A cooker-extruder for deallergenation of castor bean meal

We present a brief overview on the work Rhee and his colleagues at Texas A&M University have done on the deallergenation of castor bean meal and how a cookerextruder can be used to accomplish it in a commercial plant setting. The extruder used is a high temperature, short residence time cooking extruder that generates frictional heat as it compresses and propels material within the barrel and out through the extrusion dies. Adjustment of water and steam input flow rates allow for selection of moisture levels of cook, and the selection of die size and number of openings allow for adjustment of temperature of cook. An important part of the process is the mixing, blending and absorption of chemical additives into intimate contact with the castor bean meal prior to entry into the extruder. Various methods for doing this are discussed, and a brief overview of what kind of equipment might be incorporated into a deallergenation process line is presented.