What Are the Prospects for Corn Deep Processing? A Full Analysis of Development Directions

Corn is not only a common food for people, but also a very important industrial material. The industrial products that corn can be processed into number more than 3000. So in what directions can corn deep processing develop?

1. The development prospects of corn deep processing

Corn is a major food crop and can be used for agricultural planting and sales, primary food and feed processing, and so on. In addition, it can also undergo deep processing using physical and chemical methods and fermentation engineering and other processes. The products of corn deep processing mainly include corn starch, corn gluten meal, modified starch, corn starch sugar, corn oil, edible alcohol, fuel ethanol, glutamic acid, lysine, polylactic acid, xylitol, chemical alcohol, protein feed, fiber feed and thousands of other varieties. Corn deep processing products are widely used in textiles, automobiles, food, medicine, materials and other industries. As the level of processing continuously deepens, a corn economic system is formed.

In recent years, the corn deep processing industry has been continuously developing. Corn is one of the crop varieties most suitable as an industrial raw material among food crops, and is also the most highly processed food crop. The characteristics of the corn processing industry are a large processing space, a long industrial chain and extremely rich products, including eight major series such as starch, starch sugar, modified starch, alcohol, enzyme preparations, condiments, medicinal products and chemicals, but mainly starch and alcohol. Other products are mostly deeper-level processed products of these two products or by-products of their production. These deeper-level processed products or by-products are quite high in value, that is, they have high added value, and accordingly can bring high profits.

Corn deep processing still belongs to the more promising industries in the corn industry, and is also a rapidly growing part of corn consumption. It can be used in many fields such as food, medicine and chemicals. Its future development prospects are also very good.

2. Introduction to the corn deep processing industry

Although the corn processing industry currently has many deep processing products, the most important are still related fields such as ethanol, starch and chemical alcohol.

1. Corn starch processing industry

The share of corn starch in the starch processing industry is constantly increasing. China has abundant starch raw material resources. China already has the capacity to produce more than 400,000 tons of modified starch, but actual production is only more than 200,000 tons. In addition, several thousand tons are imported from abroad each year. In recent years, the state has organized a number of industrialisation developments of corn modified starch technology, achieved the localisation of key equipment, and gradually resolved the situation in China where there are few modified starch varieties, a low degree of serialisation, and some products still need to be imported. Some products can replace similar foreign products. The industrialisation demonstration project of corn modified starch processing has significantly increased the added value of modified starch products produced from corn, which is dozens of times the original value of corn. The potential for developing the modified starch industry is enormous. With the continuous progress and innovative development of technology, modified starch is an inevitable trend in starch deep processing.

2. Ethanol

Fuel alcohol produced from corn as a raw material is low in price and environmentally friendly, and fuel alcohol will absolutely not cause adverse reactions in automobile engines, so its market potential is enormous. Ethanol will enter the field of basic petrochemical raw materials. The technology for producing ethylene from ethanol is already mature, and it is an excellent basic raw material for daily chemicals. As a renewable cyclical resource, ethanol is not only an emerging energy source, but can also produce ethylene, supporting the petrochemical industry of the “post-oil era”, thereby becoming an emerging basic industry of this century.

3. Corn chemical alcohol

The status of corn chemical alcohol is equivalent to that of ethylene in the petrochemical industry. With corn chemical alcohol, all products that petrochemical alcohol can produce can be derived, such as synthetic fibers, engineering plastics, specialty resins and polyurethane, almost without limit. Corn chemical alcohol and petrochemical alcohol have the same molecular formula and the same uses, and the only difference lies in the different raw materials.

When corn chemical alcohol is used in textiles, the degree of colouration is better. The commissioning and application of corn chemical alcohol have made the development space of corn deep processing even broader. Producing 1 ton of chemical alcohol requires the consumption of 8 tons of petroleum. If corn is used to replace petroleum, only 1.76 tons of corn is consumed. The cost per ton of production using petroleum is about 7000 yuan, while the cost per ton of production using corn is about 4200 yuan. The resource and cost advantages of the corn industry can be seen from this. The production of corn chemical alcohol has increased the technological content of corn deep processing. Products that petrochemical alcohol can produce can also be produced by corn chemical alcohol.

3. The directions of corn processing

Corn is one of the most important food crops, and its nutritional components are even better than those of rice and tubers. However, the disadvantages of corn are its large grains, low viscosity and poor eating quality. But after processing, corn can form a diverse variety of corn foods, increasing the value of corn.

1. Specially made corn flour and germ powder: corn kernels have a relatively high fat content, and during storage unpleasant flavours are produced due to fat oxidation. Specially made corn flour produced by processing has its oil content reduced to below 1%, can improve eating quality, and has relatively fine granularity. It is suitable for mixing with wheat flour to make various flour foods. Because it is rich in protein and contains more vitamins, foods made by adding it have high nutritional value and are excellent foods for children and the elderly.

2. Puffed foods: corn puffed foods are convenience foods that arose in the 1970s and rapidly became popular. They have the characteristics of being loose and porous, uniform in structure and soft in texture. They are not only excellent in colour, aroma and taste, but also improve nutritional value and food digestibility.

3. Corn flakes: this is a kind of fast food, easy to carry, with a long storage time. It can be eaten directly, can also be used to make other foods, and can also be made into convenience foods of various flavours using different seasonings. It can be eaten after being brewed with water, milk or soup.

4. Sweet corn: it can be used as a vegetable or eaten fresh. Processed products include three types: quick-frozen whole ears, quick-frozen kernels and canned.

5. Corn beer: because the protein content of corn is close to that of rice and lower than that of barley, and its starch content is close to that of rice and higher than that of barley, it is a relatively ideal raw material for beer production.

Corn is a very important crop, and the nutritional value of corn is also very high. Corn deep processing can preserve the nutrients of corn and can also increase the value of corn, resulting in higher economic benefits. In some regions, there are also some subsidy policies for corn deep processing.