BusinessHABMaize Flour Production Business :Maize, or corn, is one of the most widely planted grains in the world.
It is the main grain crop in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, etc.
While other countries like America, China, and most African counties also harvest large quantity of corn/maize every year.
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Maize Flour Production Business
The maize can be processed into flour, grits, or even starch.
This article aims at discussing the process of maize flour milling (corn flour milling).
Maize also known as corn, it is the cereal with the highest production worldwide.
And become a staple food in many parts of the world for human consumption.
Livestock feed and fuel with total production surpassing that of wheat or rice.
Various food technologies are currently used for processing industrially produced maize flours.
Maize Flour Production Business
And corn meals in different parts of the world to obtain precooked refined maize flour, dehydrated nixtamalized flour, fermented maize flours, and other maize products.
These products have different intrinsic vitamin and mineral contents.
Maize milling is a method of processing maize for safe consumption.
The process begins with cleaning the grain and is usually followed by conditioning the maize.
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Maize Flour Production Business
Then milling and sieving into flour .
The cleaning of maize flour production process is done by removing all the foreign material like sand, grit and dirt that may be present in the maize.
These foreign materials and any other impurity that may be harmful to humans after consumption of the flour or can damage the machine during milling are removed.
This process ensures the maize for superior flour quality.
The maize flour production process is mechanical and consists of several processes.
It starts by the cleaning of the maize and ends by its grinding and sieving into flour.
Maize Flour Production Business
1.Maize Flour Production Business :Impurities discharging process
Maize kernels are fed from the material inlet and the flow rate is controlled by a baffle.
When the maize kernels are transported by the bucket elevator into de-stoner, they first go through fine sieve.
The sand or other impurities smaller than maize will be screened out and discharged from the taphole.
Maize Flour Production Business
After fine sieving, corn kernels enter coarse screen to screen out impurities that are bigger than corn, for example, corn cob particles; while these impurities are also discharged from taphole.
At the same time, above the sieve, it is connected with a fan.
The function of Fan 1 is to suck those light impurities still mixed in maize kernels; such impurities will be eliminated by the function of centrifugal sedimentation.
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2. Maize Flour Production Business : Cleaning
The cleaning of maize flour production process is done by removing all the foreign material like sand, grit and dirt that may be present in the maize.
These foreign materials and any other impurity that may be harmful to humans after consumption of the flour or can damage the machine during milling are removed.
This process ensures the maize for superior flour quality.
All these foreign materials are removed by a sieving process where all course particles are removed.
Different kinds of sieves are used which ensures all materials bigger or smaller than the maize itself is left behind.
After cleaning, maize kernels go out the outlet and delivered into screw conveyor.
Maize kernels flow in the screw conveyor and dust or similar small particle impurities are further screened out.
Then, maize is delivered into dampener.
In the dampener, maize kernels and water are fully stirred and mixed.
Those maize kernels that meet dampening requirements will be delivered again by the elevator into storage barrel for temporary storage.
Whose purpose is to make sure the feeding flow in next step is even.
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3. Maize Flour Production Business:Conditioning
After cleaning, the second step of the Maize Flour Production Process is maize conditioning.
This is the addition of moisture to it and allowing it to soak for some time.
This allows the bran to be peeled off easily.
The maize is then de-germinated and polished prior to milling.
This is the separation of the germ meal, endosperm and bran.
This process results in very high quality maize meal.
When the bran, endosperm and gem are ground together.
The resulting maize meal is considered poor quality.
This is because it has a shorter shelf life, gives the porridge a yellow appearance and gives the eater a bloated feeling.
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4. Maize Flour Production Business:Milling
A maize milling machine is a machine for processing maize or corn for safe consumption.
Such as for people’s daily food use.
The process begins with cleaning the grain.
And is usually followed by conditioning the maize (dampening the maize with water and then allowing it to condition for some time to stay in a temper bin).
The maize is then passed through a milling machine where it is grounded up into flour.
After the milling, the last step of the Maize Flour Production Process is sieving the flour.
Flour of the desired quality is retrieved and the residue is returned to the machine for further milling.
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5. Maize Flour Production Business :sifting:
Following this process, milling can commence and may take several forms:
We usually adopt the Roller Mill to grind the grain, the roller mill has Single roller mill, a Double roller mill and Pneumatic roller mill, the mill adopts the grinding roller to work.
In a complete maize milling plant, there are several Roller Mill to work together.
They have different functions, the first mill mainly peeling the maize skin, the second and third will grinding the maize into granular size, and meanwhile to get some super fine flour,and the granular sized product will go to the next mill to continue grinding.
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While grinding time, we use Double Bin sifter or Square Plan sifter to sift the meal from the miller,classification and sifting more super flour.
A further element of major importance is sifting.
Milling and sifting, form the very essence of grain processing.
The sifters in every system should be one or more of the following:
Maize Flour Production Business
Turbo sifters – two separations horizontally shafted with steel screens – high capacity but not sifting very fine – used in small capacity plate mill systems and as graders for samp and other primary grading after de-germinators.
Rotary sifters – three separation horizontally shafted with nylon screens – lower capacity but very fine screening – used in small capacity plate mill systems.
Mini plan sifters – relatively high capacity and very fine screening used as primary sifters for all mills of 1 ton per hour to 2.5 tons per hour.
Maize Flour Production Business
Plan sifters in various sizes and numbers of passages:
Very high capacity and fine screening – used in all mills with capacity of 2.5 ton per hour and more.
Industrial type mills can be constructed over one level, two levels, three levels or more, as existing buildings determine or as practical as the solution may be.
High capacity mills normally require more levels to make use of gravity in moving product between mills and sifters.
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Maize Flour Production Business
Another option to consider, is to place a small mill (500-1,000 kg/h) in a container.
This is only recommended for special applications.
Where buildings are problematic, where the mill needs to be moved from time to time to another location.
Where temporary power is used and where the mill is located in very remote areas.
In general,the sifting used to separate the flour and bran.
Also separate large size and small size to ensure flour quality.
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6. Maize Flour Production Business: Get the best quality maize
The best quality maize meal is therefore obtained by:
De-germinating the maize prior to milling Milling with rollers rather than hammer mills or plate mills/disc mills.
Alternatively, if the budget is small, the whole maize.
After cleaning and conditioning may be milled by means of the plate mill only and then sifted (without de-germination).
A significant part of the bran and germ meal would then be sifted off.
Resulting in a Special Sifted meal – of lower quality than roller milled meal and higher quality than hammer milled meal.
7. Maize Flour Production Business: Get a capital:
It is not possible to run a milling business without capital.
It is recommended to perform an analysis of the amount of money and other resources you will require in order to start and maintain your business.
There are different ways to finance the business including loans and personal cash.
You need roller mills, sifters as well as aspirators among other equipment to start the operations of your business.
In addition, you will need facilities that will help you when it comes to drying as well as storage of the products.
Therefore, make sure that you have adequate amount of money to perform this.
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8. Maize Flour Production Business: Get a location:
The location of the milling business is among the things you cannot ignore when entering this field.
The location will determine the success of your business.
The business should be situated such that it can conform to the zoning regulations of the region.
If you are going to ignore this, there are high chances that your business will not perform well at the end of the day.
Therefore, it is wise to conduct market research so that you can determine some of the best places where you can establish the business in question.
If you are not sure about the location, it is advisable to consult a few experts over the same.
It does not make sense to pump a lot of money in a business located at the wrong place.
There are high chances that you will end up failing and closing down the doors of your small company.
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9. Maize Flour Production Business: Get the directions
Clean the Maize
- Spread over a work table 1.1 lbs of dried maize kernels and discard the pebbles and gravels that you find.
- Transfer from the work table to a colander the dried maize kernels that were cleaned and rinse them.
- Transfer from the colander to a saucepan the dried maize kernels that were rinsed and cover them with water; then set aside.
Cook and Soak the Maize
- Fill 1/2 glass with water, pour in the glass 1 teaspoon of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), and if bubbles pop up wait until they stop popping up.
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Maize Flour Production Business
- Strain over the saucepan (where the dried maize kernels are) the water with slaked lime that was prepared in the glass and mix the ingredients.
- Bring the saucepan water to a boil over high heat.
- When it boils reduce to low heat and leave the dried maize kernels cooking for about 30 minutes, until they soften; stir occasionally.
- Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan and leave the maize kernels soaking for 12 hours, so they soften.
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The Next Day…
- Verify that the maize kernels that were left soaking are soft and that they can be peeled by rubbing them with the fingers; if not leave them soaking for a longer time.
Maize Flour Production Business
| Don’t soak the maize for a long time because it will soften a lot and the maize flour won’t be made properly. in this state the maize in known as nixtamal. |
- Transfer from the saucepan to the colander the maize kernels that were soaked and rinse them with cold water.
Maize Flour Production Business
| The liquid where the maize was cooked is known as nejayote. |
- Remove the skin (hollejo) of all the maize kernels that were rinsed.
- Put in a machine or maize grinding mill the maize kernels with the ones you worked.
- Grind the maize kernels.
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