Treating protein hydrolysates

Claim 1

A METHOD FOR CONCENTRATING AMINO ACIDS IN A PROTEIN HYDROLYSATE WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF (1) ADJUSTING THE PH TO A VALUE WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUTT 3.2 TO ABOUT 4.3, (2) ADJUSTING THE CHLORIDE CONTENT OF SAID HYDROLYSATE TO WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 20 GRAMS/100 ML. TO SATURATION TO THEREBY FORM A FEED HYDROLYSATE, (3) FEEDING THE SAID HYDROLYSATE TO A WATER-IMMERSED BED OF AN ION EXCHANGE RESIN, (4) ELUTING THE SAID FEED HYDROLYSATE THROUGH SAID BED WITH WATER, (5) COLLECTING THE EFFLUENT FROM SAID BED IN FRACTIONS HAVING A SIZE WITHIN THE RANGE OF 2% TO 16% OF THE VOLUME OF SAID RESIN BED, (6) COLLECTING THE FRACTIONS OF EFFULENT FROM SAID BED WHICH CONTAIN SUBSTANTIALLY NO CHLORIDE-FREE SOLIDS AND DISCARDING THE SAME, (7) COLLECTING AND RETAINING THE FRACTTIONS WHICH SUCCESSIVELY FOLLOW THE SAID FRACTIONS CONTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY NO CHLORIDE-FREE SOLIDS UNTIL THE GRAVITY OF SAID RETAINED FRACTIONS REACHES ABOUT 0.5* BE., (8) RECYCLING AT LEAST TWO AND NOT MORE THAN EIGHT OF SAID RETAINED FRACTIONS BY FEEDING THE SAID FRACTIONS TO SAID BED IN THE SAME SEQUENCE IN WHICH THEY WERE COLLECTED AND (9) ADDING A QUANTITY OF NEW FEED HYDROLYSATE EQUAL IN VOLUME TO BETWEEN 5% AND 4% OF SAID RESIN BED VOLUME AFTER THE SECOND AND BEFORE THE 8TH RECYCLED FRACTION, AND FOLLOWING THE FEED WITH THE BALANCE OF THE FRACTIONS COLLECTED IN STEP #7, (10) REPEATING STEPS 6,7,8 AND 9 FOR AT LEAST 10 RECYCLES, (11) ISOLATING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE FRACTIONS CONTAINING THEREIN THE MAXIMUM OF CHLORIDE-FREE SOLIDS AND MINIMUM OF MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE UNTIL THE ISOLATED FRACTITONS CONTAIN SUBSTANTIALLY NO CHLORIDES, (12) ISOLATING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE FRACTIONS CONTAINING THEREIN MAXIMUM CONCENTRATIONS OF MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE UNTIL THE GRAVITY OF THE FRACTIONS BEING ISOLATED REACHES ABOUT 13* BE., AND (13) ISOLATING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE FRACTIONS CONTAINING THE MAXIMUM CONCENTRATIONS OF NEUTRAL AMINO ACIDS UNTIL THE GRAVITY OF THE FRACTIONS BEING ISOLATED REACHES ABOUT 0.5* BE., THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF AMINO ACIDS ISOLATED IN STEPS 11, 12 AND 1O BEING REGULATED SO AS TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE AMINO ACIDS ADDED IN THE NEW FEED HYDROLYSATE IN EACH SUBSEQUENT RECYCLE.