The Hazard of Soy Flour, n-Hexane, and Their Hybrid Mixtures in the Extraction Process

Soybean oil takes around half of the vegetable oil resources in the world, increasing in importance constantly. Besides, soy oil plants have experienced numerous accidents due to the coexistence of soy flour and hexane (as a solvent) in the extraction process, thus creating a hazardous environment. This study aims to find the maximum pressure, the maximum rate of pressure rise, and the minimum ignition energy of soy flour-hexane mixtures through specific experiments by varying the concentration of fuels in air and ignition mechanism (chemical igniters or exploding wires). The results have shown that soy flour alone is hard to ignite, whereas adding hexane even in small amounts increases the hazard and the severity of the explosions considerably. Eventually, the substitution of hexane with a greener and safer extraction agent should be of utmost focus.