Sunflower Oil: Interactions, Applications & Research

This book covers a number of topics concerning the utilisation of sunflower and sunflower oil. Various production sources of sunflower oil and its potential for producing improved food and fuel products are specifically emphasised. The characterisation of sunflower oil, its use as a raw material for biodiesel production, process optimisation and research studies applying it as a renewable solvent phase in chemical and biochemical separations are discussed. The chapters provide advances in scientific knowledge, valuable food product formulations and new reactor applications. The design guidelines on sunflower oil-based processes in terms of specific analysis, mathematical modelling and experimental findings in various potentially important industrial processes and related mass, heat and reactor equipment design are disclosed. The new reactor devices covered are the microreactor application for higher productivity, biochemical reactors for biofuel production and membrane contactors for the separation of toxic as well as high value chemicals. The six chapters of the book will be a valuable source of reference for scientists, academics and engineers in the industry working in the areas mentioned above, especially towards the production of bio-products and biodiesel from sunflower oil and its application in the development of new extraction processes. The first chapter covers the development of superior quality sunflower paste, spreadable creams, sunflower butter, bakery products and hummus, as well as improving the quality of the existing products, such as sunflower halva. The second chapter deals with the qualitative characterisation of the physical and chemical properties of sunflower oil with a variety of applications. The versatility of sunflower oil as a raw material for the production of biofuel is demonstrated in the third chapter. The fourth chapter focuses on the synthesis of biodiesel in a new-type of microreactor with circular obstructions. The fifth chapter expands upon the production of biodiesel from high linoleic acid sunflower oil with process optimisation and product characterisation. The sixth chapter covers research studies with a new type of sunflower oil application as an environmentally-friendly solvent. This chapter includes an experimental investigation in commercially available bench-scale membrane modules for the selective extraction of inorganic and organic molecules from real samples, such as groundwater and fermentation broth.