# US 11,992,028 B2 · Microbial-based process for high quality protein concentrate

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- Number: US 11,992,028 B2
- Document ID: US11992028B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/953,640
- Filed: 2022-09-27
- Published: 2023-03-23
- Granted: 2024-05-28
- Earliest claimed: 2011-12-02
- Assignees: The South Dakota Board of Regents, as Governing Board for South Dakota State University
- Applicants: The South Dakota Board of Regents, AS Governing Board for South Dakota State University
- Inventors: William Gibbons; Michael L Brown
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11992028B2

## CPC

- A23J 1/125: {by treatment involving enzymes or microorganisms (enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins A23J3/34)}
- A23J 1/14: from leguminous or other vegetable seeds; from press-cake or oil-bearing seeds
- A23J 1/148: {by treatment involving enzymes or microorganisms (enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins A23J3/34)}
- A23K 10/14: Pretreatment of feeding-stuffs with enzymes
- A23K 10/38: from distillers' or brewers' waste
- A23K 20/147: Polymeric derivatives, e.g. peptides or proteins
- A23K 40/20: by moulding, e.g. making cakes or briquettes
- A23K 40/25: by extrusion
- A23K 50/80: for aquatic animals, e.g. fish, crustaceans or molluscs
- Y02A 40/818: Alternative feeds for fish, e.g. in aquacultures
- Y02P 60/87: Re-use of by-products of food processing for fodder production
- A23J: PROTEIN COMPOSITIONS FOR FOODSTUFFS; WORKING-UP PROTEINS FOR FOODSTUFFS; PHOSPHATIDE COMPOSITIONS FOR FOODSTUFFS
- A23K: FODDER
- Y02A: TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

The present invention describes a bio-based process to produce high quality protein concentrate (HQPC) by converting plant derived celluloses into bioavailable protein via aerobic incubation, including the use of such HQPC so produced as a nutrient, including use as a fish meal replacement in aquaculture diets.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of producing a plant material protein concentrate comprising:
a. optionally, extruding plant material at above room temperature to form a mash and transferring the mash to a biorector;
b. inoculating and incubating the mash with at least one microbe;
c. recovering the incubated material via hydrodynamic force; and
d. drying recovered solid residual material, wherein said protein concentrate comprises proteins, microbes, and exopolysaccharides.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, optionally, further comprising adding one or more cellulose-degrading enzymes to release sugars into the mash in the bioreactor.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the solids are optionally washed and re-exposed to hydrodynamic force prior to drying.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the microbes are selected from Aureobasidium pullulans, Sclerotium glucanicum, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Ralstonia eutropha, Rhodospirillum rubrum, Kluyveromyces spp, Pichia spp, Trichoderma reesei, Pleurotus ostreatus, Rhizopus spp, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the plant material is selected from the group consisting of soybeans, peanuts, Rapeseeds, barley, canola, sesame seeds, cottonseeds, palm kernels, grape seeds, olives, safflowers, sunflowers, copra, corn, coconuts, linseed, hazelnuts, wheat, rice, potatoes, cassavas, legumes, camelina seeds, mustard seeds, germ meal, corn gluten meal, distillery/brewery by-products, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the hydrodynamic force is selected from the group consisting of centrifugation, filtration, spray drying and combinations thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the resulting protein concentrate is extruded after drying.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising autoclaving the mash.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the microbe is Aureobasidium pullulans.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the Aureobasidium pullulans is selected from the group consisting of NRRL No. 50792, NRRL No. 50793, NRRL No. 50794, and NRRL No. 50795, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the plant material protein concentrate is further treated with phytase.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the plant material is GMO plant material.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the plant material is non-GMO plant material.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

A composition comprising the concentrate produced by the method of claim 1.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The composition of claim 14, wherein the microbes are Aureobasidium pullulans selected from the group consisting of NRRL No. 50792, NRRL No. 50793, NRRL No. 50794, and NRRL No. 50795, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

An animal feed comprising the plant material protein concentrate of claim 14, wherein said plant material protein concentrate comprises at least 35% of said animal feed by weight.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The composition of claim 14, wherein the protein concentrate comprises 0.1 g hydroxylysine/100 g of concentrate or more and 1.26 g lipid/100 g or more of concentrate.

### Claim 18 (depends on 14)

The composition of claim 14, wherein the protein content of the concentrate is at least 35%.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

A feed or foodstuff comprising the concentrate produced by claim 1, wherein the foodstuff is formulated for humans and the feed is formulated for fish, crustaceans, cattle, poultry, swine, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, horses or combinations thereof.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The feed or food stuff of claim 19, wherein said feed or foodstuff comprises a composition containing up to 80% by weight of said soy protein based protein concentrate and up to 20% by weight of a mixture containing one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of lysine, methionine, lipids, biotin, choline, niacin, ascorbic acid, inositol, pantothenic acid, folic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, magnesium, manganese, aluminum, iodine, cobalt, zinc, iron, selenium, and combinations thereof.