Biopolymer extraction from plant materials

An apparatus for extracting a biopolymer from a non-Hevea plant material, comprising:

• a hammer mill, wherein the hammer mill is capable of mixing ground plant material with a buffer and water to form a milled product comprised of a bagasse and a liquid homogenate;
• a screw press filtration system, fluidly coupled to the hammer mill, wherein the screw press filtration system is capable of separating the milled product into the bagasse and the liquid homogenate;
• a homogenate storage tank, fluidly coupled to the screw press filtration system, wherein the homogenate storage tank is capable of storing a liquid homogenate comprised of milled plant material, the buffer and water;
• a phase separating system, fluidly coupled to the homogenate storage tank, wherein the phase separating system is capable of separating the liquid homogenate into a light phase and a heavy phase;
• and
• a biopolymer storage tank, fluidly coupled to the phase separating system, wherein the biopolymer storage tank is capable of storing a liquid biopolymer.

A method for extracting rubber latex from guayule plant material, comprising:

• grinding guayule;
• milling the guayule with a chemical solution including water and a buffer, whereby the milling results in a milled product comprised of a bagasse and a liquid homogenate, wherein the liquid homogenate includes milled guayule, the buffer and water;
• filtering out the bagasse from the milled product;
• separating the liquid homogenate into a light phase and a heavy phase;
• purifying the light phase, wherein soluble proteins are removed;
• and
• concentrating the light phase, wherein the concentration of the light phase produces a usable rubber latex.