BLAINE, Minn. APRIL 20, 2021 – Crown, a global leader in the oilseed processing industry, is also a key partner to new ventures and long-time manufacturers seeking to develop, test, toll process and scale up plant-based protein sources. The growing demand for high quality, plant-based proteins is dictated by a combination of land-use pressures, greenhouse gas concerns, and the projected world population increase of 2 billion by 2050. As alternatives to animal-based proteins, plant-based proteins offer a more sustainable way to feed the world.
While broad consumer awareness of plant proteins surged only recently, Crown’s experience spans more than 50 years. During the past five decades, Crown has provided custom engineered plant protein concentrate solutions and equipment for human food, animal feed and aquaculture, including more than 25 completed projects worldwide. Crown’s plant protein technologies support a broad range of plant-based inputs such as white flake, soybean, canola/rapeseed, sunflower and legumes among others. Using the most efficient extraction technology, Crown’s plant processing operations allow customers to produce consistent products with the highest quality protein content. Soy protein concentrate produced from Crown-supplied plants is recognized as highest quality market standard.
“Crown full lifecycle approach provides new and existing plant protein manufacturers with proven expertise at every step,” says Bill Antilla, General Manager, Crown Global Companies. “From feasibility, trials and toll processing to full-scale commercial operations, Crown partners with customers to help them achieve their growth and profitability goals.”
To leverage Crown’s process engineering ingenuity, customers now have access to Crown’s Global Innovation Center which features a 15,000 square-foot fully functional pilot plant. This state-of-the-art facility provides a controlled, confidential environment to test and develop new products, processes and operational modes. A recent industry advancement includes Crown’s novel dehulling system that maximizes protein yield in both rapeseed/canola meal and protein concentrate. Operated with a PLC, the pilot plant has data trending and data storage capabilities while the analytical lab provides the means to monitor product quality and make timely adjustments. Using Crown’s world-class technology, customers can produce demonstrated quantities of plant proteins for feeding trials and other testing purposes to determine the best products to bring to market. “Backed by Crown’s process engineering expertise, our Innovation Center enables plant-protein manufacturers to test, toll process and scale up in an efficient, continuous manner while mitigating risks,” says Antilla.
For manufacturers seeking scalability, Crown offers tailor-designed facilities to match plant protein production requirements. Crown’s immersion technology can process up to 500 MTPD of feed material without cleaning as it does not contain screens, pumps or hoppers. Crown’s percolation technology achieves capacities of up to 1,000 MTPD and features new profile screens with a patented coating and a redesigned screen wash system to promote improved percolation. Both technologies utilize continuous process innovations including a patented Miscella Clean-up System to support the best uptime in the industry and deliver margins 10 – 20 times higher than commodity oil and meal products.
To further sustainability measures for plant-protein manufacturers, Crown equipment is built to minimize environmental impact while ensuring the lowest operating cost in the industry. Manufacturers benefit from zero effluent due to recirculated water; minimal ethanol loss due to recovery, cleaning and re-use; the highest steam efficiency in the market due to recovery and economization; and Crown’s Model IV immersion extractor significantly reduces electrical consumption due to small extractor drives and no circulation pumps.
Crown, a division of CPM Holdings Inc., is a 142-year-old, Minnesota-based, global company with additional offices in the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, Honduras, Mexico, The Netherlands, Russia and Ukraine. Crown currently employs 250 people worldwide. For more information, visit: www.crowniron.com.
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