Routes to Aggregate Value to Soybean Products

*Fernando Luiz Pellegrini Pessoa, Ewerton Emmanuel da Silva Calixto, Hugo Gomes D'amatto Villardi, Ana Lucia Barbosa de Souza and Bruna Aparecida Souza Machado*

### **Abstract**

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.

**Keywords:** soybeans products, aggregated values, triglycerides, triacetin, methyl esters

### **1. Introduction**

Originated from Asia, soy is the largest oilseed in volume, production and international trade. In terms of food, soy is the main source of protein and the second most consumed oil in the world, only behind palm [1]. Furthermore, it has an importance that involves the development of a productive complex including the processing of the bean and its main products: crude oil and bran; also, its use for animal food edible oil and fuel (see **Figure 1**).

The soybean industrial processing can be summarized in two steps: (1) the crude oil production with soybean residue; (2) Crude oil refining to obtain other products (e.g.: refined oils, margarine, hydrogenated fat).

The volume of soy sold is extremely important for the economy, especially for the main world producers, such as Brazil. In order to have a positive trade balance, Brazil needs to export tons of primary products, which have low unit values to offset the import of value-added products, such as electronic appliances and machines. In addition, processing soybeans increases the job offer, further heating up the economy. Therefore, adding value to the soy production process is very important for a country's economy.

**Figure 1.** *Soy production chain.*

Based on this, this chapter aims to discuss and present routes for the processing of soy, especially the Deodorized Soybean Oil Distillate (DSOD) and viable options to produce biodiesel to add value to the soy chain.
