Maize Milling Process
The maize milling process starts with cleaning the grain and is usually followed by conditioning the maize (dampening the maize with water and then allowing it to condition for some time in a bin).
1. Grinding: breaks the maize and parts of the grain with some separation of the individual parts.
2. Sieving: classifies mixtures of maize particles of different sizes into fractions of narrower particle size ranges.
3. Purifying: separates mixtures of bran and endosperm particles using air currents and sieves.
Cleaning and conditioning of the maize as an important step in the maize milling process and refers to the removal of foreign materials and all that is not maize kernels from the to-be milled grain that lowers the quality of the product such as husk, straw, dust, sand, everything too big and too small and lighter than a maize kernel. It also refers to the removal of poisonous seeds, and material harmful to the maize mill equipment such as metal and stones.
Conditioning refers to the addition of moisture to the maize to allow the bran to be peeled off in flakes during milling with plate or roller mills, allowing easy separation in a sifter.