Systems and methods for protein recovery
AssigneeSolecta Ltd.
InventorsMeijuan Zhou, Sanjay R. Srivatsa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure provides systems and methods for the recovery of protein species from wet mill grain process streams. Systems and methods of the present disclosure may be integrated with a wet mill grain process to separate out protein species that may limit efficiency of the grain process and produce one or more product streams comprising these separated protein species. A feed stream may be fractionated by at least two membranes into retentate and permeate streams. Removing larger proteins through the membrane fractionation may allow previously soluble prolamin products in the permeate stream(s) to precipitate. The recovered protein species may include prolamin, such as zein from a corn grain feed.
Claims20
A method of recovering fine particulate or protein species from a feed from a wet mill grain process, said method comprising:
- (a) subjecting the feed from the wet mill grain process to a first separation process utilizing a first membrane under conditions effective to provide a first retentate stream comprising one or more higher molecular weight proteins having an average molecular weight of greater than about 75 kilodalton and a first permeate stream comprising one or more lower molecular weight proteins having an average molecular weight of less than about 75 kilodalton;
- and
- (b) subjecting the first permeate stream to a second separation process utilizing a second membrane under conditions effective to provide a second retentate stream comprising glutens and a second permeate stream comprising prolamins.
A process integrated with a wet mill grain preprocess, comprising
- (a) receiving from the wet mill grain preprocess a stream as a feed to one or more separation processes which comprise at least an ultrafiltration process and a nanofiltration process;
- (b) subjecting said feed to said ultrafiltration process utilizing a microporous membrane to generate a first retentate stream comprising higher molecular weight proteins comprising glutens and a first permeate stream comprising prolamins, wherein the higher molecular weight proteins have an average molecular weight of greater than about 75 kilodalton;
- (c) directing the first permeate stream to the nanofiltration process to generate a second retentate stream comprising lower molecular weight proteins comprising glutens and a second permeate stream comprising the prolamins, wherein the lower molecular weight proteins have an average molecular weight of less than about 75 kilodalton;
- (d) recovering the prolamins from the second permeate stream;
- and
- (e) returning at least a portion of the second permeate stream to the wet mill grain preprocess.
A method for processing a feed stream, comprising:
- (a) providing said feed stream comprising a first set of proteins having an average molecular weight of greater than about 75 kilodalton and a second set of proteins having an average molecular weight of less than or equal to about 75 kilodalton, which second set of proteins comprises a gluten and a prolamin;
- (b) bringing said feed stream in contact with a first membrane under conditions sufficient to provide (i) a first retentate stream comprising said first set of proteins and (ii) a first permeate stream comprising said second set of proteins;
- and
- (c) bringing said first permeate stream in contact with a second membrane under conditions sufficient to provide a second retentate stream comprising said gluten and a second permeate stream comprising said prolamin.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.