The concept of biorefinery is analogous to that of petroleum refineries, but it uses renewable raw materials. However, the main objective of the biorefinery is to transform renewable agricultural materials into numerous and different commercially applicable products, allowing a viable economic competitiveness to traditional petrochemical refineries. In this chapter, we present a proposal for a biorefinery integrated from soybean as raw material, demonstrating its potential in this sector. In addition, special focus was given to the high value-added products present in the soybean oil deodorizer distillate (SODD), such as tocopherol, fatty acids, and squalene, which can be applied in the food, pharmacy, and cosmetic industries. In conclusion, the use of soybean raw material as a biomass in a biorefinery presents numerous environmental and economic advantages as high value-added products are formed. It is important to highlight that in this highly evolved integrated biorefinery model, the additional benefits of operational and administrative synergies will emerge over time.
Part of the book: Biorefinery Concepts, Energy and Products
This chapter presents routes to aggregate value to soybean oil products by sustainable and economical sources for biofuels. The traditional production routes, such as pyrolysis, allows, by mixing oils and plastics, to generate bio-oils with high burning power. One example of an alternative route is single-step interesterification, where the methyl acetate reacts with the triglycerides in the oil, forming fatty acid methyl esters and triacetin as a by-product. This is a great advantage of this route, as in addition to its commercial value being greater than that of glycerol, it can be mixed with biofuel without changing its characteristics. The main objective is present routes that may reduce cost in general, in addition to generating co-products that allow an increase in the process added value.
Part of the book: Soybean