Abstract
Environmental issues and human safety problems associated with using hexane in soybean oil extraction have stimulated several investigations on alternative solvents for this process. In this context, this review aims to describe the use of green solvents and the leading technologies applied to extract soybean oil and other vegetable oils. First, a general overview of the soybean chain is provided, from global production to by-products. The current technologies and green solvents used for soybean and general vegetable oil extraction are presented. Besides, main kinetic and thermodynamic approaches are reviewed, and tools for screening solvents are presented. Issues regarding cost, recovery, and reuse of green solvent are assessed. Finally, this review discusses the green solvent extraction of soybean oil, approaching its possibilities, prospects, and challenges. Oil extraction yield appears to be more significant when using terpenes, CPME, and 2-MeTHF; however, further studies still need to be carried out. Furthermore, the quality of the oil extracted with leading technologies is similar to the typical range of crude soybean oil.
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