Pilot-Scale Production of Washed Cottonseed Meal and Co-Products

Abstract

Enhanced utilization of defatted cottonseed meal (CSM)-based products as biobased raw materials would increase the profitability of cotton growers and processors. In this work, a multiple-step procedure that can be used to produce water washed cottonseed meal (WCSM) and a co-product water soluble cottonseed protein (CSPw) from CSM was tested at pilot scale. Alternatively, the procedure can also be used to produce CSPw, alkali soluble protein (CSPa) and the protein extracted insoluble residue (CSIR). The chemical composition of these pilot-produced products was generally comparable to that of the corresponding laboratory-prepared products. The fiber content was higher in the pilot-produced WCSM than in laboratory-produced product mainly due to the higher fiber content in the mill-based starting meal material used in the pilot trial. The protein content in the pilot-produced CSPw was only 64.4% of the solid matter, indicating that additional rinse is needed before drying the HCl-precipitated CSPw fraction. Per the yield and composition data, it was concluded that it was feasible to produce the four products WCSM, CSPw, CSPa, and CSIR from CSM in a large scale. Thus, adoption of this procedure would provide the necessary quantities for exploring the practical utilization of these products in biomaterial industry.