Soybean product having reduced sugar content and a process for producing soybean product having reduced sugar content

Abstract

Reduced sugar soybean products and a process for producing soybean products having reduced sugar content are described. The process also increases the percentage of protein in the reduced sugar soybean product without the addition of exogenous protein. The process includes extraction of a soybean starting material with an aqueous composition.

Description

SOYBEAN PRODUCT HAVING REDUCED SUGAR CONTENT AND A PROCESSFOR PRODUCING SOYBEAN PRODUCT HAVING REDUCED SUGAR CONTENTCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Application No. 63 / 558,737, filed February 28, 2024, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] The soybean production and processing sector is extremely important worldwide, having grown throughout the years driven by the increase in the worldwide demand for protein.

[0003] It is known that soybean is a rich protein source, and to serve this sector, the soybean crushing industry must meet the technical requirements and international specifications of the product, particularly the protein content. Historically, on average, the soybean grains presented around 40% protein, which amount has been modified throughout the seasons, and the protein content in soybean has been falling over the years.

[0004] In the year 2000 the average protein content in soybeans was 39.50%, in 2023 the average protein content in soybeans is close to 36.5%, in some situations being below 36.5% which is the minimum protein limit for the sale of soybeans according to international marketing standards.

[0005] According to statistical data of the last 20 years, which shows a tendency curve, the soybean protein content in the year 2030 can reach average values of 30-32% which are extremely low protein content values, particularly below the 30thparallel south, which region comprises important grain producing regions in Argentina.SUMMARY

[0006] An object of the present invention is a process for producing soybean meal having reduced sugar content. Another object of the present invention is a process for raising the weight percentage of the protein in soybean meal. The weight percentage of the protein in the soybean meal is raised without the addition of exogenous protein.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide portion of soybean meal products with reduced sugar content and increased percentage of protein.

[0008] The present disclosure provides a process for producing reduced sugar soybean product. The process comprises extracting all or a portion of a soybean starting material with an aqueous solvent. The extracting may be by hydration with water. The soybean starting material may be separated into a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion. The process further includesdewatering the extracted soybean material, wherein the dewatering generates a reduced sugar soybean product and an aqueous composition. The extracting step may comprise extracting the secondary chain portion of the soybean starting material with the aqueous solvent, preferably by hydration with water, wherein the dewatering step comprises dewatering the extracted secondary chain portion to generate a reduced sugar secondary chain product and the aqueous composition. The process may further comprise combining the reduced sugar secondary chain product with the main chain portion to generate the reduced sugar soybean product, preferably the main chain portion is not extracted with the aqueous solvent. The soybean starting material may be selected from dehulled and cracked soybean, defatted soybean flakes, full-fat soybean flakes, desolventized soybean meal (DT-SBM) and / or soybean meal (SBM).

[0009] The process may include soybean starting material that is soybean meal and / or DT- SBM, wherein the soybean meal and / or DT-SBM is obtained by a process that includes extracting full-fat soybean flakes with an organic solvent, preferably hexane, to generate a defatted soybean meal and an organic solution comprising soybean oil solubilized in the organic solvent; optionally, distilling the organic solution to separate the crude soybean oil and recovering the organic solvent for reuse as the organic solvent; optionally, desolventizing (DT) the defatted soybean meal to remove the organic solvent. The process may optionally, further include evaporating the aqueous composition obtained from the dewatering step, wherein the evaporation generates molasses and recovery of the aqueous solvent. The recovered aqueous solvent may be recycled for use as the aqueous solvent in the extracting step. The aqueous solvent may include ethanol, water and combinations thereof. The aqueous extraction may be with the water at an acidic pH, preferably in the pH range between about 3.0 and 6.0. The temperature of the water may be between about 10-100°C. The soybean starting material and / or the secondary chain portion may be in contact with the aqueous solvent for a period between 3 seconds and 5 hours. The water to secondary chain portion ratio during the aqueous extraction may be from 1 : 1 to 10: 1, respectively by weight. The reduced sugar soybean product may be dried before and / or after combining with the main chain portion. The dewatering step may reduce the moisture content of the extracted material to less than about 70% by weight. The reduced sugar soybean product includes between about lwt% and about 40wt% of less sugars than the soybean starting material. The starting material may be soybean meal and the process may further include combining the main chain portion and the reduced sugar secondary chain product to generate a reduced sugar soybean meal (RS-SBM). The RS-SBM may include between about lwt% and 15wt% less sugar than the soybean starting material. The process may increase the protein percentage, by weight, in the reduced sugar secondary chain product relative to the protein percentage, by weight, of the soybean starting material.

[0010] The present disclosure provides for use of an aqueous extraction in a process for producing reduced sugar soybean meal, wherein all or a portion of a soybean starting material is extracted using an aqueous solvent. The soybean starting material may comprise a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion, wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted using the aqueous solvent. The extraction may generate a reduced sugar soybean product, preferably a reduced sugar soybean secondary chain product, having reduced sugar content relative to the sugar content in the soybean starting material. The use of the aqueous extraction is performed using water at an acidic pH, preferably the pH range is between about 3.0 and 6.0, and with a water temperature of between 10-100°C.

[0011] The present disclosure provides for a composition comprising a soybean meal product having a reduced sugar content. The soybean meal product may be produced by the process described herein. The soybean meal product may include a reduced sugar soybean product including between 0.1-15wt% sugars, preferably between 3-13wt% sugars.

[0012] The disclosure further provides a process for increasing the percentage of protein in soybean meal. The process includes extracting all or a portion of the soybean starting material with an aqueous solvent, preferably by hydration with water, preferably the soybean starting material is separated into a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion, wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted using the aqueous solvent and dewatering the extracted soybean material to generate a reduced sugar soybean product and an aqueous composition. The secondary chain portion is extracted and the extracted second chain portion is combined with the main chain portion to generate a reduced sugar soybean product with higher percentage of protein than the soybean starting material. The extracted secondary chain product includes a higher percentage of protein than the soybean starting material.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0013] This patent or application contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawings will be provided by the Office upon request and the payment of the necessary fee.

[0014] The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various aspects discussed herein.

[0015] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a conventional method for processing soybean meal.

[0016] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary method according to the invention for processing soybean meal.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] This disclosure relates to a process for producing a soybean product, preferably soybean meal product, with a lower sugar content and an increased percentage of protein. The process includes an aqueous extraction to produce a RS-SBP, preferably a RS-SBM, with a reduced sugar content and a higher percentage of protein relative to the soybean starting material prior to the aqueous extraction. The disclosure also relates to a RS-SBP, preferably a RS-SBM, having a reduced sugar content. The disclosure also relates to a RS-SBP, preferably a RS-SBM, having a reduced sugar content with an increase in the weight percentage of protein relative to the soybean starting material. The percentage of protein is increased without the addition of exogenous protein.

[0018] In the context of the present invention the expressions “sugars” and “carbohydrates” are considered interchangeable expressions.

[0019] “Soybean grain” or “soybeans” as used herein relates to the whole soybean seed before processing, e.g., prior to hulling.

[0020] “Dehulled and Cracked Soybean” as used herein relates to the whole soybean seed after hulling and cracked.

[0021] “Soybean flakes” as used herein refers to flakes obtained from dehulled soybean, after the soybean breaking and flaking process. Soybean flakes may be “full fat or “defatted” depending on when the flakes are removed. The full fat flakes are removed after seed preparation but before hexane extraction. The defatted flakes are taken after extraction but before defatted flakes are desolventized.

[0022] “Desolventized soybean meal” or “DT-SBM” as used herein is the soybean meal obtained after the organic solvent, e.g., hexane, extraction, desolventization (DT) and toasted. The DT-SBM has conventional sugar content, e.g., sugar content has not been reduced.

[0023] “Soybean meal” or “final soybean meal” or “Conventional soybean meal” as used herein refers to the DT-SBM after it has been dried and cooled. It has less moisture than DT-SBM, e.g., without the aqueous extraction described herein. The conventional soybean meal does not have a reduced sugar content and has not been combined with soybean materials that have been treated by an aqueous extraction that reduces the sugar content.

[0024] “Soybean starting material” as used herein refers to the soybean material that is used as the starting material for the water extraction. Soybean starting material can include dehulled and cracked soybean, full-fat soybean flakes, defatted soybean flakes, DT-SBM, and / or soybean meal, e.g., conventional soybean meal.

[0025] “Main chain portion” as used herein refers to a portion of the soybean starting material that is not subjected to an aqueous extraction with an aqueous solvent.

[0026] “Secondary chain portion” as used herein refers to a portion of the soybean starting material that will be subject to aqueous extraction.

[0027] “Reduced sugar secondary chain product” or “RS-secondary chain product” as used herein relates to the soybean product generated by using the aqueous extraction process described herein. The RS secondary chain product has a lower amount of sugar with a higher weight percentage of protein after the aqueous extraction process compared to the sugar content and protein percentage prior to the aqueous extraction.

[0028] “Reduced sugar-soybean product” or “RS-soybean product” or “RS-SBP” as used herein relates to a soybean material generated after extraction by an aqueous composition. The RS-SBP also relates to soybean product generated by the combination of the reduced sugar secondary chain product with the main chain portion of soybean starting material. The RS-SBP can include aqueous extracted dehulled and cracked soybean, aqueous extracted full-fat soybean flakes, aqueous extracted defatted soybean flakes, aqueous extracted DT-SBM, and / or aqueous extracted soybean meal, e.g., aqueous extracted conventional soybean meal.

[0029] “Reduced sugar-soybean meal” or “RS-soybean meal” or “RS-SBM” as used herein relates to a soybean meal generated after extraction by an aqueous composition. The RS-SBM also relates to soybean meal generated by the combination of the reduced sugar secondary chain product with the main chain portion of soybean starting material.

[0030] Soybean grain is usually composed of around 18-20% oil and around 78-80% protein, carbohydrates / sugars, fibers, and other components in minor proportions such as phospholipids, minerals, and residual oil, among others. Around 60% of the carbohydrates present in the soybean grain comprise the combination of sucrose, stachyose, and raffinose, which are the soluble carbohydrates / sugars. Hulled soybean grain, e.g. soybean flakes, comprise soybean oil in the same proportion of oil contained in the soybean grain (18-20%), and around 30-32% of carbohydrates based on the weight of the total soybean flake composition. Of 30-32% of these carbohydrates, around 14-16% are soluble carbohydrates / sugars (sugars such as sucrose, stachyose, and raffinose), and the others around 14-18% are insoluble carbohydrates (such as starch, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin).

[0031] The process of the present invention enables, in a surprising manner, the selective removal of certain components, e.g., sugars, that are present in soybean starting material, e.g., soybean flakes. The process enables increase in the percentage of protein of the soybean product generated after the aqueous extraction. When the starting material is, for example, soybean flakes, the process may by conducted first with a hexane extraction followed by an aqueous extraction. In one aspect, this process advantageously may be conducted without the use of other additional organic solvents other than hexane and an aqueous solvent. The present invention enablesproduction of a soybean meal with a reduced sugar content and with a higher percentage of protein relative to soybean meal that has not been subjected to an aqueous extraction. Advantageously, the higher percentage of protein can be generated in the soybean meal without the addition exogenous protein.

[0032] In one aspect, the soybean meal product includes a reduced sugar content, preferably a reduction in about 0.1 wt% to 15wt% of the sugars present relative to the initial soybean starting material, e.g., soybean grain. Preferably, the RS-SBM produced by the process herein includes a reduced sugar content, wherein the sugar content is reduced by about 2.5wt%-15wt% sugars, preferably between about 3wt%-13wt% sugars, based on the weight of the starting soybean meal. Some examples of sugars removed are sucrose, stachyose, and raffinose.

[0033] Advantageously and surprisingly, the soybean meal having reduced sugar content produced by the process of the present invention presents protein contents within the usual market specifications, that is, for example, between about 46wt%-48wt% protein based on the total weight of the final soybean meal product.

[0034] A conventional soybean meal production process comprises a first extraction cycle which comprises, for example, the following steps: a. obtaining the soybean flakes (full-fat flakes) from a soybean grain standard processing process; b. extracting soybean flakes (full-fat flakes) with hexane solvent and generating a cake and a solution comprising soybean oil solubilized in the hexane solvent; c. distilling the solution obtained in step b) for separating the crude soybean oil and recovery of the hexane solvent which can be reused in the extraction step b); and d. desolventizing (DT) the cake obtained in step b) for removal of the excess hexane solvent to obtain the conventional soybean meal.

[0035] The desolventization step (d) is also important to neutralize the anti -nutritional compounds present in the soybean, through thermal treatment of the meal.

[0036] A flowchart showing the conventional soybean meal production process is illustrated in Figure 1.

[0037] Further, in said conventional process, lipids are extracted from the soybean flake by using hexane as a solvent, wherein only the fats and oils are removed from the soybean flake (fullfat flakes).

[0038] The process for producing soybean product of the present invention having a reduced sugar content includes an improvement over the conventional process. The improved process comprises the inclusion of an aqueous extraction cycle.

[0039] In one aspect, the process for producing soybean product of the present invention comprises the inclusion of an aqueous extraction cycle. The process for producing the RS-SBP can include the steps of extracting a starting soybean material with an aqueous composition, preferably by hydration with water, and dewatering the aqueous extracted soybean material to generate a reduced sugar soybean product.

[0040] In one aspect, the process for producing soybean meal product with an aqueous extraction cycle can include the following steps: a. separating soybean starting material into two portions, a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion; b. extracting the secondary chain portion with an aqueous composition, preferably by hydration with water, resulting in a high humidity soybean cake; c. dewatering the high humidity soybean cake resulting from the previous step to generate a reduced humidity soybean cake and an aqueous composition; d. optionally, evaporating the aqueous composition obtained in the previous dewatering step to generate molasses and with optional recovery of the solvent of the aqueous composition; e. optionally, drying the reduced humidity soybean cake; f. generating a reduced sugar secondary chain product from the dewatered soybean cake; and g. combining the reduced sugar secondary chain product with the main chain portion to obtain a RS-soybean meal.

[0041] In one aspect, the process of the present invention comprises a first extraction cycle, e.g., with an organic solvent, preferably a hexane extraction cycle, as shown, for example, in Fig. 1. The soybean meal obtained from the hexane extraction may be the soybean starting material in the present process. The present process includes further treating the hexane extracted soybean starting material by extraction with an aqueous composition. The present process can include separating the soybean starting material into two portions, a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion, wherein the secondary chain portion is treated to a second extraction cycle, wherein the second extraction is with an aqueous composition, preferably water. The aqueous extraction is performed after the hexane extraction, preferably after the desolventization of the hexane extracted soybean material.

[0042] In one aspect, the process for producing the reduced sugar soybean meal product of the present invention comprises the following steps: a. obtaining soybean flakes from a soybean grain standard processing process;b. extracting soybean flakes with an organic solvent, preferably hexane, to generate a defatted soybean meal and an organic solution comprising soybean oil solubilized in the organic solvent; c. optionally, distilling the organic solution obtained in step b) for separating the crude soybean oil and recovery of the organic solvent for reuse in the extraction step b); d. desolventizing (DT) the cake obtained in step b) for removal of the excess organic solvent to obtain the soybean meal; e. extracting the soybean meal with an aqueous solvent, preferably water, resulting in a high humidity soybean cake; preferably, separating the soybean meal into two portions, a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted with the aqueous solvent; f. dewatering the high humidity soybean cake resulting from the aqueous extraction step to generate a reduced humidity soybean cake and an aqueous composition; g. optionally, evaporating the aqueous composition obtained in the previous dewatering step to generate molasses and with optional recovery of the aqueous solvent in the aqueous composition; h. optionally, drying the reduced humidity soybean cake; and i. generating a reduced sugar soybean meal, preferably generating a reduced sugar secondary chain product from the dewatered soybean cake wherein the reduced sugar secondary chain product is combined with the main chain portion to obtain a reduced sugar soybean meal.

[0043] In one aspect, the present invention comprises a process for increasing the percentage of protein in a soybean meal product. The process for increasing the percentage of protein can include the steps of extracting starting soybean material with an aqueous composition, preferably by hydration with water, and dewatering the aqueous extracted soybean material to generate a reduced sugar soybean meal product with an increased percentage of protein relative to the soybean starting material.

[0044] In one aspect, the process can include the following steps: a. separating soybean starting material into two portions, a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion; b. extracting the secondary chain portion with an aqueous composition, preferably by hydration with water, resulting in a high humidity soybean cake; c. dewatering the high humidity soybean cake resulting from the previous step to generate a reduced humidity soybean cake and an aqueous composition;d. optionally, evaporating the composition obtained in the previous dewatering step to generate molasses and with optional recovery of the solvent of the aqueous composition; e. drying the reduced humidity soybean cake to generate a reduced sugar secondary chain product; and f. combining the reduced sugar secondary chain product with the main chain portion to obtain a reduced sugar soybean meal.

[0045] A schematic of the flowchart illustrating an example of the process of the present invention is shown in Figure 2. In one aspect, Figure 2 shows extraction of full-fat soybean meal with hexane to generate a defatted soybean meal. The defatted soybean meal, preferably desolventized soybean meal, is separated into a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion. The secondary chain portion is treated with aqueous extraction, e.g., with water. The extraction with the aqueous composition results in the removal of some or all of the sugars in the secondary chain portion. The product of the aqueous extraction is recombined with the main chain portion to generate a soybean meal with a reduced sugar content.

[0046] In one aspect, the process of producing a reduced sugar soybean product comprises obtaining soybean starting material. The soybean starting material can include soybean grain, dehulled and cracked soybean, full-fat soybean flakes, defatted soybean flakes, defatted soybean meal, full-fat soybean meal, desolventized soybean meal, conventional soybean meal and the like. Soybean grain can be converted to soybean flakes by methods known in the art.

[0047] In one aspect, the present process includes a process of using soybean flakes as the soybean starting material and conducting an organic extraction cycle and / or an aqueous extraction cycle. The soybean flakes, preferably full fat soybean flakes, can be converted to soybean meal by methods known in the art. Processes for converting full-fat soybean flakes to defatted-SBM are known in the art. An exemplary conventional process is shown in Fig. 1. The process includes extracting soybean flakes (full-fat flakes) with an organic solvent, e.g., hexane The hexane extraction of the soybean flakes can be as follows: obtaining the soybean flakes (full-fat flakes) from a soybean grain standard processing process; extraction of the soybean flakes (full-fat flakes) with hexane solvent generating a cake and a solution comprising soybean oil solubilized in the hexane solvent. The process can, optionally, include distillation of the solution obtained from extraction in order to separate the crude soybean oil and recovery of the hexane solvent which can be reused. The soybean cake obtained from the hexane extraction is subject to desolventization (DT). DT can remove the excess hexane solvent resulting in a DT-soybean meal. Extraction with hexane removes the oil present in the crude soybean grain or soybean flakes. The removal of the oil from the soybean grain can be total removal or partial removal. The soybean flake enters theextractor with around 18-20% oil, which is the standard oil value in the crude grain. In the desolventization step (DT), a thermal treatment with the temperature at around 80-90°C occurs, for the elimination of anti -nutritional components.

[0048] It will be understood that the present process may be described with the soybean starting material as DT-SBM but other soybean starting materials described herein may also be subject to the process described herein to generate a reduced sugar soybean product. Reduced sugar soybean products generated by any of the started soybean starting materials and treated with the aqueous extraction described herein are within the scope of this description.

[0049] In one aspect, the present invention includes the aqueous extraction of all or a portion of a soybean starting material. The process includes the steps of extracting starting soybean material with an aqueous composition, preferably by hydration with water, and dewatering the aqueous extracted soybean material to generate a reduced sugar soybean product. The dewatering can reduce the moisture content in the soybean material to less than about 70% by weight to generate a low humidity soybean cake. The process may include drying the low humidity soybean cake to generate a reduced sugar soybean product, preferably a reduced sugar soybean meal product.

[0050] In one aspect, the process described herein can include separating DT-SBM into two or more portions, preferably two portions. The DT-SBM starting material can be separated into a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion. The amount of DT-SBM in the main chain and the secondary chain may vary. The use of greater amounts of the DT-SBM in the secondary chain portion can lead to greater reduction in the sugar content of the RS-SBM when the secondary chain portion (RS-secondary chain product) is combined with the main chain portion after aqueous extraction.

[0051] In one aspect, the main chain portion comprises at least 3wt%, or at least 10wt%, or at least 20wt%, or at least 30wt%, or at least 40wt%, or at least 50 wt%, or at least 60 wt%, or at least 70wt%, or at least 80wt%, or at least 85wt% or at least 90wt% of the DT-SBM starting material. The main chain portion may comprise at most 97wt%, or at most 95wt%, or at most 90wt%, or at most 80wt%, or at most 70wt%, or at most 60wt%, or at most 50wt%, or at most 40wt%, or at most 30wt%, or at most 20wt%, or at most 10wt% of the starting material. The main chain portion may comprise between about 70wt% and about 99wt%, or preferably between about 75wt% and about 95wt%, or preferably between about 80wt% and about 95wt%, or preferably between about 80wt% and about 90wt%, or preferably between 80wt% and about 85wt%, or preferably between about 85wt% and about 95wt%, or preferably between about 90wt% and about

[0052] In one aspect, the secondary chain portion comprises at least 3wt%, or at least 10wt%, or at least 20wt%, or at least 30wt%, or at least 40wt%, or at least 50 wt%, or at least 60 wt%, or at least 70wt%, or at least 80wt%, or at least 85wt% or at least 90wt% of the DT-SBM starting material. The secondary chain portion may comprise at most 97wt%, or at most 90wt%, or at most 80wt%, or at most 70wt%, or at most 60wt%, or at most 50wt%, or at most 40wt%, or at most 30wt%, or at most 20wt%, or at most 10wt%, or at most 5wt%, or at most 3wt% of the DT-SBM starting material. The secondary chain portion may comprise between about lwt% and about 20wt%, or preferably between about 5wt% and about 20wt%, or preferably between about 5wt% and about 15wt%, or preferably between about 5wt% and about 10wt%, or preferably between 10wt% and about 15wt%, of the starting material.

[0053] The present process includes processing the soybean material, preferably the secondary chain portion, by performing an aqueous extraction. Aqueous extraction may be conducted by a variety of aqueous solvents. Aqueous solvents include, for example, ethanol, water and combinations thereof. Ethanol can be at any concentration and can be, for example, between 5% ethanol and 100% ethanol. The ethanol can be, for example, 10% ethanol, 20% ethanol, 30% ethanol, 40% ethanol, 50% ethanol, 60% ethanol, 70% ethanol, 80% ethanol, 90% ethanol, 100% ethanol and any combinations thereof. Preferably, the aqueous extraction is with water.

[0054] The aqueous extraction will be described in the context of extraction by water, but it will be understood other aqueous solvent may also be used as described herein. The DT-SBM can be extracted with water, e.g., hydrated with water. This can result in a DT-soybean cake with high humidity. The aqueous extraction is carried out, advantageously and surprisingly, with water as the only solvent.

[0055] In one aspect, the aqueous extraction can be performed with water, preferably with water at an acidic pH, preferably the pH is at most 7.0, or at most 6.5, or at most 6.0, or at most, 5.5, or at most, 5.0, or at most 4.5, or at most 4.0, or at most 3.5, or at most 3.0. Preferably, the pH of the water is at least 3.0, or at least 3.5, or at least 4.0, or at least 4.5, or at least 5.0, or at least 5.5, or at least 6.0, or at least 6.5. The pH of the water used in the aqueous extraction is in a pH range between about 3.0 and 6.5, or preferably between about 3.0 and 6.0, or preferably between about 3.0 and 5.5, or preferably between about 3.0 and 5.0, or preferably between about 3.0 and 4.5, or preferably between about 3.0 and 4.0, or preferably between about 3.5 and 6.0, or preferably between about 3.5 and 5.5, or preferably between about 3.5 and 5.0, or preferably between about 3.5 and 4.5, or preferably between about 4.0 and 6.5, or preferably between about 4.0 and 6.0, or preferably between about 4.0 and 5.5, or preferably between about 4.0 and 5.0, or preferably between about 4.0 and 4.5, or preferably between about 4.5 and 6.5, or preferably between about 5.0 and 6.5, or preferably between about 5.5 and 6.5, or preferably a pH of about4.1, or preferably a pH of about 4.2, or preferably a pH of about 4.3, or preferably a pH of about4.4, or preferably a pH of about 4.5, or preferably a pH of about 4.6, or preferably a pH of about4.7, or preferably a pH of about 4.8, or preferably a pH of about 4.9, or preferably a pH of about5.0.

[0056] The pH of the water can be adjusted with any compound known for this purpose, for example, there can be used organic or inorganic acids, such as citric acid, phosphoric, lactic, acetic, propionic, among others, and the pH can be maintained with a suitable buffer, if necessary.

[0057] The temperature of the water used in the aqueous extraction can be adjusted according to need and can vary depending on the climate and temperature of the main chain portion. The temperature of the water in the aqueous extraction can be between 10-100°C, or between 20- 100°C, or between 30-100°C, or between 40-100°C, or between 50-100°C, or between 60-100°C, or between 70-100°C, or between 60-75°C, or between 65-75°C, or about 70°C.

[0058] In one aspect, the aqueous extraction includes water at a pH of between 3.0 and 6.0 and at temperature between 10°C to 80°C. The pH and the temperature of the water used in the hydration of the meal, must be checked, and adjusted, whenever necessary. Any acid known for pH adjusting can be used.

[0059] Additionally, the contact time between the soybean starting material, preferably the secondary chain portion, and the water, in the aqueous extraction may vary between 3 seconds and 5 hours, or between 3 seconds and 4 hours, or between 3 seconds and 3 hours, or between 3 seconds and 2 hours, or between 3 seconds and 1 hour, or between 3 seconds and 50 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 40 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 30 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 25 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 20 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 25 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 20 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 15 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 10 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 9 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 8 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 7 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 6 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 5 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 4 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 3 minutes, or between 3 seconds and 2 minutes, preferably between 30 seconds to 1 minute. The mentioned contact time can vary according to the solvent (water) flow, agitation speed, feeding flow, and soybean meal discharge.

[0060] Without being bound by theory, it is thought that the aqueous extraction process with pH adjusted to the isoelectric point defined above selectively removes the sugars (particularly the soluble ones) and minimizes the solubilization of the soluble proteins of interest, surprisingly and advantageously.

[0061] The process of the present invention acts particularly in the removal of at least part of the sugars present in the soybean starting material, however, according to the process, the removalof the sugars can be total or partial, depending on the desired parameters. The controlled removal of part of the sugars present in the soybean starting materials is an advantage of the process of the present invention. The process of the invention uses advantageously a minimum amount of water to extract the greatest amount of sugar from the soybean, with minimum extraction of soluble protein.

[0062] The weight ratio of water to the soybean starting material, preferably the secondary chain portion of DT-SBM, in the aqueous extraction varies, respectively, from 10: 1 to 1 : 10, or 8: 1 to 1 :8, or 5: 1 to 1 :5. Preferably the ratio is 9: 1, or preferably the ratio is 7:1, or preferably the ratio is 6: 1, or preferably the ratio is 5: 1, or preferably the ratio is 4:1, or preferably the ratio is 3: 1, or preferably the ratio is 2: 1, or preferably the ratio is 1 : 1. Preferably, the ratio is 1 : 1 so as to minimize the amount of water added to the meal, which subsequently must be removed in the drying process. This relation also minimizes the amount of water in the leachate, which subsequently must be concentrated.

[0063] The aqueous extraction can occur with any suitable equipment for the extraction which function is to hydrate the soybean meal for extraction of the soluble carbohydrates. Non-limitative examples of suitable equipment are continuous horizontal or vertical mixer, horizontal or vertical extractor, double or simple agitator, conveyor belt, among others.

[0064] The aqueous extraction of the soybean starting material, preferably the secondary chain portion, results in a soybean cake with high humidity. Aqueous extraction can result in a soybean cake having humidity of between about 50wt% and 95wt% humidity, preferably between about 70%-90%, or preferably between about 75% to about 85% humidity, or preferably about 80% humidity.

[0065] The present process further includes dewatering of the soybean cake with high humidity. With dewatering, the removal of the excess water occurs, generating a soybean cake with reduced humidity. The dewatering process can generate a soybean cake with humidity between about 30% and 60%, or preferably about 40-60wt%, or preferably between about 50- 60wt% humidity.

[0066] The dewatering step of the soybean cake can occur by means of different suitable equipment for removal of excess water. Non-limitative examples of suitable equipment are decanter, tridecanter, centrifuge, press filter or vacuum filter, among others. The dewatering also results in an aqueous composition removed from the soybean cake.

[0067] The process may further, optionally, include subjecting the aqueous composition recovered from the dewatering step to evaporation. Evaporation of the aqueous composition recovered from the dewatering step results in generation of molasses and the recovery of the aqueous solvent that may be optionally returned to the aqueous extraction process or be releasedinto the atmosphere. Evaporation of the aqueous composition can be conducted by any of the conventional means for performing evaporation.

[0068] The present process may further, optionally, include drying the soybean cake with low humidity generated from the dewatering step The drying step may be conducted by employing any suitable equipment for drying the product of interest. In a general manner, the humidity rate of the aqueous extracted secondary portion after the drying step varies between around 5-40wt%, or preferably 5-30wt%, or preferably 5-30wt%, or preferably 5-20wt%, or preferably 5-10wt%, preferably 8-10wt% humidity.

[0069] The aqueous extraction process defined above results in a reduced sugar soybean product, preferably a reduced sugar secondary chain product. All or some of the sugar content can be removed in the aqueous extraction to generate the reduced sugar soybean product, preferably the reduced sugar secondary chain product. The amount of sugar content that is removed in the reduced sugar secondary chain portion relative to the sugar in secondary chain portion prior to the aqueous extraction can be, for example, between about 3wt% and 70wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 60wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 50wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 40wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 30wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 25wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 20wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 15wt%, or preferably between 3wt% and 15wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 10wt%, or preferably between 10wt% and 15wt%, or preferably between 8wt% and 15wt%.

[0070] The removal and reduction of the sugar content in the reduced sugar secondary chain product can result in increasing the percentage of protein. The percentage of protein, by weight, in the reduced sugar secondary chain product can increase compared to the percentage of protein in the secondary chain product prior to aqueous extraction. The percentage of protein, by weight, in the reduced sugar secondary chain product can increase by at least 0.1 wt%, or by at least 1 wt%, or by at least 3wt%, or at least 5wt%, or by at least 8wt%, or by at least 10wt% compared to the percentage of protein present in the secondary chain product prior to aqueous extraction. The percentage of protein in the reduced sugar secondary chain product can increase by between 0.1 wt% to 15wt%, or preferably by between 0.1 wt% and 10wt%, or preferably by between 0.1 wt% and 8wt%, or preferably by between 0.1 wt% and 5wt%, or preferably by between 0.1 wt% and 3wt%, or preferably by between 3wt% and 10wt%, or preferably between 3wt% and 8wt% compared to the percentage of protein in the secondary chain product prior to aqueous extraction.

[0071] The present process further includes combining the reduced sugar secondary chain product resulting from the aqueous extraction of the secondary chain portion with the main chain portion of the DT-SBM. The returning or combining of the reduced sugar secondary chain portion with the DT-SBM of the main chain portion results in reduced sugar soybean meal (RS-SBM)product. The reduced sugar secondary chain product may be combined with the main chain portion at any step after the aqueous extraction, e.g., prior to dewatering, after dewatering, after drying.

[0072] The aqueous extracted secondary chain portion is combined with the main chain portion for standardization of the humidity with the main chain. The standardization can regulate humidity in the combined reduced sugar soybean product.

[0073] The process of the present invention is improved since it does not require the total removal of the sugars of the raw material to obtain the intended final result. The final soybean meal product is a RS-SBM. The sugar content of the RS-SBM is less than in soybean meal that does not include incorporation of a RS-secondary chain product. The RS-SBM can have a sugar content that is reduced by at least 0.1 wt%, or by at least 1 wt%, or by at least 3wt%, or by at least 5wt%, or by at least 10wt%, or by at least 15wt% compared to the sugar content of conventional soybean meal or soybean meal that does not include reduced sugar secondary chain product. The RS-SBM can have sugar content that is reduced by between about 0.1 wt% and about 20wt%, or preferably between about 0.1 wt% to about 15wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 15wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 12wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 10wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 8wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 5wt%, or preferably between about lwt% and 15wt%, or preferably between 3wt% and 15wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 15wt%, or preferably 8wt% and 15wt%, or preferably between 10wt% and 15wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 10wt% compared to the sugar content in conventional soybean meal or soybean meal that does not include reduced sugar secondary chain product.

[0074] The process of the present invention is improved since it can lead to a soybean meal that has a higher percentage of protein. The percentage of protein of the RS-SBM is greater than the soybean meal that does not include a RS-secondary chain product. The RS-SBM can have a protein percentage that is increased by at least 0.1 wt%, or by at least 1 wt%, or by at least 3wt%, or by at least 5wt%, or by at least 10wt%, compared to the protein percentage of conventional soybean meal or soybean meal that does not include reduced sugar secondary chain product. The percentage of protein in RS-SBM can be increased by between about 0.1 wt% and about 15wt%, or preferably between about 0.1 wt% to about 10wt%, or preferably between about 0.1 to about 5wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 12wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 10wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 8wt%, or preferably between about 0.5 to 5wt%, or preferably between lwt% and 10wt%, or preferably between 3wt% and 10wt%, or preferably between 5wt% and 15wt%, or preferably 5wt% and 10wt%, compared to the percentage of protein in conventional soybean meal or the soybean meal that does not include a RS-secondary chain product.

[0075] The parameters of the process of the present invention are variable in as much as a person skilled in the art will know the necessary modifications to be made.

[0076] The process of the present invention requires minimum adjustment to the industrial plant, since it does not require additional steps to enable the use of chemical solvents apart from hexane, as is the case of the current processes which use extraction with ethanol / water solution, increasing the production costs.

[0077] In other words, the present invention discloses a unique and innovative process for obtaining soybean meal having reduced sugar content without adding solvents other than hexane to the process and surprisingly using only an additional extraction step with water as the only solvent, whereby this is a unique advantage, non-existent in the current technique.

[0078] In one aspect, the present invention comprises a process for increasing the percentage of protein in a soybean meal product. The process can include the following steps: separating soybean starting material into two portions, a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion. The percentages of the main chain portion and the secondary chain portion of the starting material can be as described above. The process includes extracting the secondary chain portion with an aqueous composition, preferably by hydration with water, resulting in a high humidity soybean cake. The ratio of the water to the amount of the starting material in the secondary chain portion can be as described above. The process can include dewatering the high humidity soybean cake resulting from the previous step to generate a reduced humidity soybean cake and an aqueous composition. The process can optionally include evaporating the composition obtained in the previous dewatering step to generate molasses and with optional recovery of the solvent of the aqueous composition. The process includes generating a reduced sugar secondary chain product from the dewatered soybean cake. The process may include drying the reduced humidity soybean cake prior to generating a reduced sugar secondary chain product.

[0079] The process includes combining the reduced sugar secondary chain product with the main chain portion to obtain a reduced sugar soybean meal. The amount of the reduced sugar secondary chain product used to combine with the main chain portion can vary and can be dependent on the desired percentage of protein in the final reduce sugar soybean meal product. Small increases in percentage of protein can require smaller reduced sugar secondary chain product. As the desired magnitude of increase in the protein percentage in the soybean meal product increases, the greater the amount of the reduced sugar secondary chain product may be included. Larger increases in protein percentage of the soybean meal product can be generated by increasing the ratio or amount of the reduced sugar secondary chain product.

[0080] Additionally, it is also an object of the present invention to generate a soybean meal product having reduced sugar content and higher percentage of protein. The soybean meal productcan be generated by using the improved process described herein with a lower percentage of sugar. The RS-SBM product includes between about 1 to 15wt% sugars, or preferably between about 2.0-15wt% sugars, or preferably between about 3.0-15wt%, or preferably between about 4.0- 15wt% sugars, or preferably between about 5.0-15wt% sugars, or preferably between about 8.0- 15wt% sugars, or preferably between about 10.0-15wt% sugars, or preferably between about 2.0- 13wt% sugars, or preferably between about 3.0-13wt% sugars, or preferably between about 4.0- 13wt% sugars, or preferably between about 5.0-13wt% sugars, or preferably between about 8.0- 13wt% sugars, or preferably between about 1.0-10wt% sugars, or preferably between about 2.0- 10wt% sugars, or preferably between about 3.0-10wt% sugars, or preferably between about 4.0- 10wt% sugars, or preferably between about 5.0-10wt% sugars, or preferably between about 8.0- 10wt% sugars, based on the weight of the total soybean meal composition.

[0081] The soybean meal product also comprises high percentage of protein content which varies, for example, greater than 35wt%, or greater than 40wt%, or greater than 43wt%, or greater than about 45wt%, or greater than about 46wt%, or greater than 47wt%, or greater than 48wt%, or greater than 49wt%, or greater than 50wt%. The soybean meal product also comprises between around 40-50wt%, or preferably between about 42 and 50wt%, or preferably between about 44wt% and about 50wt%, or preferably between about 46wt% and about 50wt%, or preferably between about 46wt% and about 48wt%, based on the total weight of the final soybean meal composition.

[0082] The fat content of the soybean meal product can vary and may comprise full-fat or may have a reduced fat percentage compared to the conventional soybean meal. The fat content of the soybean meal can vary between 0.1 wt% to about 20wt% fat, or between about lwt% and about 15wt% of fat based on the total weight of the final soybean meal composition.

[0083] The fiber content of the soybean meal produce may be similar to the fiber content of the conventional soybean meal.

[0084] It is understood that apart from soluble and insoluble proteins, the soybean meal has in its final composition other compounds such as cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, starch, pectin usually grouped as fibers, mineral salts present in the meal, unextracted residual oil and phospholipids.

[0085] The benefits generated by the development of the present invention are many, among which:- increase in industrial capacity;- reduction of process costs and income losses;- improvement in competitiveness for purchase of raw material;- minimum interruption of the current extraction process in terms of facilities;- preferably no new chemical product is added to the process; and- process with balanced power consumption, not incurring in loss of income;

[0086] Representative features of the present invention are set out in the following clauses, which stand alone or may be combined, in any combination, with one or more features disclosed in the text of the Specification.

[0087] Clause 1 : A process for producing reduced sugar soybean product comprising: extracting all or a portion of a soybean starting material with an aqueous solvent, preferably by hydration with water, preferably the soybean starting material is separated into a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion; and dewatering the extracted soybean material, wherein the dewatering generates a reduced sugar soybean product and an aqueous composition.

[0088] Clause 2: The process according to clause 1, wherein the extracting step comprises extracting the secondary chain portion of the soybean starting material with the aqueous solvent, preferably by hydration with water, wherein the dewatering step comprises dewatering the extracted secondary chain portion to generate a reduced sugar secondary chain product and the aqueous composition; and the process further comprises combining the reduced sugar secondary chain product with the main chain portion to generate the reduced sugar soybean product, preferably the main chain portion is not extracted with the aqueous solvent.

[0089] Clause 3: The process according to any of clauses 1-2, wherein the soybean starting material is selected from dehulled and cracked soybean, defatted soybean flakes, full-fat soybean flakes, desolventized soybean meal (DT-SBM) and / or soybean meal (SBM).

[0090] Clause 4: The process according to any of clauses 1-3, wherein the soybean starting material is soybean meal and / or DT-SBM, wherein the soybean meal and / or DT-SBM is obtained by a process comprising: extracting full-fat soybean flakes with an organic solvent, preferably hexane, to generate a defatted soybean meal and an organic solution comprising soybean oil solubilized in the organic solvent; optionally, distilling the organic solution to separate the crude soybean oil and recovering the organic solvent for reuse as the organic solvent; optionally, desolventizing (DT) the defatted soybean meal to remove the organic solvent.

[0091] Clause 5: The process according to any of clauses 1-4, wherein the process, optionally, further comprises evaporating the aqueous composition obtained from the dewatering step, wherein the evaporation generates molasses and recovery of the aqueous solvent.

[0092] Clause 6: The process according to any of clauses 5, wherein the recovered aqueous solvent is recycled for use as the aqueous solvent in the extracting step.

[0093] Clause 7: The process according to any of clauses 1-6, wherein the aqueous solvent comprises ethanol, water and combinations thereof.

[0094] Clause 8: The process according to any of clauses 1-7, wherein the aqueous extraction is with the water at an acidic pH, preferably in the pH range between about 3.0 and 6.0.

[0095] Clause 9: The process according to any of clauses 1-8, wherein the temperature of the water is between about 10-100°C.

[0096] Clause 10: The process according to any of clauses 1-9, wherein the soybean starting material or the secondary chain portion is in contact with the aqueous solvent for a period between 3 seconds and 5 hours.

[0097] Clause 11 : The process according to any of clauses 1-10, wherein the water to secondary chain portion ratio during the aqueous extraction is from 1 : 10 to 10:1, respectively by weight, from 1 : 1 to 10: 1, respectively by weight.

[0098] Clause 12: The process according to any of clauses 1-11, wherein the reduced sugar soybean product is dried.

[0099] Clause 13: The process according to any of clauses 1-12, wherein the dewatering step reduces the moisture content of the extracted material to less than about 70% by weight.

[0100] Clause 14: The process according to any of clauses 1-13, wherein the reduced sugar soybean product comprises between about lwt% and about 40wt% of less sugars than the soybean starting material.

[0101] Clause 15: The process according to any of clauses 1-14, wherein the starting material is soybean meal and the process further comprises combining the main chain portion and the reduced sugar secondary chain product to generate a reduced sugar soybean meal (RS-SBM), preferably the reduced sugar secondary chain product is dried before and / or after combining with the main chain portion.

[0102] Clause 16: The process according to any of clauses 1-15, wherein the RS-SBM comprises between about lwt% and 15wt% less sugar than the soybean starting material.

[0103] Clause 17: The process according to any of clauses 1-16, wherein the process increases the protein percentage, by weight, in the reduced sugar secondary chain product relative to the protein percentage, by weight, of the soybean starting material.

[0104] Clause 18: Use of an aqueous extraction in a process for producing reduced sugar soybean meal, wherein all or a portion of a soybean starting material is extracted using an aqueous solvent, preferably the soybean starting material comprises a main chain portion and asecondary chain portion, wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted using the aqueous solvent, wherein the extraction generates a reduced sugar soybean product, preferably a reduced sugar soybean secondary chain product, having reduced sugar content relative to the sugar content in the soybean starting material.

[0105] Clause 19: The use, according to clause 18, wherein the aqueous extraction is performed using water at an acidic pH, preferably the pH range is between about 3.0 and 6.0, and with a water temperature of between 10-100°C.

[0106] Clause 20: A soybean meal product having a reduced sugar content, wherein the soybean meal product is produced by the process as defined in any one of claims 1 to 17.

[0107] Clause 21 : The soybean meal product according to clause 20, wherein the reduced sugar soybean product comprises between 0.1-15wt% sugars, preferably between 3-13wt% sugars.

[0108] Clause 22: A process for increasing the percentage of protein in soybean meal comprising: extracting all or a portion of the soybean starting material with an aqueous solvent, preferably by hydration with water, preferably the soybean starting material is separated into a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion, wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted using the aqueous solvent; dewatering the extracted soybean material to generate a reduced sugar soybean product and an aqueous composition.

[0109] Clause 23: The process according to clause 22, wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted and the extracted second chain portion is combined with the main chain portion to generate a reduced sugar soybean product with higher percentage of protein than the soybean starting material.

[0110] The invention is further described in detail by reference to the following experimental examples. These examples are provided for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting unless otherwise specified. Thus, the invention should in no way be construed as being limited to the following examples, but rather should be construed to encompass any and all variations which become evident as a result of the teaching provided herein.EXAMPLESEXAMPLE 1- Production of soybean meal having reduced sugar content.Experimental method

[0111] Tests were carried out in laboratory, using different raw materials, different aqueous solvents and different extraction conditions as indicated in Table 1 below. The soybean starting materials were sourced out of Argentina and / or Argentina + Paraguay and / or Argentina +Paraguay + Uruguay + and / or Bolivia If water was acidified, it was acidified with phosphoric acid (H3PO4 80%).

[0112] Full-fat soybean flakes (Test#l, #2 and #4) were not extracted with hexane prior to the aqueous extraction.

[0113] The raw material in the remaining tests had been subjected to a hexane extraction.

[0114] 100g of starting material were used in each of the tests and hexane extracted using the standard method. Hexane extraction is known in the art. Briefly, after soybeans are cleaned, cracked and dehulled the flaked seed material is bathed in hexane at a solvent plant (extractor). Proper conditioning pretreatment helps rupture the oil-bearing cells and increase the surface area of the seed, allowing the solvent to thoroughly penetrate the material to extract more lipids. During extraction, hexane flows through a bed of soybean collets, dissolving the oil from the solid seed material resulting micelles. The de-oiled cake goes into a desolventizer-toaster (DT) heating the meal enough to evaporate the hexane and proceed thermal treatment to eliminate antinutritional factors. The miscella is distilled with steam heat to evaporate the hexane, which is then recaptured and condensed to recycle, while the crude oil is further degummed, bleached, and deodorized.

[0115] “Soybean from DT” refers to the raw material that was used used at the DT.RESULTS:

[0116] Table 1 below summarizes the parameters and test results. CPP meal is soybean product extracted with aqueous solvent. The % protein and the %fat in the CPP meal are the values in the extracted soybean starting material on a dry basis. The %moisture is w / w taking the wet basis. As can be seen in the results, the %protein in the extracted composition (CPP meal) is increased compared to the %protein in the raw material composition. The % of carbohydrates removed and the %protein increase can be dependent of solvent, pH, and conditions such as ratio, contact time and temperature. These can be varied to obtain the desired product.Table 1

[0117] Reference will now be made in detail to certain aspects of the disclosed subject matter, examples of which are illustrated in part in the accompanying drawings. While the disclosed subject matter will be described in conjunction with the enumerated claims, it will be understood that the exemplified subject matter is not intended to limit the claims to the disclosed subject matter.

[0118] In this document, the terms “a,” “an,” or “the” are used to include one or more than one unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive “or” unless otherwise indicated. All publications, patents, and patent documents referred to in this document are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, as though individually incorporated by reference. In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and those documents so incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated reference should be considered supplementary to that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this document controls.

[0119] Values expressed in a range format should be interpreted in a flexible manner to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range were explicitly recited. For example, a range of “about 0.1% to about 5%” or “about 0.1% to 5%” should be interpreted to include not just about 0.1% to about 5%, but also the individual values (e.g., 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) and the sub-ranges (e.g., 0.1% to 0.5%, 1.1% to 2.2%, 3.3% to 4.4%) within the indicated range. The statement “about X to Y” has the same meaning as “about X to about Y,” unless indicated otherwise. Likewise, the statement “about X, Y, or about Z” has the same meaning as “about X, about Y, or about Z,” unless indicated otherwise.

[0120] Unless expressly stated, ppm (parts per million), percentage, and ratios are on a by weight basis. Percentage on a by weight basis is also referred to as wt% or % (wt) below.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A process for producing reduced sugar soybean product comprising: extracting all or a portion of a soybean starting material with an aqueous solvent, preferably by hydration with water, preferably the soybean starting material is separated into a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion; and dewatering the extracted soybean material, wherein the dewatering generates a reduced sugar soybean product and an aqueous composition.

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the extracting step comprises extracting the secondary chain portion of the soybean starting material with the aqueous solvent, preferably by hydration with water, wherein the dewatering step comprises dewatering the extracted secondary chain portion to generate a reduced sugar secondary chain product and the aqueous composition; and the process further comprises combining the reduced sugar secondary chain product with the main chain portion to generate the reduced sugar soybean product, preferably the main chain portion is not extracted with the aqueous solvent.

3. The process according to any of claims 1-2, wherein the soybean starting material is selected from dehulled and cracked soybean, defatted soybean flakes, full-fat soybean flakes, desolventized soybean meal (DT-SBM) and / or soybean meal (SBM).

4. The process according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the soybean starting material is soybean meal and / or DT-SBM, wherein the soybean meal and / or DT-SBM is obtained by a process comprising: extracting full-fat soybean flakes with an organic solvent, preferably hexane, to generate a defatted soybean meal and an organic solution comprising soybean oil solubilized in the organic solvent; optionally, distilling the organic solution to separate the crude soybean oil and recovering the organic solvent for reuse as the organic solvent; optionally, desolventizing (DT) the defatted soybean meal to remove the organic solvent.

5. The process according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the process, optionally, further comprises evaporating the aqueous composition obtained from the dewatering step, wherein the evaporation generates molasses and recovery of the aqueous solvent.

6. The process according to claim 5, wherein the recovered aqueous solvent is recycled for use as the aqueous solvent in the extracting step.

7. The process according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the aqueous solvent comprises ethanol, water and combinations thereof.

8. The process according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the aqueous extraction is with the water at an acidic pH, preferably in the pH range between about 3.0 and about 6.0.

9. The process according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the temperature of the water is between about 10-100°C.

10. The process according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the soybean starting material and / or the secondary chain portion is in contact with the aqueous solvent for a period between 3 seconds and 5 hours.

11. The process according to any of claims 1-10, wherein the water to secondary chain portion ratio during the aqueous extraction is from 1 : 10 to 10: 1, respectively by weight, preferably 1 : 1 to 10: 1.

12. The process according to any of claims 1-11, wherein the reduced sugar soybean product is dried.

13. The process according to claims 1-12, wherein the dewatering step reduces the moisture content of the extracted material to less than about 70% by weight.

14. The process according to any of claims 1-13, wherein the reduced sugar soybean product comprises between about lwt% and about 40wt% of less sugars than the soybean starting material.

15. The process according to any of claims 1-14, wherein the starting material is soybean mealand the process further comprises combining the main chain portion and the reduced sugar secondary chain product to generate a reduced sugar soybean meal (RS-SBM), preferably the reduced sugar secondary chain product is dried before and / or after combining with the main chain portion.

16. The process according to any of claims 1-15, wherein the RS-SBM comprises between about lwt% and 15wt% less sugar than the soybean starting material.

17. The process according to any of claims 1-16, wherein the process increases the protein percentage, by weight, in the reduced sugar secondary chain product relative to the protein percentage, by weight, of the soybean starting material.

18. Use of an aqueous extraction in a process for producing reduced sugar soybean meal, wherein all or a portion of a soybean starting material is extracted using an aqueous solvent, preferably the soybean starting material comprises a main chain portion and a secondary chain portion, wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted using the aqueous solvent, wherein the extraction generates a reduced sugar soybean product, preferably a reduced sugar soybean secondary chain product, having reduced sugar content relative to the sugar content in the soybean starting material.

19. The use, according to claim 18, wherein the aqueous extraction is performed using water at an acidic pH, preferably the pH range is between about 3.0 and 6.0, and with a water temperature of between 10-100°C.

20. A soybean meal product having a reduced sugar content, wherein the soybean meal product is produced by the process as defined in any one of claims 1 to 17.

21. The soybean meal product according to claim 20, wherein the reduced sugar soybean product comprises between 0.1-15wt% sugars, preferably between 3-13wt% sugars.

22. A process for increasing the percentage of protein in soybean meal comprising: extracting all or a portion of the soybean starting material with an aqueous solvent, preferably by hydration with water, preferably the soybean starting material is separated intoa main chain portion and a secondary chain portion, wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted using the aqueous solvent; dewatering the extracted soybean material to generate a reduced sugar soybean product and an aqueous composition.

23. The process according to claim 22, wherein the secondary chain portion is extracted and the extracted second chain portion is combined with the main chain portion to generate a reduced sugar soybean product with higher percentage of protein than the soybean starting material.

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