Page 122 - EER-2-2

Explora: Environment

and Resource

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Microemulsion-based oil extraction from canola

press cake: Applicability of lecithin, Tween 80,
and Span 80

Soleiman Abbasi * Claire Signatovich , and Martin G. Scanlon 2
1,2
2
1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Food Colloids and Rheology Lab, Faculty of
Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences,
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the potential of bio-surfactant-based
microemulsions (MEs) for extracting canola oil from canola press cake (CPC), a
by-product of the oil industry. Lecithin, Tween 20, Tween 80, and Span 80, both with
and without co-surfactants, were utilized to formulate ME premixes. The premixes
were then combined with CPC at different ratios and subjected to centrifugation.
For the Tween formulations, the effects of natural (pH 6.1) and alkaline (pH 10.0)
conditions were also examined. Pure lecithin did not extract any oil, but when
combined with CPC at a 1:3 ratio (CPC: premix [water:1-propanol: lecithin = 75:20:5
*Corresponding author: wt%]), approximately 50% of the oil was extracted, mostly in emulsified form. In
Soleiman Abbasi contrast, using Tween 80 (at 70°C, with a CPC: premix ratio of 1:8 and natural pH),
(sabbasifood@modares.ac.ir)
about 27% of residual oil from the CPC was extracted as free oil. Interestingly, under
Citation: Abbasi S, Signatovich C, alkaline pH (10.0), Tween: water premix (0.15:99.85 wt%) at a 1:4 premix: CPC ratio
Scanlon MG. Microemulsion-based
oil extraction from canola press resulted in the recovery of 40 – 50% of the oil from the CPC in emulsified form. These
cake: Applicability of lecithin, Tween findings revealed the potential of the tested surfactants for partial oil extraction
80, and Span 80. Explora Environ from CPC. The effectiveness of very low concentrations of Tweens under alkaline pH
Resour. 2025;2(2):6562.
doi: 10.36922/eer.6562 requires further investigations.
Received: November 26, 2024
Keywords: Microemulsion; Plant oil extraction; Biodegradable surfactants; Canola;
1st revised: March 10, 2025
Lecithin; Tween
2nd revised: March 20, 2025
Accepted: March 21, 2025
Published online: April 15, 2025 1. Introduction
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article Vegetable oils are naturally accumulated in oil-bearing structures (i.e., oleosomes)
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distributed under the terms of the as emulsified droplets stabilized by a unique protein-phospholipid membrane.
Creative Commons Attribution Some processes such as crushing, milling, mechanical pressing, and cooking can
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, partially or completely disrupt the cellular structure and oleosomes of oil-bearing
provided the original work is plants (i.e., oilseeds, nuts, and oil fruits). As a result, some of the oil, which was
properly cited. originally entrapped inside the oleosomes, is released as free oil, while the remaining
3-5
Publisher’s Note: AccScience oil remains attached to the crushed structures. From a mechanical perspective,
Publishing remains neutral with depending on the intensity of these physical processes, a fraction of the oil may
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional remain in the intact oleosomes, but the majority of the oil is physically adsorbed
affiliations. onto the solid surfaces. At present, the portion of oil that is already released from

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/eer.6562