Brassica oilseed protein processing

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Over the past 40 years, since the development of rapeseed cultivars that are free/low in erucic acid and glucosinolates, called canola, Canada became a major grower of oilseeds. Canola oil is now accepted as a premium edible oil. Canada has a huge capacity for growing canola, and its relative, mustard. At present canola oil is extracted by hexane, and is widely used in food. The residual meal is used as animal feed, despite its high nutritional value, due to its poor taste, residual antinutrients and high fibre content. Mustard is used as a condiment; however its protein is not further utilized as its oil is not suited for human consumption, due to high erucic acid content, that is linked to heart disease. There is increasing demand for oils as biodiesel feedstocks, and both mustard and canola oil are excellent biodiesel precursors. The food engineering group at the University of Toronto developed a series of processing innovations that addresses critical concerns regarding the processing of canola and mustard. The present proposal will prove the key concepts in processing mustard and canola into biodiesel and edible protein products, such as isolates and concentrates with or without the use of hexane extraction. The project will concentrate on two lines of research: protein isolation and solvent recovery. We propose to define the food functional properties and nutritional value of canola and mustard protein isolates produced by our patented membrane process, defining the sensitivity of the process and products to the control of processing variables such as temperature, pH and contact time. Secondly, we will review the feasibility of using a hexane-free process for producing these isolates directly from the seeds, and producing biodiesel directly without an intermediate solvent recovery step. We will focus on the reuse of extraction solvents, reagents and transesterification media. The program will define the feasibility of the process, and establish parameters for later scale-up and pilot testing in cooperation with one or more industrial parties. We will demonstrate the usefulness, and potential value of the food ingredient products, allowing informed decisions by potential industrial partners for commercialization.