Methods of reducing sinigrin content in carinata meal

Abstract

The present embodiments provide improved methods for removing sinigrin from the defatted meal of high-sinigrin Brassica species by application increased energy in the form dome temperature, sparge steam, and residence time during desolventizing / toasting.

Description

Docket No. 89500.0011\WO METHODS OF REDUCING SINIGRIN CONTENT IN CARINATA MEALRELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is related to United States Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 752,455, filed 31 January 2025, which is incorporated fully herein for all purposes.FIELD

[0002] The present embodiments relate to methods of removing glucosinolates, in particular sinigrin, from the meal fraction of high-sinigrin Brassica oilseed meal, such as the meal of Brassica carinata.BACKGROUND

[0003] Brassica species, such as B. carinata (carinata) are becoming increasingly important in the development of low-carbon intensity biofuels. Using farming practices designed to minimize carbon input and maximize carbon sequestration, it is possible to provide an economically advantageous and renewable net-carbon-negative oil feedstock from carinata. In the past, the high content of the glucosinolate, sinigrin, in the seed of carinata has made the meal of the seed problematic as a source of nutrition in, for example, animal feeds that can include meal from other Brassica sources such as canola. Similarly, the sinigrin content of B. nigra or B. juncea may render the seed meal unsuitable for animal consumption. Accordingly, to further bolster carinata oil as an economically viable low-carbon-intensity biofuel feedstock and increase the potential of carinata and B. nigra meal as a source of nutrition, there remains a need for improved methods of processing the meal fraction of high-sinigrin seed to reduce the amount of sinigrin.SUMMARY

[0004] The present embodiments provide methods of processing high-sinigrin Brassica seed (e.g., the seed of B. carinata, B. nigra, B. juncea) to reduce the amount of sinigrin in the solvent-extracted defatted meal fraction of the seed during desolventizing / toasting. In at least one embodiment, the method comprises subjecting a defatted meal fraction of processed high-sinigrin seed to a desolventizing / toasting procedure in which the combination of heat in the form of direct steam (i.e., sparge steam), dome temperature, and time is effective to reduce the sinigrin content of the DT-processed meal. It should be recognized that this method of reducing the amount of sinigrin in a defatted meal fraction of high-sinigrin Brassica species employsDocket No. 89500.0011\WO additional energy beyond requirements typical for hexane removal during desolventization and toasting of canola meal.

[0005] At least one embodiment provides a method of reducing the amount of sinigrin in the meal of hi gh-sini grin Brassica seed (e.g., the seed of B. carinala. B. nigra, B. juncea) comprising obtaining a defatted meal fraction from which the oil has been extracted by pressing and solvent (e.g., hexane) extraction, and further processing the defatted meal by desolventizing / toasting (DT) at a dome temperature of about 80°C to about 100°C, at least 55% to about 85% of total steam applied as sparge steam (sparge steam / total steam ratio), which sparge steam maintains the dome temperature, residence time of the meal in the desolventizer-toaster of about 45 minutes to about 150 minutes, an average DT tray temperature of about 90°C to about 120°C, and a meal discharge moisture of about 13% to about 22% moisture (weight %), wherein the amount of sinigrin present in the resulting desolventized / toasted meal is less than about 15 pmol sinigrin / gram meal.

[0006] In one embodiment, the DT dome temperature is about 80°C to about 100°C. In one embodiment, the percent sparge steam is at least 55%. In one embodiment, the sparge steam is about 60%, about 63%, or about 75%. In one embodiment, the amount of solvent (e.g., hexane) carry-over in the defatted carinata meal is about 20% to 35% (weight % solvent-extracted meal) before DT. In one embodiment, the temperature of the meal on the pre-DT trays is at least 68°C, such as about 90°C, with the DT temperature increasing during DT such that the meal temperature range of the DT trays are at least 90°C, at least 110°C, such as about 120°C. In one embodiment, the moisture of the carinata meal at discharge is about 13% to about 20%, such as 14%. In one embodiment, the residence / retention time of the carinata meal in the desolventizing / toasting process is about 45 minutes to about 150 minutes, such as at least 90 minutes. In one embodiment, the retention time is about 60 minutes to about 70 minutes.

[0007] In one embodiment, the amount of sinigrin in the carinata meal processed according to the methods described herein (e.g., a desolventizing / toasting process applying sufficient sparge steam) is about 15 pmol sinigrin / g carinata meal or less. In one embodiment, the amount of sinigrin in the carinata meal processed according to the methods described herein is less than 15 pmol sinigrin / meal, less than 10 pmol sinigrin / gram meal, less than 5 pmol sinigrin / gram meal, or less than 3 pmol sinigrin / gram meal.

[0008] In one embodiment, the amount of sinigrin in the carinata meal treated according to the method herein has been reduced by at least 70% (pmol sinigrin / gram meal basis) compared with the untreated seed meal. In one embodiment, the amount of sinigrin in the meal treated according to the method herein has been reduced by at least 80% compared with the untreated seed meal. In one embodiment, the amount of sinigrin in the meal treated according toDocket No. 89500.0011\WO the method herein has been reduced by at least 90% compared with the untreated seed meal. In one embodiment, the amount of sinigrin in the meal treated according to the method herein has been reduced by at least 95% compared with the untreated seed meal. In one embodiment, the amount of sinigrin in the meal treated according to the method herein has been reduced by 97% or more compared with the untreated seed meal.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0009] FIG. l is a drawing showing a non-limiting, general example of a desolventizer-toaster apparatus.DETAILED DECSRIPTION

[0010] It should be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments, methodology, protocols, and reagents, etc., described herein and as such may vary. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, which is defined solely by the claims.

[0011] All patents and other publications identified are incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of describing and disclosing, for example, the methodologies described in such publications that might be used in connection with the present embodiments, but are not to provide definitions of terms inconsistent with those presented herein. These publications are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing in this regard should be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention or for any other reason. All statements as to the date or representation as to the contents of these documents are based on information available to the applicants and do not constitute any admission as to the correctness of the dates or contents of these documents.

[0012] As used herein and in the claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Throughout this specification, unless otherwise indicated, “comprise,” “comprises,” and “comprising” are used inclusively rather than exclusively, so that a stated integer or group of integers may include one or more other non-stated integers or groups of integers. The term “or” is inclusive unless modified, for example, by “either.” Thus, unless context indicates otherwise, the word “or” means any one member of a particular list and also includes any combination of members of that list.

[0013] All numerical designations, e.g., temperature, time and concentration, including ranges, are approximations that may be varied by increments of ±1% or as would be accepted byDocket No. 89500.0011\WO one skilled in the art. Accordingly, other than in the operating examples, or where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities or reaction conditions used herein should be understood as modified in all instances by the term “about.” All ranges described herein are inclusive. For example, the recitation of the range “10% to 20% includes 10% and 20% and all values therebetween such as 15%.

[0014] Brassica carinata (carinata), also known as Ethiopian Mustard differs from other Brassica such as B. napus (canola) in the profile and total amount of glucosinolates, which are considered anti -nutritional factors in the meal fraction of the seed. Specifically, carinata has 5-fold to 10-fold higher levels of glucosinolates compared with canola, and unlike most other Brassica species, the glucosinolate of carinata is predominantly one type: sinigrin (2 -propenyl glucosinolate, also known as allyl glucosinolate or allyl oil). Carinata seed typically contains from 60 pmol - 100 pmol sinigrin / gram seed meal. Similarly, sinigrin is the predominant glucosinolate in / / . nigra, and / / . juncea, which typically contain more than 100 pmol sinigrin / gram seed. It is known that sinigrin behaves differently from other glucosinolates when exposed to heat and other techniques for removing glucosinolates from seeds and seed meals. It has been found that the application of heat and pressure applied before, during, or after oil extraction from carinata meal may reduce sinigrin in the meal fraction of carinata seed. See, e.g, W02017091891, US11825863B2.

[0015] The present embodiments provide for improved methods of reducing the level sinigrin from the meal fraction of high-sinigrin Brassica meal. More specifically, present embodiments provide parameters for the desolventizing / toasting the meal at elevated temperatures and application of direct steam (sparge steam) to the meal fraction during desolventizing / toasting (DT) that are surprisingly effective for the reduction of sinigrin.

[0016] Regarding the preparation of oil and meal fractions from Brassica seed, the process generally includes cleaning the seed, pre-heating, then flaking / crushing the seed (e.g., in a flaking mill), to obtain seed flakes that are then cooked to prepare the flakes for oil extraction. The cooked flakes are then pressed in screw presses or expellers that remove most of the oil (typically 65% to 75% in an industrial pre-press operation) from the flakes, which results in press cake. Additional oil is obtained by treating the press cake with solvent (e.g., hexane) to extract the remaining oil and provide defatted meal with a residual oil typically less than 2%. The defatted meal contains solvent, which must be removed from the defatted meal by the DT process. Thereafter, the meal may be dried and processed further, e.g., granulated or pelleted.

[0017] Because defatted meal from canola is not expected to contain high levels of glucosinolates, particularly sinigrin, DT of canola meal may be conducted using a variety of parameters that would not be expected to result in sinigrin reduction. For example, canolaDocket No. 89500.0011\WO desolventizer-toaster apparatus dome temperature is typically conducted at about 72°C to 78°C or less than about 80°C, in a well-sized desolventizer-toaster, by heating the defatted canola meal using a combination of direct steam and indirect steam. More specifically, defatted meal is fed into the desolventizer-toaster (NTD or “DT vessel”), passing through a series of trays as the DT vessel is heated by a total steam combination of indirect circulating steam applied to the various steam trays (e.g., pre-DT, DT, counter-current, sparge, and / or vapor recovery trays) and direct steam (sparge steam) that is added near or at the bottom of the DT vessel (e.g., sparge deck) and passes through the defatted meal in the various trays such that the steam is in direct contact with the meal. See FIG. 1 for a generic desolventizer-toaster schematic. In the case of canola, the amount (rate) of total steam, ratio of sparge to indirect steam (sparge ratio), temperature maintained, and time of processing may be conducted using a variety of parameters with the objective of reducing the amount of solvent (e.g., hexane) in the defatted meal to a level that meets industry standards, toasting the meal, and optimizing energy consumption in the desolventizer-toaster / DT process.

[0018] Unlike with canola, in the case of high-sinigrin meal (e.g., meal obtained from B. carinata, nigra, or juncea) conducting DT for the purpose of removing solvent (e.g., hexane) may not result in sufficient removal of sinigrin from the meal. The present inventors have found that a specific range of parameters as described herein surprisingly and dramatically reduced the amount of sinigrin in the resulting desolventized / toasted carinata meal. More specifically, sinigrin removal requires higher DT temperatures (for example a higher dome temperature) than those typically used in canola processing. Additionally, during DT, application of most of the heat should be applied directly into the meal by sparge steam — which provides hot condensed moisture (instead of exposing the meal to heat via surrounding temperature) — at a sufficient rate of application for a sufficient time, which dramatically reduces sinigrin content of the carinata meal. The implication is that the condensation of steam in the meal, thereby applying the direct heat, followed by evaporation of a portion of the direct steam, is successful in removing the sinigrin from carinata meal. The retention time (also called residence time) and higher temperature and higher moisture within the desolventizer-toaster provided by the sparge steam, combines for effective sinigrin reduction in the resulting meal. Without being bound by theory, it appears that during DT as described herein, the sparge steam partially condenses in the defatted meal and the remainder exits the desolventizer-toaster dome with the solvent vapors and resulting sinigrin and sinigrin-related compounds, and / or the condensing sparge steam provides the necessary heat and moisture in the meal allowing the thermal decomposition of the sinigrin. Processing high-sinigrin meal in the desolventizer-toaster under these conditions results in a higher energy consumption per metric ton of production in comparison with canola processing.Docket No. 89500.0011\WO Thus, if one skilled in the art approaches high-sinigrin meal DT with the goal of removing hexane (as in canola), then desolventizer-toaster temperature, sparge steam ratio, and retention time might be reduced such that hexane would indeed be removed at an optimal DT energy consumption per metric ton of production, but sinigrin levels would remain unacceptably high in the resultant meal. It should further be noted that standard DT parameters as applied to canola logically focus on removal of hexane, and although this is clearly a critical goal, removal of hexane at an optimal DT energy consumption per metric ton of production may not be a parameter that correlates with removal of sinigrin.

[0019] Further, understanding the role of temperature and sparge steam in the reduction of sinigrin content in meal during DT allows for adjustment of the ranges of DT temperature, percent sparge steam, moisture, and retention time. For example, a retention time at the lower end of the range may be effective to reduce sinigrin in meal if sparge steam is applied at a higher ratio resulting in a higher DT temperature (e.g. DT vessel dome temperature). Similarly, temperature and sparge steam ratio at the lower end of the ranges may be effective if retention time is increased. Indeed, in addition to measurement of sinigrin content, monitoring the percent moisture of the meal at DT discharge provides a helpful parameter: a discharge moisture of about 14% or more is a possible indicator of sufficient application of sparge steam into the meal to reduce sinigrin. One skilled in the art will appreciate that DT in-process moistures and discharge moistures are impacted by defatted meal moistures coming from extraction, quality of steam (wet, dry or super-heated steam), direct to total steam ratio, retention time, number and type of trays in the desolventizer-toaster machine, etc. Additionally, it is possible to increase the dome temperature by other means and add more water in the sparge deck of the desolventizer-toaster apparatus and utilize tray (indirect) steam to evaporate that excess water, thus obtaining a similar effect as sparge steam.

[0020] As is known in the art, the desolventizer-toaster equipment and DT process may be conducted with slightly different design and operation, e.g., capacity (metric tons / day), number of pre-DT trays, number and type of DT trays and / or counter-current trays, and / or vapor recovery tray, tray diameter, steam quality and pressure, tray bed depths, feedstock quality to the DT vessel (e.g., hexane, moisture, oil content of meal), or whether gums or soapstock are added to the meal before or during DT, etc. The present embodiments provide parameters that may be adjusted with the objective of reducing the sinigrin to less than 15 pmol / gram meal, such as about 10 pmol / gram, or less, by adjusting steam usage (i.e., sparge ratio), dome temperature, and retention time / plant production rate, and / or monitoring the degree meal moisture at discharge. Depending on the sinigrin reduction, appropriate adjustments may be made to sparge steamDocket No. 89500.0011\WO ratio, dome temperature, tray temperatures, meal moisture at discharge, and retention time as provided herein.

[0021] One skilled in the art will further appreciate that the amount of residual oil in the defatted meal (i.e., spent flake) may impact application of the parameters described herein. In most cases, the amount of oil remaining in the press cake after extraction is less than 2%, such as 1% or less. As noted above, DT may be adjusted if gums or soapstock obtained during oil extraction and processing are added back to the carinata meal during DT (e.g., in countercurrent trays).

[0022] In at least one embodiment, the DT described herein is applied to the meal fraction of obtained from hexane extraction of high-sinigrin seed, wherein the hexane extraction was carried out on flaked, cooked, pre-pressed carinata seed. For example, DT of carinata meal carried out at a dome temperature of about 90°C, a sparge steam ratio of about 60%, an average meal tray temperature of about 107°C, a retention time of about 60 minutes, and a discharge moisture of about 14% (weight %), resulted in 97% reduction in sinigrin content from about 65 pmol / gram in the starting carinata seed to about 2 pmol / gram in the resulting meal.

[0023] In at least one embodiment, DT of high-sinigrin meal is conducted with a dome temperature of about 80°C to about 100°C. In at least one embodiment, DT of the meal is conducted with meal tray(s) temperature of about 100°C to about 120°C. Temperature parameters may be adjusted within these ranges in light of sparge steam ratio, residence time, meal discharge moisture, and other considerations as described herein to arrive at a sinigrin content below 15 pmol / gram, below 10 pmol / gram, or below 5 pmol / gram meal.

[0024] In at least one embodiment, DT of carinata meal is conducted using sparge steam at over 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, or 90% (as % total steam) (sparge ratio). As noted above, sufficient sparge steam to condense steam into the high-sinigrin meal is needed for sinigrin removal. The percent sparge steam may be adjusted in light of dome or tray temperatures, meal discharge moisture, residence time, and other considerations as described herein to arrive at a sinigrin content below 15 pmol / gram, below 10 pmol / gram, or below 5 pmol sinigrin / gram meal.

[0025] In at least one embodiment, the residence time of the high-sinigrin meal in the DT process is about 45 minutes to about 150 minutes. In one embodiment, the residence time is about 60 minutes. In one embodiment, pre-desolventizing retention time is about 10 minutes, following by about 50 minutes to 60 minutes in desolventizing. Residence time may be adjusted in light of DT temperature (e.g., dome and / or tray temperature), sparge steam ratio, meal discharge moisture, and other considerations as described herein to arrive at a sinigrin content below 15 pmol / gram, below 10 pmol / gram, or below 5 pmol sinigrin / gram meal.Docket No. 89500.0011\WO

[0026] In at least one embodiment, the discharge moisture of the processed meal (at end of DT process) contains about 13% to about 18% moisture (weight %) or more. In one embodiment, the meal when discharged contains about 14% moisture. In one embodiment, the meal when discharged contains at least 14% moisture, at least 15% moisture, at least 17% moisture, at least 18% moisture, at least 19%, or at least 20% moisture (weight %). As noted herein, discharge moisture may provide an indication that sufficient sparge steam has been contacted into the meal to achieve reduction in sinigrin. Discharge moisture may be adjusted in light of DT temperature (e.g., dome and / or tray temperature), sparge steam ratio, retention time, and other considerations as described herein to arrive at a sinigrin content below 15 pmol / gram, below 10 pmol / gram, or below 5 pmol / gram carinata meal.

[0027] The discharged meal may be subsequently dried further, pelleted, or granulated to provide meal product that contains less than 14% moisture, such as about 12% moisture, or less than 12% moisture, or less than 10% moisture (weight %).

[0028] Although the methods described herein have been found to be particularly advantageous for the removal of sinigrin from carinata meal, these methods may be useful and adapted to removal of sinigrin from other seedoil meals that are high in sinigrin, such as Brassica nigra or B. juncea meal.

[0029] Meal obtained using the methods described herein is suitable for inclusion in animal feeds. For example, carinata meal with < 30 pmol sinigrin / gram meal is suitable for inclusion in animal feed for beef cattle. For example, carinata meal with < 10 pmol sinigrin / gram meal is suitable for inclusion in animal feed for broiler chickens, dairy cattle, pigs, and trout. Preparation of animal feeds incorporating seed meals is well known in the art.EXAMPLESExample 1. Improved desolventizing / toasting decreases sinigrin content of carinata meal

[0030] Various parameters used in desolventizing / toasting (DT), including presence of sparge steam, ratio of sparge steam to total steam, dome temperature, and retention time were compared for impact on sinigrin reduction. Before processing the sinigrin content of carinata meal was typically at least 60 pmol / g. The following Table 1 provides parameters and sinigrin content in post-DT carinata meal.Docket No. 89500.0011\WO> > ><>> <

[0031] These trials show that the application of sparge steam of about 60% or more and dome temperature of about 80°C or higher during DT dramatically decreased the amount of sinigrin in carinata meal to less than about 15 pmol sinigrin / gram meal. Advantageously, as shown in Trials 7 and 8, the use of sparge steam at about 60% or more reduces the amount of sinigrin without having to increase the residence time, enabling processors to provide feedquality carinata meal without slowing down plant production.Example 2. Combination of DT parameters for reducing sinigrin content

[0032] The goal of DT in the case of high-sinigrin seed as described herein is not simply the removal of solvent (e.g., hexane) from defatted meal with minimum energy expenditure (as with canola or low-sinigrin rapeseed meal) but instead provides for the removal of sinigrin using DT parameters. It is acknowledged that energy consumption for the removal of sinigrin from high-sinigrin meal is greater than that used in the DT of canola or low-sinigrin rapeseed meal. Exact combinations of parameters depend on design and size of the desolventizer-toaster apparatus, total volatiles (including solvent and moisture) in meal entering DT, steam quality, addition of process side streams in the DT, and sinigrin levels in the starting seed. Nevertheless, the following Table 2 provides example DT parameters for lowering the amount of sinigrin in output meal to less than about15 pmol sinigrin / gram meal.Docket No. 89500.0011\WO Example 3. DT reduces sinigrin in carinata meal

[0033] Defatted carinata meal is obtained using standard crush and extraction methods. This defatted meal is subjected to DT with the following parameters: dome temperature about 88°C; sparge steam as determined during operation, with a minimum of about 59% of total steam applied as sparge steam (sparge steam / total steam ratio) and no DT jacket steam; residence time about 60 minutes; average tray about 107°C; moisture at discharge at 14%-18% (weight %). The resulting meal has a sinigrin content of less than about 15 pmol sinigrin / gram meal.

[0034] It is to be understood that the disclosure has been described in conjunction with the above embodiments, that the preceding description and examples are intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the disclosure. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications within the scope of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which thedisclosure pertains.

Claims

Docket No. 89500.0011\WO CLAIMSWe claim:

1. A method of reducing the amount of sinigrin in a defatted meal fraction of high-sinigrin Brassica species by application of additional energy beyond requirements typical for hexane removal during desolventization and toasting of canola meal, comprising obtaining a defatted meal fraction from which the oil has been extracted by pressing and solvent extraction, and further processing the defatted meal by desolventizing / toasting (DT) comprising the following parameters:(a) dome temperature of about 80°C to about 100°C;(b) about 55% to about 85% of total steam applied as sparge steam (sparge steam / total steam ratio), wherein the dome temperature is maintained by the sparge steam;(c) residence time of at least 45 minutes up to about 150 minutes;(d) average DT tray temperature of about 90°C to about 120°C; and(e) discharge moisture of about 13% to about 20% moisture (weight %);wherein the amount of sinigrin present in the desolventized / toasted meal is less than about 15 pmol sinigrin / gram meal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein high-sinigrin Brassica species is B. carinala.B. nigra, or B. juncea.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein desolventizing / toasting (DT) is conducted with at about 60%, about 63%, or about 75% of total steam applied as sparge steam.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of solvent carry-over in the defatted carinata meal is about 20% to about 35% (weight % solvent-extracted meal) before DT.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the temperature of the defatted meal on pre-DT trays is at least 68°C or about 90°C.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein during DT the average DT tray temperature is increased during DT such that the meal temperature range of the DT trays is at least 90°C, at least 110°C, or about 120°C.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the moisture of the meal at discharge is about 14%.Docket No. 89500.0011\WO 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the residence time of the meal in the DT process is at least 60 minutes, at least 70 minutes, at least 80 minutes, at least 90 minutes, or about60 minutes to about 70 minutes.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the solvent is hexane.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of sinigrin present in the desolventized / toasted meal is less than about 15 pmol, less than about 10 pmol, or less than about 5 pmol sinigrin / gram meal.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of sinigrin in the meal treated according to the method is reduced by at least 70%, at least 90%, at least 95%, or at least 97% (as pmol sinigrin / gram meal basis) compared with the untreated seed meal.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the DT is conducted at a dome temperature of about 90°C, a sparge steam ratio of about 60%, an average tray temperature of about 107°C, a retention time of about 60 minutes, and a discharge moisture of about 14% (weight %), and wherein the amount of sinigrin in the resulting treated meal is less than about 5 pmol / gram or is reduced at least 90% compared with untreated seed meal.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the DT is conducted at a dome temperature of about 80°C, a sparge steam ratio of about 60%, a retention time of about 60 minutes to about 70 minutes.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the DT is conducted at a dome temperature of about 80°C to about 83°C, a sparge steam ratio of about 63%, a retention time of about 60 minutes to about 70 minutes.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 80°C, the sparge steam is about 60%, the residence time is about 150 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 90°C, and the discharge moisture is about 15%.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 80°C, the sparge steam is about 70%, the residence time is about 90 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 110°C, and the discharge moisture is about 20%.Docket No. 89500.0011\WO 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 85°C, the sparge steam is about 65%, the residence time is about 135 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 95°C, and the discharge moisture is about 13%.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 85°C, the sparge steam is about 75%, the residence time is about 80 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 110°C, and the discharge moisture is about 17%.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 90°C, the sparge steam is about 70%, the residence time is about 120 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 100°C, and the discharge moisture is about 14%.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 95°C, the sparge steam is about 75%, the residence time is about 105 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 105°C, and the discharge moisture is about 15%.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 95°C, the sparge steam is about 85%, the residence time is about 60 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 120°C, and the discharge moisture is about 22%.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 100°C, the sparge steam is about 80%, the residence time is about 75 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 110°C, and the discharge moisture is about 13%.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 100°C, the sparge steam is about 85%, the residence time is about 45 minutes, the average DT tray temperature is about 120°C, and the discharge moisture is about 22%.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 88°C, the sparge steam is a minimum of 60% of total steam, the residence time is about 60 minutes, the average tray temperature is about 107°C, and the moisture at discharge is 14%- 18%.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the dome temperature is about 80°C, the sparge steam is a minimum of 55% of total steam, the residence time is about 150 minutes, the average tray temperature is about 90°C, and the moisture at discharge is about 13%.

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