Water-based prolamin compositions, methods of making water-based prolamin compositions, and applications thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9567366-B2
Application number	US-201213548839-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 13, 2012
Priority date	Jul 14, 2011
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

The invention relates to water-based prolamin (e.g., zein) compositions and to methods of making water-based prolamin compositions. The compositions may be used in paints, printing inks, varnishes, adhesives, glues, binders (e.g., for paper), food coatings, and the like.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of making a water-based, flowable zein composition for delivering a zein, comprising:
(A) providing an acidified zein composition comprising
i. a zein comprising α-zein and at least one of β-zein and γ-zein in a total amount of at least about 15% by weight;
ii. water;
iii. at least one of alcohol and ketone; and
iv. acid; and

(B) removing at least a portion of the at least one of alcohol and ketone from the acidified zein composition to form a water-based, flowable zein composition comprising water in an amount ranging from at least about 30% by weight to at least about 75% by weight.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the zein comprises α-zein, β-zein, and γ-zein.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water-based zein composition is a solution.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the zein comprises about 15% to about 44% weight combined β-zein and γ-zein.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the zein comprises about 15% to about 17% weight combined β-zein and γ-zein.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water-based zein composition is an emulsion.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the zein comprises about 56% to about 88% weight α-zein, and about 15% to about 44% weight combined β-zein and γ-zein.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the zein comprises about 75% to about 85% weight α-zein, and about 15% to about 25% weight combined β-zein and γ-zein.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing an acidified zein composition comprises:
(1) providing a zein composition comprising:
the zein, the at least one of an alcohol and ketone; and water; and

(2) combining the zein composition with an acid to form the acidified zein composition.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein providing the zein composition comprises:
(A) providing a solvent composition comprising: at least one of alcohol and ketone, and water;
(B) combining the solvent composition with the zein to form the zein composition.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein combining the solvent composition with the zein further includes heating the solvent composition while the zein and solvent composition are being combined.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein providing a zein composition comprises:
(A) providing a composition comprising: at least one of alcohol and ketone; water; distillers' grain; and, optionally a reducing agent;
(B) extracting prolamin from the distillers' grain to provide an extracted composition comprising prolamin, at least one of alcohol and ketone, and water; and
(C) separating the distillers' grain from the extracted composition to provide the zein composition.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing an acidified zein composition comprises:
(A) providing an acidified solvent composition comprising: at least one of alcohol and ketone; water; and an acid; and
(B) combining the acidified solvent composition with the zein to form the acidified zein composition.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising heating the acidified solvent composition while the zein and acidified solvent composition are being combined.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing comprises distilling the at least one of alcohol and ketone from the acidified zein composition.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the distillation comprises vacuum distillation.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acid comprises an organic acid, an inorganic acid, or a mixture thereof.

18. the method of claim 17 , wherein the organic acid is a carboxylic acid selected from acetic acid, lactic acid, formic acid, propionic acid, glycolic acid, D-gluconic acid, and L-ascorbic acid, citric acid, malic acid, levulinic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, isocitric acid, aconitic acid, propane 1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid, and mixtures thereof.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the inorganic acid comprises hydrochloric acid (HCl).

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one alcohol and ketone is selected from methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, butanol (e.g., t-butanol), acetone, and mixtures thereof.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water-based zein composition comprises about 35% weight or less of at least one of alcohol and ketone.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water-based zein composition comprises about 8% weight prolamin or greater.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water-based zein composition comprises about 15% to about 35% weight zein; about 30% to about 75% weight water; about 0.1% to about 35% weight acid; and about 3% weight to about 35% weight combined alcohol and ketone.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water-based zein composition has a pH of about 7 or less.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water-based zein composition has a pH of about 2 to about 4.

Assignees

• Freeman Leif Sedgewick
• Lawton Jr John Warren
• Mitchell Marvin Lynn
• Mitchell Melvin Glenn
• Poet Res Inc

Inventors

• Freeman Leif Sedgewick
• Lawton Jr John Warren
• Mitchell Marvin Lynn
• Mitchell Melvin Glenn

Classifications

• C07K1/145 Primary

  by extraction or solubilisation · CPC title

• C07K14/425

  Zeins · CPC title

• C09D189/00

  Coating compositions based on proteins; Coating compositions based on derivatives thereof (foodstuff preparations A23J3/00) · CPC title

• C08J3/05

  from solid polymers · CPC title