The corn milling process starts with cleaning the grain and is usually followed by conditioning the corn (dampening the corn with water and then allowing it to condition for some time in a bin).
1. Grinding: breaks the grain with some separation of the individual parts.
2. Sieving: classifies mixtures of corn 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 corn as an important step in the corn milling process and refers to the removal of foreign materials and all that is not corn 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 corn kernel. It also refers to the removal of poisonous seeds, and material harmful to the corn milling 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.
