Soybean oil (

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

: soyabean oil) is a

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

extracted from

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

(''Glycine max'')

legumes Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consu ...

. It is one of the most widely consumed

cooking oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing h ...

s and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a

drying oil Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be conside ...

, processed soybean oil is also used as a base for printing inks ( soy ink) and

oil paint Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. Oil paint also has practical advantages over other paints, mainly because it is waterproof. The earliest surviving ...

Production

To produce soybean oil, the soybeans are cracked, adjusted for moisture content, heated to between , rolled into flakes, and solvent-extracted with

hexane Hexane () or ''n''-hexane is an organic compound, a straight-chain alkane with six carbon atoms and the molecular formula C6H14. Hexane is a colorless liquid, odorless when pure, and with a boiling point of approximately . It is widely used as ...

s. The oil is then refined, blended for different applications, and sometimes hydrogenated. Soybean oils, both liquid and partially hydrogenated are sold as "vegetable oil", or are ingredients in a wide variety of processed foods. Most of the remaining residue ( soybean meal) is used as animal feed. In the 2002–2003 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. In 2018–2019, world production was at 57.4 MT with the leading producers including

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(16.6 MT), US (10.9 MT),

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

(8.4 MT),

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(8.2 MT), and EU (3.2 MT).

Composition

Soybean oil contains only trace amounts of fatty carboxylic acids (about 0.3% by mass in the crude oil, and 0.03% in the refined oil). Instead it contains esters. In the following content, the expressions "fatty acids" and "acid" below refer to esters rather than carboxylic acids. Per 100 g, soybean oil has 16 g of saturated fat, 23 g of monounsaturated fat, and 58 g of polyunsaturated fat. The major unsaturated fatty acids in soybean oil

triglycerides A triglyceride (from ''wikt:tri-#Prefix, tri-'' and ''glyceride''; also TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids. Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and oth ...

are the polyunsaturates alpha-linolenic acid (C-18:3), 7-10%, and linoleic acid (C-18:2), 51%; and the monounsaturate

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish due to the presence of impurities. In chemical terms, oleic acid is cl ...

(C-18:1), 23%. It also contains the saturated fatty acids

stearic acid Stearic acid ( , ) is a saturated fatty acid with an 18-carbon chain. The IUPAC name is octadecanoic acid. It is a soft waxy solid with the formula . The triglyceride derived from three molecules of stearic acid is called stearin. Stearic acid ...

(C-18:0), 4%, and

palmitic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The ...

(C-16:0), 10%. The high proportion of oxidation-prone polyunsaturated fatty acid is undesirable for some uses, such as cooking oils. Three companies, Monsanto Company,

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

/ Bunge, and Asoyia in 2004 introduced low linolenic

Roundup Ready soybeans A genetically modified soybean is a soybean (''Glycine max'') that has had DNA introduced into it using genetic engineering techniques. In 1996, the first genetically modified soybean was introduced to the U.S. by Monsanto. In 2014, 90.7 milli ...

Hydrogenation Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to redox, reduce or Saturated ...

may be used to reduce the unsaturation in linolenic acid. The resulting oil is called hydrogenated soybean oil. If the hydrogenation is only partially complete, the oil may contain small amounts of trans fat. Trans-fat is also commonly introduced during conventional oil deodorization, with a 2005 review detecting 0.4 to 2.1% trans content in deodorized oil.

Applications

Food

Soybean oil is mostly used for

frying Frying is the cooking of food in cooking oil, oil or another fat. Similar to sautéing, pan-fried foods are generally turned over once or twice during cooking to make sure that the food is evenly cooked, using tongs or a spatula, whilst sautéed ...

, cooking, and

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but it can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot Baking stone, stones. Bread is the most commonly baked item, but many other types of food can also be baked. Heat is ...

. It is also used as a

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the Flavoring, flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant ...

for

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...

Drying oils

Soybean oil is one of many

s, which means that it will slowly harden (due to free-radical-based polymerization) upon exposure to air, forming a flexible, transparent, and waterproof solid. Because of this property, it is used in some printing ink and

formulations. However, other oils (such as

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colorless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

) may be superior for some drying oil applications.

Medical uses

Soybean oil is indicated for parenteral nutrition as a source of calories and essential fatty acids.

Fixative for insect repellents

While soybean oil has no direct

insect repellent An insect repellent (also commonly called "bug spray" or "bug deterrent") is a substance applied to the skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellent ...

activity, it is used as a fixative to extend the short duration of action of

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

s such as geranium oil in several commercial products.

Trading

Soybean oil is traded at the

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...

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. Below are the CQG contract specifications for Bean Oil:

References

External links

* {{Authority control Soy-based foods Soy products Vegetable oils