Process of non-evaporative countercurrent concentration of solids in the processing of protein and carbohydrate-containing materials from soybeans

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR THE ECONOMICAL RECOVERY OF THE WATER-SOLUBLE PORTION FROM A PROTEIN-CONTAINING SOYBEAN SOURCE MATERIAL FOR FURTHER SEPARATE PROCESSING TO AVOID WATER POLLUTION WHEREIN SAID SOURCE MATERIAL AND AN AQUEOUS SOLVENT FOR SAID PORTION ARE CONTACTED, SAID AQUEOUS SOLVENT BEING A MEMBER SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF CHILLED WATER HAVING A TEMPERATURE IN THE RANGE 33*-50*F., AN AQUEOUS ACID SOLUTION, AND AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF A WATER-MISCIBLE NON-ACIDIC ORGANIC SOLVENT, SAID AQUEOUS SOLVENT BEING EFFECTIVE TO INHIBIT THE DISSOLVING OF SAID PROTEIN FROM SAID SOURCE MATERIAL WHEREBY THE GLOBULAR PROTEIN IS RENDERED SUBSTANTIALLY INDISPERSIBLE, THE IMPROVEMENT CONSISTING OF PASSING ENTRY STREAMS OF SAID SOURCE MATERIAL AND SAID AQUEOUS SOLVENT IN COUNTERCURRENT RELATION WHILE ADJUSTING THE RATIO OF SAID STREAMS TO PROVIDE A CONCENTRATION OF SAID PORTION IN THE SOLVENT EFFLUENT STREAM OF AT LEAST ABOUT (2%) 5% AND WITH THE MATERIAL EFFLUENT STREAM BEING SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF SAID PORTION, RECOVERING SAID PORTION SEPARATE FROM SAID SOURCE MATERIAL, AND EVAPORATIVELY CONCENTRATING SAID PORTION TO AT LEAST A SYRUP CONSISTENCY, THE WEIGHT OF SAID SOLVENT STREAM PASSED IN SAID COUNTERCURRENT RELATION PER UNIT OF TIME BEING NOT GREATER THAN ABOUT EIGHT TIMES THE WEIGHT OF SAID SOURCE MATERIAL STREAM PASSED IN THE SAME TIME AND NOT LESS THAN ABOUT TWO TIMES THE WEIGHT OF SAID SOURCE MATERIAL STREAM.