A method of identifying a selected pollination window in a Poaceae crop by monitoring one or more environmental parameters and identifying a selected pollination window based upon the monitored parameters. The correct selection of parameters has been shown to markedly increase seed set, yield, and/or other desirable characteristics, including but not limited to preferred content of oil, starch, protein, and/or other nutritional components. Parameters may include one or more of: temperature, relative humidity, and vapor pressure deficit.

A method for obtaining a protein ingredient for animal feed from seeds of sunflowers or rape includes shelling the sunflower seeds or rapeseeds up to a shell content of <2.5 wt %, mechanically partially extracting the oil from the shelled sunflower seeds or rapeseeds by pressing, up to a fat or oil content in the region of >6 and <25 wt %, and carrying out at least one extraction step for further extraction of the oil with at least one organic solvent or supercritical CO2, up to an oil content of less than 3.5 wt %; and subsequently desolventing, wherein at least one protein-denaturing treatment of the sunflower seeds or rapeseeds is carried out between the shelling of the sunflower seeds or rapeseeds and the obtaining of the protein ingredient. Due to its good digestibility, the protein ingredient can be used as an at least partial replacement for animal proteins in animal feeds.

Methods of manufacturing products from material comprising oilcake, compositions produced from materials comprising processed oilcake, and systems for processing oilcake are provided herein. A product is produced by a method comprising de-solubilizing protein in a first material comprising oilcake to produce a processed material comprising an insoluble protein fraction by extruding the first material in a pressure range of 10 bar to 80 bar. The processed material is hydrolyzed to produce a mixture comprising the insoluble protein fraction and a hydrolyzed fraction. The insoluble protein fraction is separated from the hydrolyzed fraction. The insoluble protein fraction is processed into the product by extruding the insoluble protein fraction in a pressure range of 10 bar to 80 bar.

A system and method for vicine/covicine removal includes generating a feed stock from a plant-based protein source, the plant-based protein source having anti-nutritionals disposed therein, including vicine and covicine. The system and method includes generating an ethanol slurry by combining the feed stock with an ethanol wash containing a first volume of ethanol and processing the ethanol slurry through an extractor to generate an ethanol matrix and a feed stock mass. The method and system further includes providing the feed stock mass to a desolventizer and generating a desolventized feed stock mass therefrom. Therein, the method and system includes drying the desolventized feed stock mass to generate a clean feed stock with at least a portion of the vicine/covicine removed therefrom.

Methods of manufacturing products from material comprising oilcake, compositions produced from materials comprising processed oilcake, and systems for processing oilcake are provided herein. The method comprises de-solubilizing protein in a material comprising oilcake to produce a processed material comprising an insoluble protein fraction. The processed material is hydrolyzed to produce a mixture comprising the insoluble protein fraction and a hydrolyzed fraction. The insoluble protein fraction is separated from the hydrolyzed fraction. The insoluble protein fraction is processed into a product.

A system and method for anti-nutritional removal includes generating a feed stock from a plant-based protein source, the plant-based protein source having anti-nutritionals disposed therein. The system and method includes generating an ethanol slurry by combining the feed stock with an ethanol wash containing a first volume of ethanol and processing the ethanol slurry through an extractor to generate an ethanol matrix and a feed stock mass. The method and system further includes providing the feed stock mass to a desolventizer and generating a desolventized feed stock mass therefrom. Therein, the method and system includes drying the desolventized feed stock mass to generate a clean feed stock with at least a portion of the anti-nutritionals removed therefrom. In one embodiment, the feed stock may be fava beans with the removal of vicine and covicine as anti-nutritionals.

Methods of manufacturing products from material comprising oilcake, compositions produced from materials comprising processed oilcake, and systems for processing oilcake are provided herein. The method comprises de-solubilizing protein in a material comprising oilcake to produce a processed material comprising an insoluble protein fraction. The processed material is hydrolyzed to produce a mixture comprising the insoluble protein fraction and a hydrolyzed fraction. The insoluble protein fraction is separated from the hydrolyzed fraction. The insoluble protein fraction is processed into a product.

The invention describes an apparatus for the desolventisation and toasting or an apparatus for the combined desolventisation, toasting, drying and cooling of a spent material, i.e., a solvent extraction residue obtained from the solvent extraction of oleaginous material. In particular, the invention describes desolventiser toaster or combined desolventiser toaster dryer cooler of improved design equipped with a side vapours outlet and optionally combined with at least one sieve stripping tray to allow nearly the full saturation of the outgoing vapours with hexane.

The present invention relates to a protein preparation produced from pumpkin seeds and a cost-effective method for the preparation thereof. The protein preparation has a protein content or more than 60% by mass, a fat content of less than 6% by mass and a brightness L* of greater than 70. The protein preparation has a neutral taste, is bright and of superior quality so that it is suitable for foodstuff applications with high colour demands such as drinks and yoghurts and fine bakery goods such as cakes or also for emulsions such as cremes and fillings.

The present invention relates to a process for preparation of protein-enriched products, such as plant protein isolates or protein-fibre formulations, from plant materials such as oilseeds, as well as to the uses of the products obtainable via said process in human food and/or animal feed. In particular, the presented herein processes advantageously make use of solvents based on low-boiling azeotropic mixtures made of an apolar and lipophilic organic ester having up to 5 carbon atoms, with an alcohol having up to 5 carbon atoms, which solvents not only make the need to use noxious hexane-based solvents obsolete, but also can undergo reutilisation cycles by being easily obtainable and recoverable from spent solvents and/or mother liquors as used in the presented herein processes, and consequently render the disclosed processes extremely energy-efficient, suitable for large-scale industrial production, as well as eco-friendly.