Filtration of grain flour

[Max Action]

I recall a presentation at the ADI conference about gaining a little yield using flour or very finely milled grain, compared to a coarser product. I believe they said they just dumped the spent mash down the drain. If that's not allowed by the sewage company, what would be the most efficient filtration technology to use to separate such a large volume of fine solids?

All the centrifuges we have looked at, including used, are simply too expensive for our budget.

[Brian]

There are used centrifuges on the market. If you have three phase power and/or a rotary phase converter these may be within reach. A recessed filter press operated with the proper flocculation may resolve some of the small solids you release as well. The EPA regulates the type of effluent you can inject into public waste treatment systems and there certainly are operators (many) that can be shutdown and/or severely fined with one phone call.

The problem is that these wastes are not waste to anyone but you. They are fertilizers having a high BOD/COD components, even if you are successful in dropping the TSS to "acceptable" levels. You need what are known as "packaged treatment plants" to "burn" up (aeration/digestion) the components that will make your "waste" legal to place in a public system. Yep, sorry the word is LEGAL. Human sewage is totally benign compared to distillery waste, not even a blip.

The treatment of waste is one of those little "oh, by the way" costs that are not considered when starting a distillery.....remember that little Federal requirement for environmental issues in your basic permit application???....just a little Cleopatra asp waiting for you in the basement, no sorry, 50 ft anaconda.

[Whiskey&Revelry]

Max-

I am familiar with the information you are referring to and am very familiar with grain-flour mashes. That was simply meant to put the viscosity of such mashes in to perspective... They do not actually discharge flour mash stillage down their drains. However if you can find a municipal sewage system that will let you put such mash down the drain, then power to you!

[jequick]

You could use a plate filter, which is much cheaper, with very low micron filter sheets. The waste goes right into your dumpster.

[JohnD]

Don't know if it would be economical but some kind of air dryer might work.

[Brian]

A plate filter won't work without a specialized screen and a floc agent it will blind immediately

[Denver Distiller]

Filtration makes zero sense here, fellas. You're trading in the F/C difference in the mill gap for the expense, time, and massive yield loss that you'd get from trying to filter milled grain endosperms.

Either lauter, or put the whole mash in the still. Anything else is a waste of multiple resources.

BTW, you should never run this stuff to sewer. Complete waste of valuable farm feed.

[Brian]

There is a product called a "water eater" where you basically boil away the water... You would still have a sludge to export...hogs would be great but no one around me has little piggies

[DISTILLATEUR]

I pump it out of my still into open head macro bins and then give it to the hog farmer.

[Whiskey&Revelry]

I pump it out of my still into open head macro bins and then give it to the hog farmer.

This is the best solution.

[Max Action]

Thanks for the responses and opinions. Looks like I'll have to do more homework.

Brian- if you have a lead on used centrifuges under $15K, I'd be happy to hear about it.

[miller]

I recall a presentation at the ADI conference about gaining a little yield using flour or very finely milled grain, compared to a coarser product. I believe they said they just dumped the spent mash down the drain. If that's not allowed by the sewage company, what would be the most efficient filtration technology to use to separate such a large volume of fine solids?

All the centrifuges we have looked at, including used, are simply too expensive for our budget.

We use flour very nicely to achieve a Very High gravity fermentation. Fine and course are very broad terms, in our case we have sifted through a 7XX nytex cloth that we have ground on roller mills before going to the distillery. If you are using whole grain ground on a hammer mill it's not worth the extra energy to grind fine. A plate and frame filter will filter out most of your solids. However, it's best to move your spent mash unfiltered to a local farm if possible. That being said you may want to filter to reduce water consumption and use a percentage of the liquid as backset. There can be issues there also that you don't want.