Ingrid Aguilo-Aguayo - Oil and Oilseed Processing

Marco Garcia‐Vaquero,School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland TEAGASC, Food Research Centre, Dublin, Ireland

Antonia Garrido‐Frenich,Department of Chemistry and Physics, Analytical Chemistry Area, Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agri‐Food Biotechnology (CIAIMBITAL), Agrifood Campus of International Excellence ceiA3, University of Almería, Almería, Spain

Editha Giese,Institute of Safety and Quality of Milk and Fish Products, Max Rubner‐Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Kiel, Germany Department of Life Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), Hamburg, Germany

Jordi Giné‐Bordonaba,IRTA, Postharvest Program, Edifici Fruitcentre, Parc Científic i Tecnològic Agroalimentari de Lleida, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain

Andreu Gual‐Grau,Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia, Nutrigenomics Research Group, Tarragona, Spain

Néstor Gutiérrez‐Méndez,Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México

Douglas G. Hayes,Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

Maria Hayes,Food BioSciences Department, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin, Ireland

José L. Hidalgo‐Ruiz,Department of Chemistry and Physics, Analytical Chemistry Area, Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agri‐Food Biotechnology (CIAIMBITAL), Agrifood Campus of International Excellence ceiA3, University of Almería, Almería, Spain

Brijesh K. Tiwari,TEAGASC Food Research Centre, Dublin, Ireland

Tomás Lafarga,Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Almería, Almería, Spain

Chloe Leclerc,IRTA, Postharvest Program, Edifici Fruitcentre, Parc Científic i Tecnològic Agroalimentari de Lleida, Lleida, Catalonia, Spain

José Luis Martínez‐Vidal,Department of Chemistry and Physics, Analytical Chemistry Area, Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agri‐Food Biotechnology (CIAIMBITAL), Agrifood Campus of International Excellence ceiA3, University of Almería, Almería, Spain

Begoña Muguerza,Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia, Nutrigenomics Research Group, Tarragona, Spain

Miquel Mulero,Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia, Nutrigenomics Research Group, Tarragona, Spain

Iolanda Nicolau‐Lapeña,Food Technology Department, University of Lleida (UDL), Lleida, Spain

Ramona Pérez‐Leal,Faculty of Agrotechnological Sciences, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México

María Janeth Rodríguez‐Roque,Faculty of Agrotechnological Sciences, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México

Agustí Romero,IRTA, Oliviculture, Oil Science, and Nuts, Mas de Bover, Constantí, Tarragona, Spain

Roberto Romero‐González,Department of Chemistry and Physics, Analytical Chemistry Area, Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agri‐Food Biotechnology (CIAIMBITAL), Agrifood Campus of International Excellence ceiA3, University of Almería, Almería, Spain

Nora Aideé Salas‐Salazar,Faculty of Agrotechnological Sciences, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México

Rogelio Sánchez‐Vega,Faculty of Zootechnics and Ecology, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México

Mayra Cristina Soto‐Caballero,Faculty of Agrotechnological Sciences, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México

Manuel Suárez,Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia, Nutrigenomics Research Group, Tarragona, Spain

Juan Manuel Tirado‐Gallegos,Faculty of Zootechnics and Ecology, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México

Cristina Torres‐Fuentes,Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament de Bioquímica i Biotecnologia, Nutrigenomics Research Group, Tarragona, Spain

Tomás Lafarga

Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Almería, Almería, Spain

Lipids, which are together with proteins and carbohydrates the main constituents of plant and animal cells, can be broadly defined as substances such as fats, oils, or waxes that dissolve in organic solvents but not in water. Lipids, oil‐bearing nuts, and animal fats have been used by man for centuries. These were used for lighting, as cosmetics, applied to weapons or other utensils, and as foods, mainly as sources of energy or as medicines. Nowadays, the use of oils has expanded to several food applications which include cooking, frying, baking shortenings, salad dressing, and flavor carriers, among others. Each of these applications requires oils with specific physical and chemical properties (Gupta 2017). These properties will therefore determine the quality of the vegetable oil, which starts with high quality oilseeds or oil‐bearing nuts or fruits. Several factors which include maturity of the oilseed, climatic conditions, harvest conditions, handling of the harvested raw material, and storage can significantly affect the quality of the end product.

Broadly, oil extraction from seeds or beans is achieved by pressing and/or extraction using an organic solvent, generally hexane. Mechanical and thermal pre‐treatments can also be used to improve extraction yields (Savoire et al. 2013). Other oils such as avocado, palm, or olive oil are obtained after pressing of the whole fruit. Although some oils such as olive oil are used without further treatment than filtering, most of the currently commercialized edible oils are refined in some measure prior to commercialization (Gunstone 2011b). The term refining refers to the removal of several major and minor impurities and its main goal is to produce high quality oils with optimal properties to satisfy the different oil applications.

Oil production from oilseeds has been steadily increasing by an average of 12.3% annually over the last three decades: for the main oils – palm (palm kernel plus palm oil), rapeseed, soybean, and sunflower seed oil – there is a production increase of 231.1%, from 45.73 Mt in 1990 to 151.42 Mt in 2017 (UN 2019). Despite recent advances in oil extraction techniques, this impressive increase in oil production could not have been achieved without an increase in the quantity of seeds harvested. Indeed, during the same time period, the production of palm fruits, rapeseeds, soybean, and sunflower seeds followed the same trend from 159.29 Mt in 1990 to 794.31 Mt in 2017, representing an 17.7% annual increase (UN 2019).

The aim of the current chapter is to give an overview of the production of the most relevant vegetable oils and oilseeds, focusing on soybeans, rapeseeds, sunflower seeds, palm fruits, and the oils derived thereof. This chapter will also discuss the production quantities and trade of other common oilseeds such as groundnuts, maize, or sesame seeds as well as novel sources for oil production that are expected to soon gain an increased industrial relevance.

The majority of the currently utilized vegetable oils are obtained from seeds or beans. Sources for vegetable oil extraction can be divided into three main categories: (i) those plants that are not grown for oil production, where oil can be considered as a by‐product; (ii) those crops that cannot be changed on a yearly basis, generally trees; and (iii) those crops that are planted annually such as sunflower, linseed, or rape (Gunstone 2011a). Currently, from the total oil and fat production, approximately 14% is utilized as a starting material for the oleochemical industry, 79–80% is used for human food as spreads, frying oils, or salad oils, and the remaining 6% is used as animal feed, and therefore, indirectly used for human food production (Gunstone 2011a). Crushing of soybeans or oilseeds into cake and oil dominates total usage and it is expected that 90% of the world soybean production and 86% of world production of other oilseeds will be crushed in 2027 (FAO 2018). The current section will discuss current applications as well as the production and trade of the most important edible oils and oil sources.