Agricultural extraction products and processes

Abstract

The inventive developments disclosed in this application include the following features and combinations thereof: extracting oil from spent bleaching earths for animal feed; using earths and acid water as soil amendment / fertilizer; efficient extraction of substances valuable to plants, animals, and humans from plant, animal, and fish oil soapstock, especially using the “interphase” emulsion from soapstock acidulation; use of “black paste” from oil refining as fertilizer component (nutrient source); use of interphase from agricultural oil refining, especially refining of non-degummed oils, as animal feed; use of “oil refining by-products to fertilizers” process and / or KOH refining in conjunction with “Miscella”-type hexane refining or “Zenith” process refining; fertilizers containing silica / silicates from by-products of agricultural oil refining; use of higher-sodium oil refining by-products as fertilizer for sodium-tolerant plants; using by-products of sugar beet refining as nutrient source; agriculturally useful potassium soaps from oil refining; products of the refining of non-degummed agricultural oils having useful biocidal or other biological properties; the use, as a feed additive, of potassium soapstock from the caustic refining of agricultural oils using a potassium caustic (KOH), especially with non-degummed oils, which has unexpected advantages over the use of soapstock from sodium caustic (NaOH) refining, especially from degummed oils.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS / INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE[0001]This application is related to the following patents and applications, which are hereby incorporated by reference:[0002]Daniels, U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,843, issued 6 Jun. 1989[0003]Daniels, U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,372, issued 3 May 1994[0004]Daniels, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 462,417, filed 5 Jun. 1995[0005]Daniels, U.S. patent Application Ser. No. 08 / 261,863, filed 17 Jun. 1994[0006]This application also claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Applications Nos.:[0007]Application No.: 60 / 037,761 Filing Date: Feb. 13, 1997[0008]Application No.: 60 / 037,762 Filing Date: Feb. 13, 1997[0009]Application No.: 60 / 037,763 Filing Date: Feb. 13, 1997[0010]Application No.: 60 / 037,764 Filing Date: Feb. 13, 1997[0011]Application No.: 60 / 037,765 Filing Date: Feb. 13, 1997[0012]Application No.: 60 / 037,766 Filing Date: Feb. 13, 1997[0013]Application No.: 60 / 037,767 Filing Date: Feb. 13, 1997[0014]Appli...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes various methods for extracting valuable substances from oil soapstock and using them as fertilizers or animal feed. The methods include acid water treatment, solvent extraction, and refining by-products. The refining by-products can also be used to make fertilizers containing silica or potassium soaps. The technical effects of the patent text include efficient extraction of valuable substances from oil soapstock and the use of refining by-products as fertilizers or feed additives.

Problems solved by technology

Refining of agricultural oils and other agricultural extracts results in troublesome waste products and do not produce optimum yeilds.

Spent bleaching earth is a disposal problem in that it is saturated with oil and spontaneously combusts.

One of the by-products of the process invented by the present applicant and described in the above references is a black paste, which would ordinarily represent a significant disposal problem.

Another disposal problem is interphase, which is produced by the oil refining process, for animal feed.

Degummed oil is more expensive than non-degummed oil.

One of the reasons why the interphase is difficult to dispose of is that it normally contains a great deal of sodium as a result of the sodium hydroxide refining process.

This interferes, to some extent, with its use and value as an animal feed containing a great deal of fat value.

Silica / Silicates are used in oil refining to improve refining and water washing, with some resulting disposal problems.

The silica / clay remainder is a disposal problem.

There are problems raised by the high levels of sodium which could be present in various forms of oil refining fertilizer products (especially when a sodium caustic is used for refining) and the fact that most plants cannot tolerate those levels of sodium.

In refining sugar from sugar beets a waste stream of potassium sulfate is created and considered a serious problem.

The potassium and sulfur are problems for cattle feed.

Natural gums in the oil have been thought to interfere with the refining process, to lower yields, and to increase problems with disposal of waste products.

Sodium soapstock rapidly ferments and cannot be transported from refineries to feed formulators without stabilization—e.g. by adding sulfuric acid in order to partially acidulate during transport.