Flaxseed Hull Recovery via Moisture Tempering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recovering flaxseed hulls are inefficient, with dry fractionation recovering only up to 3 weight percent of SDG lignans and chemical extraction using environmentally damaging solvents, while existing dehulling processes require low moisture content, limiting hull recovery.
Innovation Solution
Increasing the moisture content of flaxseeds to 10.5 to 20 weight percent by adding an aqueous component, such as water, to facilitate the recovery of a higher amount of hull portions, followed by milling and optional oil pressing to reduce fat content and enhance lignan extraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If dry fractionation is used to recover hulls from flaxseeds, then the process is simple and avoids chemical solvents, but the hull recovery amount is limited to up to 3 weight percent of SDG lignans
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the moisture content parameter from low (dry fractionation) to high (10.5-20 weight percent) to dramatically improve hull recovery. This parameter change enables the hulls to be separated more effectively while maintaining the advantage of avoiding chemical solvents, thus resolving the contradiction between recovery quantity and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary moisture increase to the flaxseeds before the separation process. By tempering the seeds to increase moisture content beforehand, the hulls become more susceptible to separation, enabling higher recovery amounts without requiring chemical extraction methods.
2Quantity of substance
If chemical extraction is used to recover lignans from flaxseed hulls, then SDG lignan recovery reaches up to 95 weight percent, but environmentally damaging solvents are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the moisture content parameter to a high level (10.5-20 weight percent) before separation, which dramatically improves hull recovery to levels that make chemical extraction unnecessary. This parameter change enables achieving high lignan recovery through physical means alone, avoiding the need for environmentally damaging solvents while still attaining substantial lignan concentrations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the hulls through enhanced physical separation methods following moisture increase, obtaining a product rich in lignans without requiring subsequent chemical extraction steps. This takes out the harmful extraction step while preserving the beneficial lignan recovery.
3Quantity of substance
If existing dehulling processes are used with low moisture content, then the process is straightforward, but hull recovery is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary moisture increase (tempering) to the flaxseeds before the dehulling process. This preliminary action of increasing moisture content to 10.5-20 weight percent prepares the seeds for more effective hull separation, dramatically improving recovery amounts while adding only one straightforward step to the process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method achieves a significantly increased recovery of flaxseed hulls, up to 17 weight percent, allowing for a higher concentration of lignans in the flax product, reducing the need for solvent extraction, and producing a shelf-stable nutritional supplement with enhanced dietary fiber and antioxidant content.
Implementation Method 1
Water penetrates the flaxseed coat via capillary action and the inner portions are gelatinized
Implementation Method 2
the inner portions are gelatinized
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for increasing the amount of hull portions recovered from flaxseeds. In a preferred embodiment, the invention includes providing a plurality of harvested flaxseeds, tempering the harvested flaxseeds by sufficiently increasing the moisture content for at least about one-half hour to increase the amount of hulls recovered from the flaxseeds, and recovering a portion of the hulls from the moisture-increased flaxseeds. The claimed invention also relates to a flaxseed hull isolate that includes at least 7 up to 17 weight percent of flaxseed hull based on the total weight of flaxseeds. Additionally, the claimed invention relates to a harvested flaxseed, whose moisture content is increased by at least about 1 weight percent, and a flax product having a lignan concentration of at least 10 percent by weight.