A Novel Method or Process for the Manufacture of Gluten and Starch.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Novel Method or Process for the Manufacture of Gluten and
Starch.
I HERMAN BARKER of Somerville, in the State of Massachusetts one of the United
States of America, Salesman do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object the provision of a novel method or process for the
manufacture of gluten and starch.
In accordance with this invention a cereal, preferably wheat, is granulated or
pulverized to form a flour; water is added to the granulated or pulverized cereal
to form a semi-fluid or pasty mass; the pasty or semi-fluid material is then divided
or separated into innumerable or independent bars, threads or pieces such as may be
formed by forcing the material through a perforated plate, and thereafter cutting the
depending bars or threads into short lengths; the independent pieces are dropped into
a suitable liquid, as water or carbonic-acid, with which they are agitated until the
liquid sets free the starch and gluten, after which they are collected by subsidence.
In carrying out this invention a receptacle of any suitable size is employed in
which is placed an agitator, and a pipe leads into the said receptacle to supply or fill
the same with water, it being conducted from a suitable tank.
Another vessel or receptacle is employed having a perforated bottom plate in which
the pasty or semi-fluid granular material is placed, and a plunger is provided for
forcing the said material through the perforations of the bottom plate.
A suitable cutter is provided to cut off the bars or pieces of material depending
from the under side of the perforated plate that they may fall into the liquid-
containing-receptacle to be agitated.
As the independent pieces of pasty material are commingled with the water or
other liquid by the slow moving agitator, the starch and gluten are set free, the

page_text: gluten settling to the bottom of the receptacle; while the starch remains commingled
with the liquid by agitation, and it is drawn off into another receptacle where the
starch separates from the said liquid by subsidence.
Fig. 1 shows in vertical section one form of apparatus designed to carry out the
invention herein to be described, and
Fig. 2 a detail of the cutter to be described.
The receptacle a of any suitable size or shape contains within it a spindle a¹, to
which is fixed an agitator a² composed for instance of suitable bars and braces.
The spindle a will be revolved in any usual or suitable manner to slowly rotate the
agitator a².
A pipe extends downwardly into the receptacle a, terminating at the lower end
thereof, the said pipe being connected with the water or other liquid supply tank b,
and conducting the liquid therefrom to the bottom of the receptacle a, which point in
practice has been deemed best, but the water may be admitted at any other point.
A receptacle is placed above the receptacle a, it having a perforated bottom
plate, and containing a plunger c² mounted on the end of a screw rod or
shaft c
The screw rod or shaft c³ bas its bearings in guides c, and a toothed wheel c³ is
mounted upon the said screw rod, said wheel c being engaged by a toothed wheel c
fixed to the spindle a.
The granular material suitably commingled with water or other liquid, preferably
cold water, to form a pasty mass, is placed in the receptacle c and forced downward
by the plunger through the perforations c¹.
A wire or rod d attached to a post adapted to be rotated by a crank arm d³, is
designed to be swung just beneath the receptacle c across the under face of the
perforated plate c², to thereby cut off the material issuing from the perforations of the
-plate.
°
The pieces thus cut off and which will be preferably of about one inch in length,
fall into the receptacle a, and are commingled with the water or other liquid contained
therein by the slowly moving agitator.
When the operation is commenced the receptacle a will contain but a small
quantity of water, and as the operation continues it will gradually become filled until
the liquid contained in the receptacle a arrives at the height indicated in the drawing
at which point the said receptacle is provided with an overflow pipe e, which leads
into and conducts the liquid material from the top of the receptacle a into the
receptacle f.
As the operation is carried on, the agitation given to the liquid and independent
pieces of the pasty material which as aforesaid will preferably be granulated. or
pulverized wheat, the gluten. will be set free and settle at the bottom of the receptacle a,
by specific gravity, while the starch which is also set free by the liquid material,, as
the gluten, will remain commingled with the liquid material by agitation, and will
therefore be conducted through the pipe e into the receptacle f in which receptacle. it
will also settle by its specific gravity.
Other pipes as e¹, e²e lead from the receptacle a, which serves to conduct the
material to the pipe e, each of which has a valve that may be opened when-desired to
entirely drain the receptacle a.
The gluten thus obtained has been found to be very pure and of excellent quality,
and. the starch also obtained of excellent quality as well as being a very large per-
centage of the material used, as the waste in the process herein described is very
little.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The method herein described of obtaining gluten from cereals, which consists
in adding water to the granulated or pulverized cereal to form a semi-fluid or nasty

page_text: mass, dividing the said pasty mass into small independent pieces or particles,
disintegrating the said independent pieces in liquid to set free the gluten, and
thereafter collecting the gluten by subsidence.
2. The method herein described of obtaining starch from cereals, which consists
in adding water to the granulated or pulverized cereal to form a semi-fluid or pasty
mass, dividing the said pasty mass into small independent pieces or particles dis-
integrating the said independent pieces in liquid to set free the starch, and thereafter
collecting the starch by subsidence.