The main biofuels produced on an industrial large scale are biodiesel and ethanol, which are the most economically viable and widely implemented solutions to replace conventional fossil fuels from a greener and more sustainable perspective. In such a scenario, there is an opportunity to produce fully renewable biodiesel using ethanol instead of methanol, which is mainly derived from fossil resources. In this paper, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used to discriminate biodiesel/diesel (B7) blends regarding the synthesis route and oil feedstock of biodiesels simultaneously. Data-Driven Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (DD-SIMCA) authenticated correctly all ethyl B7 (target) samples into the acceptance area, while rejected all non-target samples, implying in an efficiency of 100%. Additionally, Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis coupled with interval selection by the Successive Projections Algorithm (iSPA-PLS-DA) discriminated all ethyl B7 samples correctly, considering cottonseed, sunflower, and soybean as oil feedstocks. Moreover, only one ethyl cottonseed B7 sample was incorrectly discriminated when methyl B7 samples from the same three oil feedstocks were included in the model. As advantages, the proposed analytical methodology contributes to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #7 (affordable and clean energy) as well as aligns with the principles of Green Analytical Chemistry.
Crude palm oil (CPO) is highly abundant in carotenoids. Previous findings found that dry fractionation can concentrate carotenoids from CPO but resulted in a significant loss of carotenoids. Therefore, the present study aimed to utilize solvent fractionation, which offers a better separation efficiency, to concentrate carotenoids from CPO with improved recovery. Computational study revealed a high binding affinity of phytonutrient towards unsaturated triacylglycerols (TAGs) species in olein fraction due to similar polarity. This prediction was further verified with evidence showing strong, positive correlation between the iodine value and carotenoids concentrations of fractionated oil. The difference in binding affinity of saturated and unsaturated TAG towards different solvents can be used as a guide for screening and selection of solvent suitable for recovery of phytonutrient during solvent fractionation. Subsequently, a lab-scale single- stage fractionation study disclosed that crystallization temperature of 15°C, oil to acetone ratio of 1:5 (w/v) for 4 h under agitation at 100 rpm produced olein with the highest carotenoid concentration (637 ppm) and recovery (94%). Subsequent double-stage fractionation successfully concentrated the carotenoids up to 125% with a recovery of >93%. Conclusively, solvent fractionation provides an effective way to concentrate valuable carotenoids from CPO while minimizing the lost.
Oilseeds are grown mainly for their oil content but the residues (meals) that remain after defatting are excellent sources of plant protein ingredients. However, to serve as useful ingredients, the extracted proteins must meet industry expectations in terms of functional performance. Protein functionality is influenced by structural conformation, amino acid composition, type of polypeptides, presence of non-protein materials (carbohydrates, lipids, and polyphenols), which in turn can be modified by the extraction method. Defatted oilseed meals are extracted mostly through the pH shift method, which involves alkaline solubilization followed by acid-induced protein precipitation at the isoelectric point. A less popular method is called the protein micellar mass whereby the oilseed meal proteins are extracted with a NaCl solution, which is later diluted to reduce the ionic strength to a level where the proteins are no longer soluble and hence precipitate. A third method utilizes carbohydrases and phytases to first digest non-protein materials from the oilseed meal into smaller units that are then removed by membrane ultrafiltration to leave behind a protein-rich extract. These methods produce mainly two types of isolated oilseed proteins, concentrates (60%–89% protein content) and isolates (≥90% protein content), which can differ in terms of their protein conformation, solubility, and functionality as food ingredients. Therefore, this review provides an overview of the extraction and isolation as well as structural and functional properties of soybean, peanut, canola, hemp seed, sunflower, and sesame seed proteins.
Three oleogelator molecules (Triacontane (TC), Stearic acid (SA), and Behenyl Lignocerate (BL)) were studied individually, in pairs, or all together to make an oleogel using triolein as the oil. WAXS, SAXS and USAXS were used to elucidate the solid structures from angstroms to a few micrometers. A two-dimensional mapping of atomic positions for each molecule was carried out to understand the crystalline multilayer structures formed. We assumed that the molecules were rigidly extended and that they underwent no significant (hindered) rotations so that the free energy is determined by the Lennard-Jones interactions of closely packed multilayers. TC molecules were predicted to form a tilt angle of