The production process of vegetable oil involves the removal of oil from plant components, typically seeds. This can be done via mechanical extraction using an oil mill or chemical extraction using a solvent. The extracted oil can then be purified and, if required, refined or chemically altered.
Where is soybean oil traded?
Soybean oil is traded at the Chicago Board of Trade in contracts of 60,000 pounds at a time. Prices are listed in cents and thousandths of a cent per pound, with a minimum fluctuation of 5/1000 cents. It has been traded there since 1951.
How is soybean oil made?
Shijing, the Book of Odes, contains several poems mentioning soybeans. To produce soybean oil, the soybeans are cracked, adjusted for moisture content, heated to between 60 and 88 °C (140 and 190 °F), rolled into flakes, and solvent-extracted with hexanes. The oil is then refined, blended for different applications, and sometimes hydrogenated.
What is soybean oil used for?
Most of the remaining residue (soybean meal) is used as animal feed. In the 2002¨C2003 growing season, 30.6 million tons (MT) of soybean oil were produced worldwide, constituting about half of worldwide edible vegetable oil production, and thirty percent of all fats and oils produced, including animal fats and oils derived from tropical plants.