INFORM April 2026

EXTRACTS & DISTILLATES INFORM 41

Ryan J. Stoklosa is a research chemical engineer and lead scientist for the USDA, Agricultural Research Service located in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. His research focuses on technologies to convert plant biomass into fuels and high value chemicals. Edible oil processing research balances the understanding of important parameters such as limiting waste, improving efficiencies, and characterizing recovered products. The first article is a review of process approaches that refine waste oil streams from soybean, rapeseed/canola, and sunflower for sustainable valorization to other products. The second article examines an integrated comparison of four extraction methods for hemp seed oil to evaluate overall yield, presence of bioactive compounds, and overall oxidative stability of the oil. The last article investigates the defatting process (both solvent based and solvent free) for camelina and pennycress flours with a focus on lipid oxidation and flavor development. PHYTONUTRIENTS FROM EDIBLE OIL REFINING WASTE-STREAMS: RECENT ADVANCES IN RECOVERY AND VALORIZATION APPROACHES TOWARDS A ZERO-WASTE ECONOMY Kazemi, M., et al. , Journal of Food Science , 25, 1, 2026. The edible oil refining process is critical for improving oil quality and extending its

shelf-life. By-products from refining, including gums, soapstock, spent bleaching earth (SBE), and deodorizer distillate (DD), are generated in large volumes and often discarded despite being rich in valuable phytonutrients such as tocopherols, phytosterols, and polyphenols. Valorization is a sustainable approach to address these by-products in response to the increasing demand for adapting sustainable practices in the food industry. This review focuses on the by-products resulting from the refining of the top three oilseeds, soybean, rapeseed/ canola, and sunflower and examines their potential for sustainable valorization. To that end, available literature relating to the effects of chemical and physical refining processes on phytonutrient content is explored, with an emphasis on the losses of individual phytonutrients that occur during refining stages. Main strategies used for recovering these compounds from refining by-products, particularly DD, are discussed. Beyond recovery, the potential of biotechnological approaches for producing other valuable compounds, such as enzymes, is highlighted. Furthermore, the integration of phytonutrient recovery with microbial bioprocesses, such as fermentation, is suggested for refining by-products, such as DD, to address the remaining oily waste after phytonutrient recovery and achieve “zero-waste” concept. This approach can provide

an opportunity to minimize waste, reduce environmental impacts, and align valorization with the principles of a circular economy. By exploiting all ingredients in by-products, this approach can maximize value addition and generate new economic opportunities. EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR HEMP SEED OIL: BIOACTIVE COMPOUND EXTRACTABILITY, AND OXIDATIVE STABILITY Allay, A., et al. , Sustainable Food Technology , 1, 2026. An integrated comparison of four extraction methods was carried out to evaluate their performance in terms of hemp seed oil yield, physicochemical characteristics, and bioactive compound extractability. The methods included Soxhlet extraction (SOX HPE) using a ternary solvent system (hexane/ethyl acetate/2-propanol; 4/4/2), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) with 7.5% ethanol, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with 10% ethanol, and mechanical extraction (ME). Microstructural changes in the seed powders were also examined using scanning electron microscopy to better understand the mechanisms of cell wall disruption. SOX HPE provided the highest oil yield (33.24%), followed by MAE and SFE (30.69 and 30.51%, respectively). HPLC-DAD/ ESI-MS2 analysis identified 29 phenolic compounds, with the highest total concentrations observed in oils from SOX-HPE A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF YIELD,