Development and Scale Up of Aqueous Surfactant-Assisted Extraction of Canola Oil for Use as Biodiesel Feedstock

Abstract

In oilseed extraction, alternative extraction media have been studied to replace the traditional solvent, hexane, due to health, safety, and environmental concerns. In this work, aqueous surfactant-assisted extraction was developed and scaled up for hexane-free canola oil extraction. An inexpensive commercial surfactant system was formulated and used as an extraction medium based on the dynamic interfacial tension value. The extraction conditions were evaluated to achieve the maximum oil recovery. The highest oil detachment efficiency was 80% in the absence of hexane at room temperature. The extracted oil had acceptable content of free fatty acids, water and phospholipids for use as a biodiesel feedstock. The biodiesel product passed the ASTM D6751 biodiesel standard for water content, kinematic viscosity, acid value and oxidative stability.