In solvent extraction plants for soybean and mustard oil, the Desolventizer-Toaster (DT) uses direct steam sparging primarily to:
Options:
(A) Evaporate residual hexane solvent through steam distillation while denaturing anti-nutritional factors (trypsin inhibitors and urease)
(B) Add moisture to ruin the meal
(C) Bleach the meal white
(D) Convert protein into plastic
Answer Key:
A
Step-by-Step Solution & Explanation
Sparged counter-current live steam supplies latent heat to strip flammable hexane down to lt; 300-500\text{ ppm}$ while toasting moist meal at $100-105^\circ\text{C}$ to inactivate heat-labile trypsin inhibitors, enhancing meal protein digestibility.