Method and apparatus for controlled hydrolysis

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10913963-B2
Application number	US-201916383430-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2019
Priority date	Mar 22, 2016
Publication date	Feb 9, 2021
Grant date	Feb 9, 2021

Abstract

A method and apparatus for controlled hydrolysis. The method can comprise hydrolyzing a first reagent in a first hydrolysis reaction and deactivating a first enzyme catalyzing the first hydrolysis reaction. The deactivating step can occur in about 10 seconds or less; the deactivating step can comprise adding a deactivating fluid to a composition comprising the first enzyme and heating the first enzyme using a deactivating mechanism. In other aspects, hydrolyzing the first reagent and deactivating the first enzyme can occur in a conduit, and the first hydrolysis reaction can occur in a composition that is at least 50% water by weight. The apparatus can provide a hydrolysis reactor comprising: a conduit; a composition inlet in the conduit for a composition; a first enzyme inlet in the conduit downstream of the composition inlet; and a first deactivating mechanism downstream of the first enzyme inlet to deactivate the first enzyme.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of using a hydrolysis reactor, the hydrolysis reactor comprising:
a conduit;
a composition inlet in the conduit for a composition comprising starch;
an α-amylase inlet in the conduit downstream of the composition inlet, wherein the α-amylase inlet provides a path of fluid communication between the conduit and a source for an α-amylase composition, wherein the α-amylase composition comprises α-amylase, wherein the α-amylase catalyzes hydrolysis of the starch in the composition; and
an α-amylase-deactivating mechanism in the conduit, wherein the α-amylase-deactivating mechanism is downstream of the α-amylase inlet, and wherein the α-amylase-deactivating mechanism comprises an α-amylase-deactivating fluid inlet configured to add an α-amylase-deactivating fluid to the composition and thereby deactivate the α-amylase;
wherein the method comprises:
introducing the composition into the conduit through the composition inlet;
introducing the α-amylase into the conduit through the α-amylase inlet;
using the α-amylase to hydrolyze the starch in the composition while the composition is in the conduit;
introducing the α-amylase-deactivating fluid into the conduit through the α-amylase-deactivating fluid inlet;
using the α-amylase-deactivating fluid introduced into the conduit to deactivate the α-amylase and to stop the hydrolysis of the starch in the composition so that, on average, a mass of the composition comprising the starch spends no more than 30 seconds subject to the α-amylase-catalyzed hydrolysis of the starch as measured from addition of the α-amylase to the mass until the α-amylase in the mass has been deactivated.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydrolysis reactor comprises:
a preconditioning fluid inlet in the conduit downstream of the composition inlet;
wherein the method comprises introducing a preconditioning fluid into the conduit through the preconditioning fluid inlet, thereby providing a preconditioned mixture for the step of using the α-amylase to hydrolyze the starch in the composition;
wherein the preconditioned mixture comprises 50 to 90 wt. % water; and
wherein the preconditioned mixture is at a temperature from 140 to 212° F.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydrolysis reactor is located on a mobile skid;
wherein the method comprises transporting the hydrolysis reactor on the mobile skid.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the preconditioning fluid is steam.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the preconditioning fluid inlet is upstream of the α-amylase inlet.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the preconditioning fluid is selected from the group consisting of steam, hot water, and a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the α-amylase-deactivating fluid is used to deactivate the α-amylase in no more than 10 seconds.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the α-amylase in the hydrolysis reactor is deactivated before more than 10 wt. % of the starch has been converted to non-starch molecules.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the α-amylase in the hydrolysis reactor is deactivated before more than 10 wt. % of the starch has been converted to non-starch molecules selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, disaccharides, and both monosaccharides and disaccharides.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises whole grain, and the whole grain comprises the starch; and
wherein, after the hydrolysis of the starch is completed, the whole grain has a mass ratio of starch to protein equal, within a first specified tolerance, to a reference mass ratio of starch to protein of the whole grain before hydrolyzing the starch, wherein the first specified tolerance is +/−10% of the reference mass ratio of starch to protein.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises whole grain, and the whole grain comprises the starch;
wherein the hydrolysis of the starch in the composition produces a product;
wherein the product has an average molecular weight of starch, wherein the average molecular weight of the starch in the product has been reduced to no more than 60% of an average molecular weight of the starch in the composition.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the α-amylase-deactivating fluid inlet is an inlet for a hot fluid.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the α-amylase-deactivating fluid inlet is an inlet for steam.

14. The method of claim 5 , wherein, on average, the mass of the composition comprising the starch takes no more than 30 seconds to flow from the α-amylase inlet to a location downstream of the α-amylase-deactivating mechanism where the hydrolysis reactor is configured to complete deactivation of the α-amylase.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the α-amylase-deactivating fluid is used to deactivate the α-amylase in no more than 10 seconds.

Assignees

• Quaker Oats Co

Inventors

• Carder Gary
• Chung Yongsoo
• Mehta Prashant
• Twombly Wesley

Classifications

• C12N9/99

  Enzyme inactivation by chemical treatment · CPC title

• C12M21/18

  Apparatus specially designed for the use of free, immobilized or carrier-bound enzymes · CPC title

• C12M45/09

  by enzymatic treatment · CPC title

• C12P21/06

  produced by the hydrolysis of a peptide bond, e.g. hydrolysate products (preparing foodstuffs by protein hydrolysis A23J3/00) · CPC title

• C12P19/14 Primary

  produced by the action of a carbohydrase {(EC 3.2.x)}, e.g. by alpha-amylase {, e.g. by cellulase, hemicellulase} · CPC title