Patent ID: 7919289

Claim:
A process for producing ethanol from corn, comprising: selecting corn which has been dried at elevated temperatures under conditions such that the activity of endogenous enzymes within the corn is maintained; reducing the corn to produce material comprising starch; the reduced corn having particle size such that at least about 50% of the particles fit through a sieve with a 0.5 mm mesh; saccharifying the starch, without cooking, with an enzyme composition comprising an fungal acid amylase and a glucoamylase at a pH of 3 to 6, under conditions which produce glucose; fermenting the glucose in the presence of a yeast to yield a fermentation mixture comprising at least 15 volume % ethanol within the first 96 hours of fermenting the corn; reducing the temperature of the fermentation mixture from about 40° C. to about 25° C. as ethanol is produced; and recovering the ethanol and co-products from the fermentation mixture.