Waste Reduction by Process Modification

The p r o c e s s i n g o f sweet c o r n r e s u l t s i n t h e g e n e r a t i o n o f l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f l i q u i d and s o l i d waste. L iqu id wastes c o n t a i n s o l u b l e s u g a r s and s t a r c h e s and are r e s p o n s i b l e f o r ave rage wastewater l o a d i n g s o f 27 l b s of BOD (1) p e r t o n o f c o r n i n husk. Nea r ly 2.6 m i l l i o n l b s o f sweet c o r n ( i n husk) are p rocessed ( 2 ) hence , 70 m i l l i o n pounds o f BOD are produced a n n u a l l y . S o l i d wastes are composed o f husk , cob , and e d i b l e c o r n which are n o t removed from t h e cob d u r i n g c u t t i n g and c o n s t i t u t e up t o 213 of t h e weight o f t h e s t a r t i n g raw mater ia l .