Removal of cellulose from sunflower meal by fractionation

The dependence of sunflower meal fractionation on the following factors was investigated: quality of original meals, 37.5%, 40.0% and 42.5% crude protein; screen hole size, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, 2.5 mm and 3.0 mm; and single-phase and two-phase fractionation. The following conclusions were drawn. The increased protein levels in original meals (from 37.5% to 42.5% crude protein) had considerably greater effects on the quality than on the yield of the protein fractions. Increased screen hole size (from 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm) increased the yield of the protein fractions by 16.4–22.3%, but reduced the protein level in these fractions by 2.3–2.8%. Two-phase fractionation of the original meals with 40.0% and 42.5% crude protein increased the protein yield in the resulting protein fractions by 15.5–22.8%. The most efficient fractionation procedures rendered high yields of attractive protein fractions that contained 44.0–47.5% crude protein. The protein fractions were analyzed for physico-functional constants and amino acid composition. The most efficient and applicable fractionation procedures, those that may be successfully used in oil refineries, were selected.