The invention relates to a method for obtaining a protein concentrate from sunflower seeds, to a sunflower seed concentrate and to a foodstuff comprising such a concentrate. The process comprises the use of a sunflower press cake and various extracting steps using an alcohol.

A method of oi seed processing in which an extraction solvent comprising ethyl alcohol is applied in the process of oil extraction. Solvents of similar effect to that of ethyl alcohol may be used in conjunction to produce the desired result. Such a production method yields oil with substantially greater o l stability. As a result of oil extraction and processing, the subsequent meal is of increased palatability for animal and human consumption. Through such extraction and processing methods oil and meal are free of residue and undesirable characteristics commonly associated with other traditional methods of oil extraction.

A method of harvesting plant product from a plant in a single pass using a combine harvester is disclosed. In the method, the plant has a protein content gradient that varies along a height of the plant. The method includes identifying, along a longitudinally-extending stalk of the plant, an upper protein gradient of the plant including high protein plant product and a lower protein gradient of the plant including lower protein plant product, wherein the high protein plant product from the upper protein gradient of the plant meets a threshold protein content that is higher than that of the lower protein plant product. The method also includes separately and substantially simultaneously harvesting the high protein plant product from the upper protein gradient and the lower protein plant product from the lower protein gradient in the single pass, and isolating the high protein plant product from the lower protein plant product.

The invention relates to a method for obtaining protein preparations from sunflower and/or canola seeds. At least the following steps are carried out: dehulling sunflower or canola seeds up to a shell content of <5 mass.%; partially deoiling the hulled sunflower or canola seeds in a mechanical manner by means of pressing up to a fat or oil content ranging between >7 and >35 mass.%; and carrying out one or more extraction steps using at least one organic solvent or supercritical CO2.

At least one of the extraction steps produces a further deoiling of the sunflower or canola seeds and is carried out after a previous comminution process or during a simultaneous comminution process of the pressed cake to a particle size of <2 mm or a flake thickness of <2 mm as a percolation or immersion extraction. By means of one extraction step or a plurality of the extraction steps, a deoiled protein-containing meal or granulate with a good protein digestibility is obtained as a protein preparation after a desolventization process.

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.

This invention relates to a process for the continuous production of vegetal protein concentrates by removing the soluble carbohydrates by an aqueous alcohol from a defatted vegetable material said process requiring no 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 wet protein rich vegetable material and a miscella; removing the aqueous alcohol form the solvent wet 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 cleaning means of the moving screen on its return journey and for which no plugging takes place for extended period of time.

A method provides for removing oil content from a source material and extracting protein from the source material prior to generating a protein concentrate, including decorticating the source material, the source material having a protein and an oil content therein, the decorticating to remove a cortex from the source material. The method includes creating a flour from the source material having the cortex removed therefrom, removing at least a portion of the oil content from the flour by generating a solvent mixture by mixing the flour with a solvent and extracting a de-oiled flour from the solvent mixture, including oil and sugars extracted from the flour. The solvent may include supercritical CO2, subcritical CO2, ethanol, or a combination thereof. The method includes drying the de-oiled flour using at least one dryer and extracting a protein concentrate from the de-oiled flour.

Plant protein isolates obtained from wet-milled pulse, wet-milled pulse flour and methods of producing wet-milled pulse flour are provided. Volatile organic compounds that are present in plant protein isolates prepared from the wet-milled pulse are decreased as compared the plant protein isolates prepared from a dry-milled pulse. Food compositions containing the plant protein isolates are disclosed.

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.

The invention relates to a method for obtaining protein preparations from sunflower and/or canola seeds. At least the following steps are carried out: dehulling sunflower or canola seeds up to a shell content of <5 mass. %; partially deoiling the hulled sunflower or canola seeds in a mechanical manner by means of pressing up to a fat or oil content ranging between >7 and >35 mass. %; and carrying out one or more extraction steps using at least one organic solvent or supercritical CO2.

These steps produce a further deoiling of the sunflower or canola seeds and is carried out after a previous comminution process or during a simultaneous comminution process of the pressed cake to a particle size of <2 mm or a flake thickness of <2 mm as a percolation or immersion extraction. A deoiled protein-containing meal or granulate with good protein digestibility is obtained as a result.