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BR-112021007215-B1 - Improved continuous extraction process for the production of vegetable protein concentrates.

BR112021007215B1BR 112021007215 B1BR112021007215 B1BR 112021007215B1BR-112021007215-B1

Abstract

IMPROVED CONTINUOUS EXTRACTION PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF VEGETABLE PROTEIN CONCENTRATES. FIELD OF THE INVENTION. The present invention relates to a process for the continuous production of vegetable protein concentrates by removing soluble carbohydrates with an aqueous alcohol from a defatted vegetable material, said process not requiring frequent production interruptions for cleaning operations. The innovative process includes the steps of removing at least a fraction of the soluble carbohydrates by solvent extraction, the solvent being aqueous alcohol, to obtain a solvent-wetted, protein-rich vegetable material and a miscella; removing the aqueous alcohol from the solvent-wetted, protein-rich vegetable material to obtain a vegetable protein concentrate; wherein the solvent extraction takes place in a moving screen solvent extractor equipped with a means of cleaning the moving screen on its return path and for which no obstruction occurs for an extended period of time.

Inventors

  • Marc Kellens
  • David De Schaetzen

Assignees

  • DESMET BELGIUM

Dates

Publication Date
20260310
Application Date
20191009
Priority Date
20181018

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A process for the production of vegetable protein concentrate from defatted vegetable material, characterized in that it includes the following steps: a) removing at least a fraction of the soluble carbohydrates from said defatted vegetable material by solvent extraction, the solvent being aqueous alcohol, to obtain solvent-wet protein-rich vegetable material and miscella; b) removing the aqueous alcohol solvent from the solvent-wet protein-rich vegetable material to obtain a vegetable protein concentrate, wherein the solvent extraction takes place in a moving screen extractor equipped with a means of cleaning the moving screen during its return path, said cleaning means including contacting the cleaning solvent with both sides of said moving screen and ensuring complete cleaning of both sides of said moving screen during the return path of said moving screen and thus preventing progressive clogging of said moving screen and therefore ensuring continuous operation for an extended period of time; wherein said cleaning means is installed at the very beginning of the return path of said moving screen; wherein the cleaning solvent does not mix with said miscella; whereby said cleaning occurs only during the return journey of said mobile screen, and said mobile screen is not loaded with said degreased plant material during the return journey.
  2. 2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said extended period of continuous operation of the mobile screen extractor is greater than two months.
  3. 3. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said extended period of continuous operation of the mobile screen extractor is greater than three months.
  4. 4. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said extended period of continuous operation of the mobile screen extractor is greater than four months.
  5. 5. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said extended period of continuous operation of the mobile screen extractor is greater than five months.
  6. 6. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said extended period of continuous operation of the mobile screen extractor is greater than six months.
  7. 7. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said cleaning means includes the use of sprayers that project cleaning solvent towards said moving screen.
  8. 8. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said cleaning means includes scrapers and brushes for mechanically cleaning the movable screen.
  9. 9. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the cleaning of said movable screen is repeated two or more times by installing two or more cleaning elements in series along the return path of said movable screen.
  10. 10. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said cleaning solvent has the same composition as the aqueous alcohol used as an extraction solvent for soluble carbohydrates.
  11. 11. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that said cleaning solvent has the same composition as the aqueous alcohol used as an extraction solvent for soluble carbohydrates and is recycled in the last extraction zone of said solvent extractor.
  12. 12. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said cleaning solvent is water.
  13. 13. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the solvent spray pressure is pulsating, alternating, for example, between a very low pressure of 0.1 to 5.0 bar and a higher pressure of 5.0 to 100.0 bar.
  14. 14. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the defatted vegetable material is obtained by removing oil from oily vegetable material such as soybean, sunflower or canola.
  15. 15. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the defatted vegetable material is selected from legumes such as lentils, beans or peas, said legume having optionally been pre-treated with a treatment such as peeling, flaking, cooking.
  16. 16. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it further comprises using a cleaning solvent bath and immersing at least part of the moving screen in the cleaning solvent bath, said immersion occurring during the return path of said moving screen.
  17. 17. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the moving screen is cleaned and maintains its nominal solvent percolation capacity by sprays of cleaning solvent projected onto said moving screen during its return path.
  18. 18. Process according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the moving screen is cleaned and maintains its nominal solvent percolation capacity by upward and downward sprays of cleaning solvent projected onto said moving screen during its return path.
  19. 19. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the moving screen is cleaned and maintains its nominal solvent percolation capacity by downward sprays of cleaning solvent projected onto said moving screen during its return path.
  20. 20. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that said cleaning means includes at least one rail of cleaning solvent sprayers, said rail being essentially perpendicular to the movement of said moving screen.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [001] The present invention relates to a continuous process for the production of vegetable protein concentrates by removing soluble carbohydrates with an aqueous alcohol from a defatted vegetable material, said process not requiring frequent production interruptions for cleaning operations. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [002] Providing abundant, high-quality food for a continuously growing world population is increasingly challenging. At the same time, the consumption of animal protein is under increasing pressure, notably due to health, ethical, environmental, and economic reasons. Therefore, the production of plant-based proteins, such as protein concentrates and, to the same degree, protein isolates, is becoming increasingly attractive. [003] Because of the relatively high protein content of defatted feed obtained after removing oil from some common oilseed plant materials such as soybeans, and to a lesser extent canola and sunflower seeds, such defatted feed is a suitable starting material for the production of plant-based protein feed and feed ingredients such as concentrates and isolates. Currently, soy protein concentrates are by far the prevalent plant proteins available for both human and animal consumption. Protein concentrates will typically contain 60 to 70% protein on a dry basis (all percentages are expressed as w/w unless otherwise specified). The complete removal of soluble carbohydrates from plant material is not only advantageous for producing a high-protein concentrate, but is also advantageous for nutritional reasons. Indeed, humans and many animals lack the ability to digest some of the complex oligosaccharides contained in plant materials, and therefore their removal is advantageous in considerably reducing health problems associated with their incomplete digestion. [004] Consequently, a number of processes for producing vegetable protein concentrates have been developed, such as, for example, U.S. Patent No. 3,971,856, U.S. Patent No. 3,268,503, U.S. Patent No. 3,714,210, U.S. Patent No. 4,219,470, U.S. Patent No. 3,734,901, GB Patent No. 2,461,093 B. It should be emphasized that the results and tests on which these descriptions are based are sometimes derived from laboratory-scale experiments. Therefore, their workability in large production facilities is not systematically certain, and this is probably why, despite the description of so many processes, soy protein concentrate is currently almost exclusively produced by a process closely derived from that developed by Hayes many years ago and described in U.S. Patent No. 3,734,901. In this process, dehulled soybeans are first extracted with hexane to remove almost all fatty materials. In most cases, the hexane is quickly removed from the defatted plant material, and the resulting desolventized defatted plant material is further extracted with aqueous ethanol to extract soluble carbohydrates as selectively as possible. The aqueous ethanol is evaporated from the extracted material, and the resulting residue corresponds to the soy protein concentrate with the desired protein concentration (usually approximately 60 to 70% protein, percentage calculated on a dry matter basis). The main variation of the process, as performed in the field, is the technique used for desolventizing the defatted plant material. In practice, protein concentrates are produced in a soybean mill, i.e., a facility equipped with a solvent extractor that extracts the oil with hexane, thus generating, after solvent removal, crude vegetable oil and defatted plant material (also called feed in the industry). If the soybeans are dehulled before solvent extraction, the resulting feed has a higher protein content and is an ideal starting material for producing protein concentrate. This starting material is called "HI-PRO" if the feed is desolventized in a conventional desolventizing roaster using a large amount of steam in direct contact with the feed (steam-DT). Due to the combined use of a large amount of steam (and thus moisture) and heat in such conventional TD, the proteins tend to be denatured and therefore have a lower nutritional value. Furthermore, since the proteins are denatured, they tend to be more soluble, and some may be lost during aqueous alcohol solvent extraction, leading to a protein concentrate with a lower protein content. The starting material is called "WHITE FLAKES" if the desolventization of the defatted material occurs in a vacuum desolventizer (vacuum DT) with minimal steam injection in direct contact with the feed. Under these conditions, the material obtained is white, fluffy, contains more dust and fines than HI-PRO, but its proteins are less denatured due to limited contact with high-temperature steam (water). WHITE FLAKES are the starting material of choice for high-quality protein concentrates, specifically protein concentrates suitable for human consumption. However, the process according to the present invention is