Economic-Engineering Assessment of Sequential Extraction Processing of Corn

A simulation model, termed SIMSEP for simulating the Sequential Extraction Process (SEP), was developed to assess the economic and engineering feasibilities of SEP, an innovative approach to processing corn into ethanol, edible oil, industrial and edible proteins, andfeed ingredients. SEP is designed to produce a new mix of value-added coproducts that could improve the profitability of processing corn and corn-derived ethanol. Simulations were carried out for various system variables to examine their effects on profitability. Results showed that SEP is economically and technically feasible. Estimates for return on investment for a proposed plant are attractive under many likely market situations, and several additional opportunities exist to further improve profitability. The SEP technology should not be commercialized until additional potential technical and market problems are resolved; but based on this analysis, continued research and development activities are warranted