Corn

Today, corn ranks as the world’s leading cultivated cereal, ahead of rice and wheat, with annual global production of 1 million tonnes, according to the FAO. Corn is very widely used in human nutrition and animal feed.

Tereos possesses two corn starch facilities in Europe as well as two in Asia and South America. Corn starch is an essential ingredient in cooking as well as in processed foods. It can also be used in industrial processes, such as the manufacture of bioplastics, and for a number of starch derivatives.

Corn is a major source of starch: roughly 1.6 tonnes of corn produce one tonne of starch. First of all, the corn is soaked in vast tanks to soften the grains, and then ground. The germ and fibrous matter are filtered, and the starch and protein are separated. The native starch can be processed into modified starch or transformed by hydrolysis into glucose syrups and other starch derivatives.

Tereos processes all parts of the raw materials, producing other corn-based products, including animal feed.

The production of starch is a wet grinding process. First of all, the corn is soaked in vast tanks to soften the grains. Once it has been soaked, the corn is ground coarsely, the germ and fibrous matter are filtered and the starch and protein are separated through density. The native starch can be processed into modified starch or transformed by hydrolysis into glucose syrups and other starch derivatives. Corn by-products are very widely used in animal feed.