North Dakota has recently enhanced its soybean utilization capacity with the establishment of a new soybean crushing plant and refinery. Soybean producers in Casselton, Grand Forks, and Spirtwood, North Dakota, will soon have abundant soybean oil meal as oil extraction systems become operational ("North Dakota Soybean Council," 2024). The soybean oil, constituting approximately 20% of the weight of a bushel of soybeans (or ~12 lbs / 1.55 gal), will be extracted for renewable diesel production. The Green Bison Soybean Processing plant alone is projected to process 150,000 bushels daily, resulting in 600 million pounds of refined soybean oil per year and 1.28 million tons of soybean meal as a byproduct ("Green Bison Soybean Processing - Soybean crushing plant and refinery," n.d.). Soybean meal, abundant in protein (>40%), starch, and fiber, is commonly used in animal feed. The expected increase in soybean meal production in North Dakota raises concerns about oversupply, under-utilization, and potential price crashes. Additionally, the current market price for soybean meal is relatively low at $357.60/ton compared to its individual components, with protein and starch commanding prices of $17,750/ton and $450 - $970/ton, respectively. The US plant protein market is valued at $8.29 billion, expected to grow to $18.41 billion by 2029. To optimize the soybean value chain, the isolation of protein and starch from soybean meal is crucial.
Previous research, as documented by Bello et al. (2023), has highlighted the promising potential of extracting soybean meal protein using a reusable solvent. Expanding upon this groundwork, a preliminary study was conducted to recover starch. Initial experiments have proven successful, yielding approximately 50% extraction of soybean meal protein while concurrently recovering starch. The simple solvent extraction method, conducted under alkali conditions, facilitates the migration of soluble protein and starch into the solution in a cost-effective, one-step process. However, protein extraction is currently limited to about 50%. To enhance and optimize the extraction process for increased yield, we propose experimenting with different extraction conditions and biocatalysts. Furthermore, our objective includes obtaining additional crucial information on product separation, recovery, purification, and characterization.