Identity preserved oilseed mill

Details Identity preserved oilseed mill Identity preserved oilseed mill

1999-01-21

2001-08-07

Thornton, Krisanne (Department: 1744)

Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser

Physical type apparatus

Means separating or dissolving a material constituent

C099S516000, C210S511000, C210S634000, C422S261000, C422S269000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06270736

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing multiple oilseeds in the same facility. In particular, the invention relates to a method for processing identity preserved oilseeds.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Oilseed commodities such as soybeans, sunflowers, and canola are processed into both an oil product and a meal product. Often an oil-processing plant will only process one oilseed type, for example, only soybeans or only sunflowers. In processing plants that process one seed type, incoming oilseed commodities are often stored together prior to processing. Historically, these practices were cost efficient because the plant would typically produce one product type.
There are processing plants that process more than one oilseed type, e.g., both soybeans and sunflowers. These plants are commonly referred to as “switch plants.” Switch plants are typically large in scale, processing on the order of 2400 tons of seed per day. Switching from one commodity to another in a switch plant is a substantial undertaking that often requires ceasing oilseed processing altogether. During the down time, holding bins, conveyors, augers, processors and product holding areas are cleaned of the previous oilseed type that tends to “hang-up” in the processing equipment. Such cleaning steps are taken to minimize commodity commingling. Shutting down an entire processing plant is both time consuming and expensive.
Alternatively, a switch plant continues operating and simply starts processing the next oilseed type without taking cleaning steps to minimize commodity commingling. In this instance, processors simply accept the fact that for a certain amount of time following the switch, the oilseed products will contain a mixture of the previous and current oilseed type characteristics. The resulting commingled products are then sold at a reduced price. The commingled oilseed products are referred to as flush products, i.e., flush oil and flush meal. On average, conventional processing plants produce flush oilseed products equalling about 3.5% of the total oilseed product produced when switching from processing a first oilseed type to processing a second oilseed type. For example, if an average processing run was 72 hours long, the processing plant would produce products for about 2.5 hours after switching from the first oilseed type to the second oilseed type unless the processing plant was shut down and the first oilseed type was cleaned out from the processing equipment. Switching without a shut down can be cost effective when running large batches and limiting the number of times the plant switches.
Conventional oil extraction methods and equipment are designed to produce a fungible commodity, e.g., all soybean meals and soybean oils would be considered the same and could be substituted with another soybean meal or oil. An increasing number of farmers now grow specialty oilseed types, e.g., genetically modified oilseeds (GMO's) including corn, soybean, sunflower, and canola seed produced by transgenic plants. Specialty oilseeds have unique features that set them apart from traditional oilseeds. For example, a particular oilseed may produce seeds with increased concentrations of a desired oil component, or produce large quantities of a valuable nutrient or amino acid. When processed, these specialty oilseeds can produce unique end products that are referred to as identity preserved (IP) products. The oils and meal extracted from IP products can demand a higher price as long as product identity is preserved. In other words, identity preserved oilseed products are not fungible or interchangeable. As a result, there is a need for commercial-scale and cost-effective methods for processing oilseeds that produce IP products and for processing smaller batches of different commodities in the same plant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method for processing two or more oilseeds sequentially is disclosed herein. Processing plants that implement methods for processing two or more oilseeds sequentially are also disclosed.
In one aspect, a method for processing two or more oilseeds includes the steps of 1) providing a first oilseed type and a second oilseed, 2) processing the first oilseed to obtain a first oilseed product from the first oilseed, 3) creating a gap in the flow of the first oilseed type, 4) ending the gap by starting the flow of the second oilseed type, and 5) processing the second oilseed type to obtain a second oilseed product from the second oilseed type. Gaps are sufficient and effective for preventing substantial commingling of the first oilseed product and the second oilseed product. In one embodiment, the gap is sufficient and effective for preventing substantial commingling of the first oilseed type and the second oilseed type. In various embodiments, the methods and apparatuses of the present invention are sufficient and effective for reducing the production of flush products to levels less than about 1%, less than about 0.5%, or less than about 0.1% of the total oilseed product output.
In certain embodiments, the methods can be used to process identity preserved oilseeds including without limitation situations wherein the first and the second oilseed are different species, the first oilseed is a genetically modified oilseed, or the second oilseed is a genetically modified oilseed.
In certain embodiments, the time period length of the gap is less than about 60 minutes. In other embodiments, the gap ranges from about 5 minutes to about 60 minutes, is less than about 30 minutes, or ranges from about 15 minutes to about 30 minutes. In another embodiment, the gap is created by temporarily stopping the flow of the first oilseed type.
In other embodiments, processing steps used in the methods further include one or more of the steps of: i) flaking the oilseed type to produce oilseed flakes, ii) transporting the oilseed flakes to an extractor, or iii) extracting an oilseed product from the oilseed flakes in the extractor. At least a portion of the oilseed flakes resulting from processing the first oilseed type and at least a portion of the oilseed flakes resulting from processing the second oilseed type may be present in the extractor concurrently when the additional processing steps are implemented. Additionally, oilseed flakes resulting from processing the first oilseed type and the oilseed flakes resulting from processing the second oilseed type do not substantially commingle.
In certain embodiments, processing methods incorporate the additional steps of sizing and cracking individual oilseed types. In such instances, the cracking is adapted for sized oilseed. Using sizing and cracking steps may decrease the fiber content of a de-oiled meal by at least about 0.6% compared to an equivalent de-oiled meal processed without the sizing and cracking steps.
In certain embodiments, the extractor is a solvent-based extractor. Solvent-based extractors may use solvents such as hexane, isohexane, n-hexane, and isopropyl alcohol. In particular, methods may be implemented that utilize isohexane.
Solvent-based methods often will also include processing steps relating to desolventizing-toasting-drying-cooling vessels (DTDC). DTDC-related steps may include transporting the oilseed flakes to a DTDC, and removing a solvent from the oilseed flakes in a DTDC. At times, at least a portion of the oilseed flakes resulting from processing the first oilseed type and at least a portion of the oilseed flakes resulting from processing the second oilseed type may be present in the DTDC concurrently. Nevertheless, it is envisioned that the oilseed flakes resulting from processing the first oilseed type and the oilseed flakes resulting from processing the second oilseed type do not substantially commingle.
Self-cleaning conveyors may be used during any of the appropriate processing steps for any method or when oilseed is transported from any one processing step to another.
In another aspect, an oilseed processing plant includes one or more of the following aspects: a) a receiving area fo

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