Patent ID: 7923039

Claim:
A method for commercial-scale extraction of a biopolymer from a non- Hevea plant material, comprising: separating small leaves, flower parts and small stems from a non- Hevea plant material, wherein the plant material is guayule, using a, high capacity air density separator, wherein the small leaves, flower parts and small stems are sent to a biomass collection and reuse area; debarking the plant material, wherein the de-barking system increases the percentage of biopolymer extracted, wherein the woody pulp derived from the de-barking system is sent to the biomass collection and reuse area; grinding of the plant material; milling of the plant material in a chemical solution system, the chemical solution comprising a water-based solution to emulsify the plant material to form a slurry, a buffer, an anti-microbial agent, a bleaching agent, a de-foaming agent and an antioxidant, wherein the chemical solution is maintained at a pH between 7.1 and 12.5, whereby the milling results in a milled product comprised of a solid bagasse and a liquid homogenate, wherein the liquid homogenate includes milled plant material, a buffer and water; filtering out the solid bagasse from the liquid homogenate; separating the liquid homogenate into a light phase and a heavy phase using a commercial centrifuge; purifying the light phase, wherein soluble proteins are removed; and concentrating the light phase, wherein the concentration of the light phase produces a usable biopolymer.