Abstract: The bulk material feeder of the present invention, because of the need for cleaning the inside of the feeder, jets out pressurized clean air into the equipment. The air is supplied through the piping used to supply resin pellets and nozzle to carry out the cleaning action, utilizing turbulent flow generated when the air current jetted out collides with baffles installed in the equipment. The air and pellets are easily aspirated and cleans fines adhered to internal walls of the hopper since, naturally, resin pellets remaining in the equipment are destroyed by the turbulent flow. Also resin pellets are destroyed a little by the impact when colliding with internal walls of the hopper, and due to other causes. Residual pellets aspired to the outside and fines adhered to the inside are collected, and internal cleaning can be accomplished in an extremely short time. A bulk material feeder is thus provided with an internal cleaning mechanism.

Abstract: A method of isolating soyasaponins which comprises defatting or not defatting the whole plant and/or the seed of a plant belonging to Leguminosae Trifolium, Leguminesae Medicago, Leguminosae Astragalus and Leguminosae Vicia, extracting said whole plant and/or seed with water, an organic solvent miscible with water or a mixture of such organic solvent and water, and isolating soyasaponin I from the extract obtained.