• What is hexane extraction?
  • Hexane extraction is the most common technique used to remove oil from full fat soy materials in the production of both soy oil and defatted soy. The popularity of hexane is based on its high oil extraction efficiency and its availability. The solvent, however, has some considerable economic, environmental, and safety drawbacks.
  • How much hexane can be extracted from soybeans?
  • Bargale et al. (2000) reported that a 7-h-long commercial hexane extraction process is effective to extract a maximum of 21% oil from ground soy grits, soy flakes, and expanded soy collets (50¨C100 mm length and 20 mm diameter) compared to oil extraction from soybeans that had not been ground which ranged from 15% to 19% during the same period.
  • Can ethanol replace hexane for soybean oil extraction?
  • Using the same volume of solvent, and for the same given load of soybean feed solids, ethanol gives a slightly higher extraction efficiency than hexane. It can be concluded that ethanol shows great promise as a potential substitute for hexane for soybean oil extraction in a countercurrent multistage extraction process.
  • What are the steps involved in soybean defatting using hexane?
  • The major steps involved in soybean defatting using hexane are highlighted in Fig. 1 and include comminution, solvent extraction, meal desolventizing, separation of soy oil, and recovery of hexane solvent. Details of these processes are summarized elsewhere (Mustakas 1980; Serrato 1981).
  • How is soybean oil extracted?
  • There are four main ways in which this technology is used: (1) enzyme-assisted aqueous soybean oil extraction, (2) simultaneous oil extraction using enzymes and hexane, (3) low moisture enzymatic hydrolysis followed by solvent extraction, and (4) low moisture enzymatic hydrolysis followed by mechanical extraction.
  • Are there alternative approaches to hexane extraction?
  • There are five alternative approaches that have oil recoveries close to or higher than that seen with pure hexane (i.e., oil recoveries >97%) and seven extraction processes which have oil recoveries less than 97%.