Ronald K Dunbar

US Patent:

20140319066, Oct 30, 2014

Filed:

Mar 23, 2014

Appl. No.:

14/222678

Inventors:

- Clear Lake IA, US
Ronald K. Dunbar - Canyon TX, US

Assignee:

Yield and Capacity Group, LLC - Clear Lake IA

International Classification:

C02F 1/38
C02F 1/56
C12F 3/10
C02F 1/44

US Classification:

210710, 210202, 210732, 210734, 210712

Abstract:

Systems and methods for improving the quality of solids and liquids recovered at atmospheric pressure and temperature from a stillage stream generated as a by-product of an ethanol production process, the recovered solids having higher bio-available amino and fatty acids than evaporation-produced condensed solubles, the recovered liquids having less total solids and total suspended solids than evaporation-produced condensate. A static mixer includes an input for receiving the stillage stream combined with a GRAS anionic polymer, a cylindrical mixing chamber that controllably mixes the stillage stream and the polymer to generate wet flocculated solids and liquid co-product, and a discharge chute that outputs the wet flocculated solids and liquid co-products onto a moving, gravity filter belt having a membrane surface that separates the output from the static mixer into recovered liquids in the form of clarified, thin stillage and recovered solids in the form of dry flocculated solids.