UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
; BULLETIN No. 904 ¢ 
Ve ‘ 
a Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
Sw" Pete WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
wae 
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER October 29, 1920 
THE PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION OF CORN OIL 
IN THE UNITED STATES. 
By A. F. SrevERs, 
Chemical Biologist, Drug, Poisonous, and Oil Plant Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. | Page. 
Origin of the corn-oil industry ............... 1 | Effect of colorand condition of the corn on the 
Deverniinating Come. ssseees- «= 2. see see ae 1 yield and character of the oil............... 15 
Methods of degermination used.............. 3 | Comparison of the oil-production operation in 
Expelling the oilfrom corn germs......--...- 3 ditierentt mill sm jase nee 40 seein lee 16 
Handling and disposing of the crude oil...... 11 | Economics of corn-oil production............ 17 
Handling and disposing of the oilcake....... 12 | Cost of expelling corn oil....... Re ce 17 
Buying and shipping corn germs........-... iseiebroduction of edible ole aes eee nae 20 
Wtilation oLcom Gil. e-ees ee. 132|<'Dhewutuce.ofcorm oilssc.. 25s s8s.. eae oe 22 
ORIGIN OF THE CORN-OIL INDUSTRY. 
The production of corn oil from the germ of corn kernels has been 
practiced on a commercial scale for probably a quarter of a century. 
From the time the degermination of corn became an integral operation 
in the hominy, starch, and glucose industries, the disposition of the 
germ has been a decided factor in the economics of these processes. 
At first the general practice was to dispose of the germ material by 
adding it to feed products, but as the demand for vegetable oils 
increased, for both edible and technical uses, it was found profitable 
to expel the oil from the germ, and in recemt years when oils have 
been high in price the production of corn oil has become one of the 
important phases of the corn-products industries. 
DEGERMINATING CORN. 
The germ of the corn represents approximately 10 per cent of the 
dry kernel and contains about 50 per cent of oil. It has been found 
that this amount of fat, representing about 5 per cent of the air-dried 
2467°—20—1 
