Vegetable oils worldwide production

The total commercial lecithin potential if all vegetable oils were degummed worldwide would be 552,000 t (Table 7). Although soybean, sunflower, and rape lecithins are available in the market, the principal commercial interest is only in soybean lecithin. The aimual worldwide production is 130,000 t (Table 8). 

For some time worldwide a systematic and large expansion of vegetable oil production has been occurring, especially in southeastern Asia in 1990 the consumption of fats amounted to about 80 million tons. Eighty percent was used as food, 6% as feed, but 14%—more than 14 million metric tons—was used for industrial purposes. By the year 2000 the world fat production will have risen to over 100 million tons [3]. Also, in the future the oleo chemistry will have a broad and reliable raw materials basis. Tables 3 and 4 give information on the present and future production of important fats and fatty oils and the composition of the fatty acid mixtures that can be derived from these fats. 

First generation bioethanol and biodiesel production, which mainly makes use of cereal grains and vegetable oils, represents a growing source of high quantities of protein as a valuable by-product. Sanders et al. (2007) estimated that a 10% substitution of fossil transportation fuels worldwide by first generation biofuels would result in an annual production of 100 million tonnes of protein - about four times the proteins requirement of the world s human population. A direct result of this would be the saturation of traditional protein markets. New opportunities would therefore emerge for chemical production from proteins. 

Cotton (Figure 1.1) is the most important natural textile fiber, as well as cellulosic textile fiber, in the world, used to produce apparel, home furnishings, and industrial products. Worldwide about 40% of the fiber consumed in 2004 was cotton [1]. (See also Table 9.1 World Production of Textile Fibers on page 130.) Cotton is grown mostly for fiber but it is also a food crop (cottonseed)—the major end uses for cottonseeds are vegetable oil for human consumption whole seed, meal, and hulls for animal feed and linters for batting and chemical cellulose. 

In 2001, 2.04 MT (million tons) of corn oil was produced worldwide (representing about 2% of the total worldwide vegetable oil production), with the top three producers being the United States (57%), the EU-15 (10%), and Japan (5%) (1). Compared with the 2001 world production of other vegetable oils, com oil ranks tenth, behind soybean (26.66 MT) > palm > canola/rapeseed > sunflower > peanut > cottonseed > coconut > palmkemel > and olive (1). 

In the past decade, palm oil has become internationally well known as a vegetable oil suitable for various applications—both edible and nonedible. This is brought about by it being a versatile oil for the production of various products, with technical and economic advantages over other oils and fats. Its price competitiveness and readily available supply is able to serve the needs of oils and fats consumers worldwide. 

Vegetable oils and fats are very important resources for polyols. The vegetable oils such as soybean oil, castor oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, olive oil, linseed oil and so on, with a worldwide production of around 110 milions t/year (in 2000) [10,12, 21, 22], are used mainly in human food applications (76%), in technical applications (19.5% only 7.5% is converted into soaps, and 10.5% is used in oleochemical industry) and 1.5% in other applications. Soybean oil is the most important vegetable oil produced worldwide, representing 25% from the total oils and fats, the second place being occupied by palm oil (18%) [10, 12, 21, 22, 24-26]. 

The double bonds in soybean oil fatty acids are good sites to add multiple functionalities such as hydroxyls and epoxies. The modified soybean oils containing multiple functionalities provide an alternative to petroleum as a chemical feedstock. Worldwide interest is expressed in using soybean oil, other vegetable oils, and their reactive modified versions as starting materials for polymer production because of the large quantities of nonrenewable petroleum being consumed (Barrett et al., 1993). 

In the 2002-2003 growing season, 30.6 million metric tons of soybean oil were produced worldwide, constituting about half of the worldwide edible vegetable oil production, and thirty percent of all fats and oils produced, including animal fats and oils derived from tropical plants. Soybean oil is produced in larger amounts than any other traded oil (about 23 million tonnes a year) and is grown particularly in the United States, followed by Brazil, Argentina, and China. ... 

Canola or rapeseed (Brassica napus or B. campestris) is a bright yellow-flowering member of the Brassicaceae (also known as the mustard) family. It is cultivated for the production of animal feed, vegetable oil for human consumption, and biodiesel. Worldwide, canola was the third leading source of vegetable oil in 2000, after soy and palm oils. Canola is also the world s second leading source of protein meal. ... 

Due to climate- and soil-related cultivation restrictions, different oil crops are characteristic for different parts of the world. Nevertheless, a global market exists and international trade in oil seeds, vegetable oils, and respective by-products is significant. The major oil crops worldwide are oil palm, soybean, rapeseed (canola), and sunfiower (see Table 4.1). The latter three are described in more detail below. Palm oil, which is obtained from the oil palm tree mainly planted in South East Asia (especially in Indonesia and Malaysia), grew to be the vegetable oil with the highest consumption (42.1 million tons, 30%) ahead of soybean oil (37.9 million tons, 28%) [1]. It has several applications in food, oleochemicals, and other industries [2], while it is also discussed as a major source for biodiesel. 

The worldwide consumption of soybean oil was 37.9 million tons in 2008, accounting for 28% of global vegetable oil usage [1]. It finds its way into several food appHcations such as cooking oils, salad oils, or margarines. Technical uses include additives for coatings. In the biofuels industries of the United States and Brazil, soybean oil is also the main feedstock for biodiesel production (almost 20% of soybean oil went into biodiesel in the United States in 2008 [7]). 

Olives Olea europea L.) are the most widespread and valuable plant in Mediterranean countries. Chehab et al. (2013) mentioned that world-wide production of olive oil during the last 20 years increased by almost 70% (from 1.7 to 2.8 million tons). Olive oils makes up a small proportion (<3.5%) of the volume in the world vegetable oil market. However, in terms of product value, only olive oil has a 15% share of world trade (Luchetti, 2000). According to the International Olive Council (IOC) statistics, there is an equilibrium exists between olive oil production and consumption worldwide, which is interesting taking into account the increase in production the last decade. 

Vegetal oils can be extracted from different species, as summarized in Table 3.1, which gives the avaage annual worldwide production of the 17 most important commodity oils. The major growth in the vegetable oil production is presently related to palm and rapeseed/canola oil [1]. 

Vitamin E, which has a worldwide production of around 7,000 tpa, is also produced from vegetable oils (deodorizing process) to the extent of about 10% of the total, and from 2,3,5-trimethylaniline (see Chapter 8.1). 

As mentioned earlier, oilseed samples representative of commercial vegetable oil production were obtained from the main production areas, worldwide. Hand-picked specimens, botanical curiosities and experimental agricultural strains were avoided as far as possible. Table 8.1 lists the number of samples obtained for each oilseed type and the number of geographical harvest regions sampled in each case. The first item in the table, babassu kernel oil, was of minor importance, only five samples being analysed. However, it is a potential impurity in palm kernel and coconut oils and partly for this reason it was considered important to establish its chemical characteristics. In addition, the Codex Alimentarius Commission Fats and Oils Committee has issued a specification for babassu kernel oil and MAFF asked us to check the criteria published in this Codex specification. 

Biorefining is not a new activity production of vegetable oils, beer and wine requiring pretreatment, separation and conversion techniques developed thousands of years ago, and a Chinese official started paper production around AD 100. Industrial biorefining was initiated by the introduction of steam-driven paper machines in the nineteenth century. Most innovations are, however, related to developments in food production crystalline sugar, potato starch (early and mid-nineteenth century), wheat and corn starch (early twentieth century) and, recently, soy oil, proteins, and vitamins. Industrial processing techniques, developed in Europe and North America, are applied worldwide and serve as examples of biorefining evolvement. Some are discussed here. 

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