Oxidation of Industrial Waste with Hydrogen
Peroxide with Special Emphasis on a
Hydrolyzed Protein Waste
NATHAN C BURBANK, JR., Professor
School of Public Health
University of Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
H. H. CHEN, Design Engineer
R.M. Towill Corporation
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
INTRODUCTION
The products of the soy bean are many and numerous, they provide protein, oil,
animal feed, paint and for consideration by this paper a condiment, a hydrolyzed protein
solution, soy sauce or shoyu. This particular product is not noted for its food value but
instead its salty taste sensation that contributes a "lift" to many of the bland foods of the
orient and the Occident.
Originally, the soy bean was defatted then ground, fermented with especial yeasts and
fungi, then the product suspended in salt solution and aged to the required degree of
perfection. The process is time honored requiring many steps in preparation (1)
Today, however, modern shoyu producers cannot wait for time honored methods and
they have established a chemical or rapid method for the hydrolysis of gluten, the protein
from which shoyu or soy sauce gets its flavor.
Even greater has been the change in Hawaii where two traditional shoyu makers no
longer employ soy beans as the raw material—but rather a high gluten flour, wheat flour
(Table I). It's not the least illegal—for the label clearly states manufactured from high gluten
flour, however, it certainly seems deceptive but many connoisseurs of soy sauce cannot
detect a difference between the naturally brewed and the chemically derived product and,
indeed, they are chemically the same.
The attention of the Division of Sewers of the Department of Public Works of the City
and County of Honolulu was drawn to one particular shoyu manufacturer in the course of a
summer industrial waste survey conducted by the Division (Table II). The industry in
question, produced a waste and discharged it to the sewer with an unusually high level of
suspended solids and high BOD.
The manufacturer of shoyu sauce was manufacturing it by the chemical method and
was using high gluten flour as his raw material. He purchased the flour on the open market,
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