Extraction process to improve the quality and yield of crude vegetable oils

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR RECOVERING A LECITHIN RICH OIL FROM VEGETABLE SEED MATERIAL WHICH CONTAINS LIPIDS AND SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE WATER SOLUBLE CONSTITUENTS OF THE NATIVE SEED MATERIAL, SAID PROCESS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: A. EXTRACTING LIPID CONSTRUCTIONS FROM VEGETABLE SEED MATETRIAL BY SUBJECTING THE SEED MATERIAL TO A LIPID EXTRACTION MEDIUM CONTAINING A HYDROCARBON SOLVENT AND FROM ABOUT 2 TO ABOUT 30 PARTS BY WEIGHT MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL FOR EACH 80 PARTS BY WEIGHT HYDROCARBON SOLVENT, SAID EXTRACTION OF LIPIDS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER CONDITIONS WHEREBY THE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IS MAINTAINED AT A LEVEL OF AT LEAST 2% TO ABOUT 40% BY WEIGHT OF THE VEGETABLE SEED MATERIAL DRY WEIGHT AND THE AMOUNT OF LIPID CONSITUENTS EXTRACTION FROM THE SEED MATERIAL IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE AC3-44 LIPID CONTENT OF THE VEGETABLE SEEB MATERIAL PRIOR TO THE EXTRACTION OF THE LIPIDS THEREFROM; B. SEPARATING THE RESULTANT LIPID MISCELLA FROM THE VEGETABLE SEED MATERIAL; C. MIXING THE SEPARATED LIPIDS OF STEP (B) IN THE PRESENCE OF A HYDROCARBON SOLVENT, WATER AND ALCOHOL TO PROVIDE AN ADMIXTURE THEREOF, SAID ADMIXTURE CONTAINING SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL AND WATER TO PROVIDE A POLAR PHASE CONTAINING ON A TOTAL WEIGHT BASIS FROM ABOUT 40% TO ABOUT 70% BY WEIGHT MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL; D. ALLOWING THE ADMIXTURE TO SEPERATE INTO A NON-POLAR PHASE CONTAINING LIPID EXTRACT AND A POLAR PHASE CONTAINING WATER-SOLUBLE ECTRACT; E. PARTITIONING THE POLAR PHASE FROM THE NON-POLAR PHASE; AND F. RECOVERING A LIPID CONCENTRATION FROM THE NON-POLAR PHASE.