The Utilisation of Brewers' and Distillers' Mash-tun "Spent Grains."
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 22nd May, 1896-Accepted, 27th June, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
The Utilisation of Brewers' and Distillers' Mash-tun
"Spent Grains."
"Draff" or
We, RICHARD DOUGLAS BAILEY, F.C.S., of the City Brewery, Gloucester,
in the County of Gloucester, England, Consulting Brewer and Analytical Chemist
and LEWIS PETER FORD of 72 Bishopsgate Street, Within, in the City of
London, England, formerly Her Majesty's Attorney General in the Transvaal
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
One of the first operations of the brewer or distiller in the manufacture of their
respective products is to conduct an operation technically called mashing.
Such mashing cousists in mixing ground malt with hot water & allowing the
infusion to stand for some time.
During the time of infusion the diastase contained in the malt acts upon the
starch & converts a large proportion of such starch into sugars known by the name
of maltose, dextrine, or malto-dextrines.
The malt contains an average of 50 per cent. of starch & before the diastase
can act upon the starch and convert it into sugars; the starch cells have to be
broken.
In order to burst the starch cells, water at a very high temperature has to be
employed for the infusion; thus it is well known that many starch cells are not
broken under a temperature of 177° F., & for this reason the higher the temperature
of the water employed, the greater the number of starch cells burst.
In transforming this starch to sugar the sole converting agent is diastase &
the action of this diastase is considerably weakened by a temperature above 140° F.,
& is completely destroyed at a temperature of 177° F. For these reasons it is
plain that it becomes imperative for the brewer or distiller to employ water at
as high a temperature as possible. But owing to the fact that diastase is weakened
at high temperatures & totally destroyed at temperatures below those at which
the whole of the starch cells are burst or broken, it becomes also plain that the
ordinary mashing process only results in partial starch conversion & that
varying percentages of unconverted starch are always left behind in the spent
grains.
The mash having infused for the requisite time, the saccharine wort is strained
off & the husk or cellulose of the malt together with the unconverted starch, now
constituting the spent grains are left behind.
These spent grains have hitherto been looked upon as a waste product of every
brewery or distillery & have either been sold in their wet state, or have been
dried and compressed into cakes for cattle feeding purposes.
Such spent grains for the reasons already stated contain from 2 to 10 per cent.
of starch, the proportions varying and depending upon the skill & method of
extraction employed by the manipulator.
They also contain 55 per cent. of carbohydrate matter which constitutes the husk
or cellulose coatings of the malt or grain.
Now my invention relates not only to the utilisation or transformation of the
2 to 10 per cent. of starch that the spent grains contain, but also relates to the
utilisation or transformation of the 55 per cent. of cellulose or husk carbohydrates.

page_text: I thus deal with spent grains containing as all such spent grains do, 55 per cent.
of carbohydrate matter & from 2 to, i0 per cent. of unconverted starch.
It is therefore my intention by reason of this my invention to explain methods
of manipulation by which the brewer & distiller may extract from their hitherto
waste product spent grains a further large percentage of sugar.
Starting with the fact that spent grains contain 55 per cent. of carbohydrates &
from 2 to, 10 per cent. of starch, it is understood that the latter. (2 to 10 per cent.
starch) is easily convertible into sugar.
The question to solve, however, was, what is the nature of these former
55 per rent, carbohydrates & could they be brought into a state of readily
fermenting under the agency of yeast.
It has hitherto been understood that any attempt to convert these 55 per cent.
carbohydrates must result in the production of bodies of an unfermentable character
& therefore of no use to the brewer or distiller.
I have, however, found after extensive experimental & practical work that
the conversion of these carbohydrates under the special conditions that are hereafter
described, result in the production of sugars known by the name of furfuroids from
the fact that they yield 50 per cent. of their weight of furfural such substance
being aldehydic in character.
It has hitherto been held that such a decomposition is an exclusive characteristic
of the pentoses, a group of sugars with 5 carbon atoms only in their formula, &
moreover resistant to alcoholic fermentation.
The methods of manipulation which my discovery has enabled me to here set
forth prove the inaccuracy of such ideas & my invention describes methods by
which this 55 per cent. of carbohydrates & from 2 to 10 per cent. of starch may,
be so acted upon that the greater proportion are converted into furfuroid sugar &
are readily fermented by ordinary yeast.
I have also discovered that another proportion of such furfuroid sugars extracted,
from spent grains, turn up in the finished beer, & are the cause of secondary cask
fermentation resulting in the production of a more brilliant, sound & gaseous beer
than is obtained by ordinary methods of manipulation.
For practical purposes I carry out my invention by either manipulating the
spent grains in an ordinary open vessel, such for instance as the mash-tun; or I
manipulate the spent grains in a closed pressure converting vessel, such for instance
as is now employed by glucose manufacturers.
I proceed as follows:-
1. At the conclusion of the ordinary mashing process, I mix the spent grains
with water & raise to the boiling point 212° F. by introducing naked steam.
By these means the cells of any unconverted starch are burst, & a perfect watery
solution is obtained.
I then cool the solution to any point below 140° F., by the introduction of a
little cold water & I add a little diastase, malt extract or taka-moto.
After allowing the solution to stand for a short time the starch is converted into
maltose & dextrine.
At this point I add a one per cent. solution of sulphuric, hydrochloric, oxalic,
phosphoric or other acid or acids & I boil the solution for 30 minutes.
By these means the maltose & dextrine become converted into dextrose sugars
& of the 55 per cent. of carbohyrates, some 30 to 40 per cent. become converted
into fermentable furfuroid sugars.
11. By boiling this solution in a closed converting vessel under a pressure of
3 atmospheres an extra percentage of furfuroid sugars may be extracted.
III. By proceeding in either one or the other of the ways described under I
& 11, the furfuroid sugar solution after boiling for 30 minutes, is neutralised by
the addition of a 2 per cent. solution of, alkali-preferably carbonate of lime-&
after standing for a short time the sugar solution is ready to be run to the copper
to be boiled with the ordinary wort or to be used for numerous other purposes.
As both the brewer & distiller require sugar in solution form it is unnecessary

page_text: to concentrate the solution in vacuum pans; such a process, however, may be
adopted & means may also be employed for decolourising the solution by filtering
through animal charcoal.
Dated this 24th day of January 1896.
RICHARD DOUGLAS BAILEY, F.C.S.,
L D
תתמח
The Utilisation of Brewers' and Distillers' Mash-tun "Draff" or
Spent Grains."
We, RICHARD DOUGLAS BAILEY, F.C.S., of the City Brewery, Gloucester,
in the County of Gloucester, England, Consulting Brewer and Analytical Chemist,
and LEWIS PETER FORD, of 72 Bishopsgate Street, Within, in the City of
Lordon, England, formerly Her Majesty's Attorney General in the Transvaal, do
hereby declare the nature of our invention for the utilisation of brewers' and
distillers' mash-tun "draff" or "spent grains," and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
One of the first operations of the brewer or distiller in the manufacture of their
respective products is to conduct an operation technically called mashing.
Such mashing consists in mixing ground malt with hot water and allowing the
infusion to stand for some time.
During the time of infusion the diastase contained in the malt acts upon the starch
and converts a large proportion of such starch into sugars known by the name of
maltose, dextrine, or malto-dextrines.
The malt contains an average of about 50 per cent. of starch and before the
diastase can act upon the starch and convert it into sugars, the starch cells have to
be broken.
In order to burst the starch cells, water at a very high temperature has to be
employed for the infusion, thus it is well known that many starch cells are not
broken under a temperature of 177° F. and for this reason the higher the temperature
of the water employed, the greater the number of starch cells burst. In trans-
forming this starch to sugar the sole converting agent is diastase and the action of
this diastase is considerably weakened by a temperature above 140° F., and is
completely destroyed at a temperature of 177° F. For these reasons it is plain
that it becomes imperative for the brewer and distiller to employ water at as high
a temperature as possible, but owing to the fact that diastase is weakened at high
temperatures and totally destroyed at temperatures below those at which the whole
of the starch cells are burst or broken it becomes also plain that the ordinary
mashing process only results in partial starch conversion and that varying per-
centages of unconverted starch are always left behind in the spent grains. The
mash having infused for the requisite time, the saccharine wort is strained of and
the husk or cellulose of the malt, together with the unconverted starch now
constituting the spent grains, are left behind.
These spent grains have hitherto been looked upon as a waste product of
breweries and distilleries and have in some cases been sold in their wet state
and in others they have been dried, and sometimes compressed into cakes, for
cattle feeding purposes. Such spent grains contain from about 2 to 10 per cent.
of starch, the proportions varying and depending upon the skill and method of
extracting employed by the manipulator. They also contain about 55 per cent. of

page_text: carbo-hydrate matter, which constitutes the husk or cellulose coatings of the malt
or grain.
According to our invention we employ methods of manipulation by which the
brewer and distiller may extract from their hitherto waste product, spent
grains, a further large percentage of sugar. Starting with the fact that spent
grains contain 55 per cent. of carbo-hydrates and from 2 to 10 per cent. of starch,
it is understood that the latter (2 to 10 per cent. starch) is easily convertable into
sugar.
The question to solve however was, what is the nature of these 55 per cent. carbo-
hydrates and could they be brought into a state of readily fermenting under the
agency of yeast.
It has hitherto been understood that any attempt to convert these 55 per cent. of
carbo-hydrates must result in the production of bodies of an unfermentable character
and therefore of no use to either the brewer or distiller. We have however found,
after extensive experimental and practical work, that the conversion of these carbo-
hydrates under the special conditions that are hereafter described, results in the
production of sugars known by the name of furfuroids from the fact that they yield
about 50 per cent. of their weight of furfural, such substance being aldehydic in
charácter.
It has hitherto been held that such a decomposition is an exclusive characteristic
of the pentoses, a group of sugars with five carbon atoms only in their formula and
moreover resistant to alcoholic fermentation.
We
The methods of manipulation which our discovery has enabled us to here set
forth prove the inaccuracy of such ideas, and our invention describes methods by
which this 55 per cent. of carbo-hydrates and from 2 to 10 per cent. of starch
contained in spent grains may be so acted upon that the greater proportion is
converted into furfuroid sugars and is readily fermented by ordinary yeast.
have also discovered that another proportion of such furfuroid sugars, extracted
from spent grains, turns up in the finished beer and is the cause of secondary cask
fermentation resulting in the production of a more brilliant, sound, and gaseous
beer than it is possible to obtain by ordinary methods of manipulation. For
practical purposes we manipulate the spent grains in an ordinary open vessel, such,
for instance, as the mash-tun; or we manipulate the spent grains in a closed
pressure converting vessel, such as is now employed by glucose manufacturers.
We proceed as follows:-"
1. At the conclusion of the ordinary mashing process we mix the spent grains
with water and raise to the boiling point, 212° F., by the introduction of steam.
By these means the cells of any unconverted starch are burst and a perfect
watery solution is obtained. We then cool the solution to any point below 140° F.,
by the introduction of a little cold water, and we add a little of some converting
agent, such as diastase, malt extract or taka moto, and then well rouse the solution.
After allowing the solution to stand for a short time, the starch is converted into
maltose and dextrine. At this point we add a quantity of sulphuric, hydrochloric,
oxalic, phosphoric or other acid or acids to the solution; equal to about 1 per cent.
thereof, and boil the solution for about 30 minutes. By these means the maltose
and dextrine become converted into dextrose sugars, and of the 55 per cent. of
carbo-hydrates some 30 to 40 per cent. become converted into fermentable furfuroid
sugars.
2. By boiling this solution in a closed vessel under a pressure of about
3 atmospheres, an extra percentage of furfuroid sugars may be extracted.
3. By proceeding in either one or the other of the ways described under 1 and 2,
the furfuroid sugar solution, after boiling for about 30 minutes, is neutralized by
the addition of a quantity of alkali, preferably carbonate of lime, equal to about
2 per cent. of the solution, and well rousing the same, and after standing for a short
time the sugar solution is ready to be run to the copper to be boiled with the
ordinary wort or to be used for numerous other purposes.
As both the brewer and distiller require sugar in solution form, it is unnecessary

page_text: to concentrate the solution in vacuum pans; such a process, however, may be
adopted, and means may also be employed for decolourising the solution by filtering
through animal charcoal.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is.―
1. The treatment of brewers' and distillers' spent grains either in the mash-tun,
in an ordinary open vessel or in a closed converting vessel, by adding water and
boiling, cooling, adding a converting agent such as diastase, malt extract, or
taka moto, and then after allowing the solution to stand for a short time by
further adding to it a proportion of acid and boiling for about 30 minutes in an
open vessel or under pressure and then neutralizing by the addition of a proportion
of alkali, as herein described and set forth.
2. The production of maltose, dextrine, dextrose and furfuroid sugars solely
from spent grains as herein described and set forth.
Dated this 13th day of May 1896.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.