Investigation of Process Variables in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Soybeans
Using a Teledyne Isco Syringe Pump and Extraction Module
Soybean oil is one of the most widely used plant oils today. Most soybean oil is extracted using hexane solvent extraction; while being fast and efficient, this has several disadvantages. Supercritical CO₂ offers an attractive alternative for extraction with smaller envi- ronmental and health impacts because it is nontoxic, nonflammable, cheap, and readily removed from the extract. Our research is focused on optimizing pro- cessing conditions to reduce the energy cost to extract soybeans, including the amount of supercritical CO₂. The Carbon Recycling Center in the Department of Bio- logical Engineering at the University of Missouri has a Teledyne Isco 260D syringe pump and an SFX-2-10 extraction module. This system was used to perform all of the experiments, providing precise control of pres- sure and flow of supercritical CO₂ through the soybean meal.
Nikolas Wilkinson2, Doug Hendry¹, Malithi Wickramathilaka², Andrew Miller¹, Chandrasekar Venkitasamy², and William Jacoby¹ ², Department of Biological Engineering¹, Department of Chemical Engineering², University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
