Extraction of fat from starch-containing vegetable matter

Abstract

Fat is removed from starch-containing vegetable material such as cereal grains, potatoes or tapioca by a process involving crushing the vegetable material, contacting the crushed material with a normally gaseous inert solvent under supercritical condition at a temperature of about 20.degree. to 100.degree.C and a pressure of about 30 to 1000 atmospheres to dissolve fat from the vegetable material into the solvent, separating the fat-containing solvent from the resultant substantially fat-free vegetable residue, and separating the dissolved fat from the solvent by raising the temperature and/or lowering the pressure to separate vaporized solvent from the fat. The vaporized solvent may be liquefied and recycled. The fat-free residue may be treated to dissolve away gluten, to form glucose by enzymatic hydrolysis and/or subjected to alcoholic fermentation.

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