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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #123642
Title: ACETONE: AN ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE CHOICE FOR OILSEED EXTRACTION?

Author
item WAKELYN, P - NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL
item Hron Sr, Robert
item FLIDER, F - ROCKRIDGE GROUP LLC
item Wan, Peter

Submitted to: Inform
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2001
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Hexane, a petroleum based organic solvent, has been used as the commercial extraction of oilseeds since about 1940. Over the last 30 years factors such as product quality and process safety, a petroleum shortage, environmental regulations and possible health risks pertaining to the use of hexane have resulted in extensive research in an effort to find an economically and technologically acceptable alternate solvent. Alcohols were found to be technologically feasible but economically unacceptable. Alcohols (isopropanol and isohexane) have been evaluated commercially with some success. Mixtures of isohexane and ethanol or isopropanol have been evaluated in the laboratory but these solvent mixtures have not been used commercially. Acetone, a biorenewable solvent, was once used commercially in a small cottonseed extraction plant in Italy in the 1960's. It has recently received renewed interest as an extraction solvent due to its potential environmental advantages and physical properties compared to hexane. If acetone is proven to be economically and technologically acceptable to the oilseed extraction industry, it will reduce the regulatory related cost for the oilseed operators. The oil mills that choose to use acetone may be able to sell their emission reduction credits (ERC; also called "pollution credits") which could be worth more than $3-$10 million for a small size oil mill (less than 125,000 tons/year). This research will benefit the oil mills.

Technical Abstract: Hexane has been the preferred solvent for the commercial extraction of oilseeds, since about 1940. Over the last 30 years factors such as product quality and process safety, a petroleum shortage, environmental regulations and possible health risks pertaining to the use of n-hexane have resulted in extensive research in an effort to find an economically and technologically acceptable alternate solvent. Isopropanol and ethanol were found to be technologically feasible but economically unacceptable. Heptane and isohexane have been evaluated commercially with some success. Mixtures of isohexane and ethanol or isopropanol have been evaluated in the laboratory but these solvent mixtures have not been used commercially. Acetone, a biorenewable solvent was once used commercially in a small cottonseed extraction plant in Italy in the 1960's and is used in the production of lecithins (solvent fractionation). It has recently received renewed interest as an extraction solvent due to its potential environmental advantages and physical properties compared to hexane. However, to replace hexane as the extraction solvent, acetone would have to be economically and technologically acceptable. This would include producing oil and meal of similar or better quality than current practice and be able to be used with existing equipment with minimum changes.