Soybeans are hulled during processing primarily by breaking the beans apart and separating the hulls using airflow.
The Soybean Hulling Process
Hulling is a key step in processing soybeans, typically done before extracting oil or producing meal. According to processing methods, the hulls are removed to improve the quality of the resulting products. The process involves a couple of distinct actions to separate the outer skin, or hull, from the rest of the bean.
Based on standard processing techniques, the method for hulling soybeans involves these steps:
- Breaking the Bean: The whole soybeans are first rolled or cracked using specialized machinery. This action serves to break the whole bean into smaller pieces, loosening the hull from the inner parts of the bean (the cotyledons).
- Separating the Hulls: Once the beans are broken, the loose hulls are then separated by an air stream. Air separation is an efficient way to remove the lighter hulls from the heavier bean pieces.
This process results in soybean hulls as a byproduct of soybean processing for soybean oil and soybean meal, as noted in the context of how hulls are obtained.
