Collingwood Ethanol, L. P. Is managed by Collingwood Ethanol, G. P. , and is a partnership between Chandler Ethanol Inc. And The Riverstone / Carlyle Group. Collingwood Ethanol, L. P. Is located at 201 MacDonald Road in Collingwood, Ontario a small town with a population of 16, 000 people located on the southern shore of Georgian Bay and at the foot of Ontario's highest ski hill, Blue Mountain.
The corn wet milling process starts with commercial grade corn, which is a much harder than grocery store corn and is grown for commercial applications. The corn wet milling process separates corn into its four basic components: starch, germ, fiber and protein.
There are five basic steps to accomplish this process. First the incoming corn is inspected and cleaned. Then it is steeped for 30 to 40 hours to begin breaking apart the starch and protein bonds. The next step in the process involves a coarse grind to separate the germ from the rest of the kernel. The remaining slurry consisting of fiber, starch and protein is finely ground and screened to separate the fiber from the starch and protein. The starch is then separated from the remaining slurry in hydrocyclones and can then be converted in to sugars and fermented.
The corn is steeped in a bath of warm water and chemicals which causes it to swell. The swollen corn is then milled and the corn germ is removed and dried for human consumption in the the form of corn oil. The corn is then milled again to extract the corn bran or hull which is dried to make corn gluten feed, a byproduct having approximately 20% protein and is primarily used for cattle feed. The corn is milled again to extract the gluten to produce corn gluten meal, which is a natural fertilizer (10-0-0) and a pre-emergent herbicide for lawns.
