combination thereof.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of treating corn kernels, comprising a wet milling process which comprises:
(a) soaking the corn kernels in water to produce soaked corn kernels;
(b) grinding the soaked corn kernels to produce soaked and ground corn kernels;
(c) separating germs from the soaked and ground corn kernels to produce a corn kernel mass comprising fiber, starch and gluten; and
(d) subjecting the corn kernel mass to a fiber washing procedure to separate the fiber from the starch and gluten, wherein the fiber washing procedure comprises a fiber washing system comprising:
(i) 2-8 screen units which are fluidly connected in a counter current washing configuration including a first screen unit (S 1 ) and a last screen unit, wherein each screen unit is configured for separating a stream of corn kernel mass and liquid into a first fraction (s) and a second fraction (f), wherein the second fraction (f) contains a higher amount of fiber than the first fraction (s);
(ii) a space (V) which is located between the first (S 1 ) and the last screen units and is fluidly connected to receive one of the first fractions (s), one of the second fractions (f), or a mixed first and second fraction (s,f); and
wherein subjecting the corn kernel mass to the fiber washing procedure comprises:
(i) introducing the corn kernel mass to the first screen unit (S 1 );
(ii) introducing process water to the last screen unit;
(iii) introducing an enzyme composition comprising a GH5 xvlanase downstream of the first screen unit (S 1 ) and upstream of the last screen unit and upstream of or in the space (V);
(iv) contacting at least one of the first fraction (s), at least one of the second fraction (f), or at least one mixed first and second fraction (s,f) of the corn kernel mass with the enzyme composition comprising the GH5 xylanase for a total retention time of from 90 minutes to 5 hours in the fiber washing system, and incubating the at least one of the first fraction (s), the at least one of the second fraction (s,f), or the at least one mixed first and second fraction (s,f) in the space (V) for an incubation time of from 0.5 to 3 hours to produce an incubated fraction; and
(v) outletting the incubated fraction to a downstream screen unit; and

wherein the first fraction (s) outlet from each screen unit is a product stream containing starch and gluten and the second fraction (f) outlet from each screen unit is a washed corn kernel mass containing fiber and a lower amount of starch and gluten than the corn kernel mass entering the screen unit.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fiber washing system has 4 screen units including a second screen unit, a third screen unit and a fourth screen unit being the last screen unit and the enzyme composition is introduced in the second or third screen unit or in the space (V).

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the enzyme composition is introduced in the second screen unit or the space (V) wherein the space (V) is located between the second and third screen units.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fiber washing system has 5 screen units including a second screen unit, a third screen unit, a fourth screen unit and a fifth screen unit being the last screen unit and the enzyme composition is introduced in the second, third or fourth screen unit, or in the space (V).

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the enzyme composition is introduced in the third screen unit or the space (V) wherein the space (V) is located between the third and fourth screen units.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fiber washing system has 6 screen units including a second screen unit, a third screen unit, a fourth screen unit, a fifth screen unit and a sixth screen unit being the last screen unit and the enzyme composition is introduced in the second, third, fourth or fifth screen unit, or in the space (V).

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the enzyme composition is introduced in the fourth screen unit or the space (V) wherein the space (V) is located between the fourth and fifth screen units.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fiber washing system has 7 screen units including a second screen unit, a third screen unit, a fourth screen unit, a fifth screen unit, a sixth screen unit and a seventh screen unit being the last screen unit and the enzyme composition is introduced in the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth screen unit, or in the space (V).

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the enzyme composition is introduced in the fourth screen unit or the space (V) wherein the space (V) is located between the fourth and fifth screen units.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fiber washing system has 8 screen units including a second screen unit, a third screen unit, a fourth screen unit, a fifth screen unit, a sixth screen unit, a seventh screen unit and an eighth screen unit being the last screen unit and the enzyme composition is introduced in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh screen unit, or in the space (V).

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the enzyme composition is introduced in the fifth screen unit or the space (V) wherein the space (V) is located between the fifth and sixth screen units.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the space (V) has an incubation temperature between 25° C. and 95° C.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the GH5 xylanase has at least 90% sequence identity to any mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1-3, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 10 or SEQ ID NO: 12.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enzyme composition further comprises one or more hydrolytic enzymes selected form the group consisting of cellulases (EC 3.2.1.4), xylanases (EC 3.2.1.8), arabinofuranosidases (EC 3.2.1.55), non-reducing end beta-L-arabinofuranosidases (EC 3.2.1.185), cellobiohydrolase I (EC 3.2.1.150), cellobiohydrolase II (E.C. 3.2.1.91), cellobiosidase (E.C. 3.2.1.176), beta-glucosidase (E.C. 3.2.1.21), beta-xylosidases (EC 3.2.1.37) or proteases.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the one or more hydrolytic enzymes are expressed in Trichoderma reesei.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enzyme composition is a liquid composition.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enzyme composition is a solid composition.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enzyme composition is added in an amount between 0.005-0.5 kg enzyme protein/metric tonne corn kernels entering the wet milling process.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising separating the starch from the gluten contained in in the first fraction (s) from the last screen unit of the fiber washing system.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising washing the starch.

Assignees

• Novozymes As

Inventors

• Gibbons Thomas Patrick
• Vidal Bernardo
• Lavigne James
• Akerman Michael John
• Shen Xinyu
• Cao Yi
• Li Wei
• Zhang Yu
• Nymand-Grarup Soeren
• Shoup Madelyn Mallison
• Jensen Kenneth
• Krogh Kristian Bertel Romer M
• Palmen Lorena Gonzalez

Classifications

• C12P19/14 Primary

  produced by the action of a carbohydrase {(EC 3.2.x)}, e.g. by alpha-amylase {, e.g. by cellulase, hemicellulase} · CPC title

• C08B30/044 Primary

  from corn or maize · CPC title

• C08B30/12

  Degraded, {destructured} or non-chemically modified starch {, e.g. mechanically, enzymatically or by irradiation; Bleaching of starch (preparation of chemical derivatives of starch C08B31/00)} · CPC title

• C08B30/16

  Apparatus therefor · CPC title

• C12N9/248

  Xylanases · CPC title