Production of biofuel and protein from a raw material

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for providing an isolated biofuel and a purified protein product from a raw material suitable for the production of the biofuel or a derivative of said raw material. The method comprises the steps of: (i) subjecting the raw material or a derivative of said raw material to at least one first treatment liberating the biofuel from the raw material or the derivative of said raw material, (ii) isolating the biofuel liberated in step (i) obtaining the isolated biofuel, (iii) subjecting the raw material or a derivative of said raw material to at least one second treatment providing a material suspension, and (iv) subjecting the material suspension from step (iii) to an expanded bed adsorption process obtaining the purified protein product.

1 - 81 . (canceled) 
     
     
         82 . A method for isolating an oil and a purified protein product from a plant raw material, comprising:
 (a) mechanically treating the plant raw material;   (b) extracting the mechanically treated plant raw material with an organic solvent to obtain an oil-comprising organic solution and a solid residue;   (c) isolating the oil-comprising organic solution;   (d) removing the organic solvent from the organic solution to recover the oil;   (e) extracting the solid residue with an aqueous solvent to obtain a protein-comprising aqueous solution;   (f) applying the protein-comprising aqueous solution to an expanded bed adsorption column comprising particles having a functionalized matrix polymer with affinity to proteins in which ligands attached to the adsorbent particles provide a dynamic binding capacity of at least 20 g of protein per litre,   (g) eluting the protein from the expanded bed adsorption column to obtain the purified protein product;   wherein the purified protein product comprises at the most about 20% (w/w) non-protein material, and the yield of the protein is at least 10 grams of protein per kg of the oil.   
     
     
         83 . The method of  claim 82 , further comprising adjusting the pH of the protein-comprising aqueous solution to from about 4 to about 6 prior to applying the protein-comprising aqueous solution to an expanded bed adsorption column. 
     
     
         84 . The method of  claim 82 , which is a continuous method of providing the oil and the protein product. 
     
     
         85 . The method of  claim 82 , wherein the mechanically treating step is selected from the group consisting of extraction, grinding, milling, hacking, squeezing, slicing, abrading, pressing, crushing, chipping and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         86 . The method of  claim 82 , wherein the organic solvent is an alcohol. 
     
     
         87 . The method of  claim 82 , wherein eluting the protein from the expanded bed adsorption column to obtain the purified protein product is performed with an eluant comprising less than about 5% (v/v) of organic solvent. 
     
     
         88 . The method of  claim 87 , wherein the eluant is selected from the group consisting of a dilute base, a dilute acid, and water. 
     
     
         89 . The method of  claim 82 , wherein the protein-comprising aqueous solution is applied to the expanded bed adsorption column at a flow-rate of at least 3 cm/min. 
     
     
         90 . The method of  claim 82 , wherein the particles have a mean particle size of less than about 120 μm. 
     
     
         91 . The method of  claim 82 , wherein the particles further comprise a non-porous core having a density of at least 4 g/ml. 
     
     
         92 . The method of  claim 82 , wherein the functionalized matrix comprises a polymer having a plurality of covalently attached aromatic or heteroaromatic ring-systems. 
     
     
         93 . The method of  claim 92 , wherein the covalently attached aromatic or heteroaromatic ring-system is selected from sulfo propyl; 4-methyl benzoic acid; and diethylaminoethyl. 
     
     
         94 . A method for isolating an alcohol and a purified protein product from a plant raw material, comprising:
 (a) mechanically treating the plant raw material;   (b) extracting the mechanically treated plant raw material with an aqueous solvent to obtain a protein and carbohydrate-comprising aqueous solution and a solid residue;   (c) removing the solid residue;   (d) applying the aqueous solution to an expanded bed adsorption column comprising particles having a functionalized matrix polymer with affinity to proteins in which ligands attached to the adsorbent particles provide a dynamic binding capacity of at least 20 g of protein per litre, wherein the proteins bind to the particles to create a protein-depleted solution;   (e) eluting the protein from the expanded bed adsorption column to obtain the purified protein product; and   (f) combining the protein-depleted solution and the solid residue and fermenting under conditions to produce an alcohol, and isolating the alcohol:   wherein the purified protein product comprises at the most 20% (w/w) non-protein material, and the yield of the protein is at least 10 grams of protein per kg of the alcohol.   
     
     
         95 . The method of  claim 94 , further comprising adjusting the pH of the aqueous solution to from about 4 to about 6 prior to applying the aqueous solution to an expanded bed adsorption column. 
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the mechanically treating step is selected from the group consisting of extraction, grinding, milling, hacking, squeezing, slicing, abrading, pressing, crushing, chipping and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein eluting the protein from the expanded bed adsorption column to obtain the purified protein product is performed with an eluant comprising less than about 5% (v/v) of organic solvents. 
     
     
         98 . The method of  claim 97 , wherein the eluant is selected from the group consisting of a dilute base, a dilute acid, and water. 
     
     
         99 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the protein-comprising aqueous solution is applied to the expanded bed adsorption column at a flow-rate of at least 3 cm/min. 
     
     
         100 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the particles have a mean particle size of less than about 120 μm. 
     
     
         101 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the particles further comprise a non-porous core having a density of at least 4 g/ml. 
     
     
         102 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the functionalized matrix comprises a polymer having a plurality of covalently attached aromatic or heteroaromatic ring-systems. 
     
     
         103 . The method of  claim 102 , wherein the covalently attached aromatic or heteroaromatic ring-system is selected from sulfo propyl; 4-methyl benzoic acid; and diethylaminoethyl. 
     
     
         104 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the alcohol is ethanol. 
     
     
         105 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein removing the solid residue is performed with a process selected from centrifugation and hydrocylonic separation.