Chapters authored
Application and Conversion of Soybean Hulls
Soybean is one of the most cultivated crops in the world, with a global production of approximately 240 million tons, generating about 18–20 million tons of hulls, the major by-product of soy industry. The chemical composition of soybean hulls depends on the efficiency of the dehulling process, and so, the soybean hulls may contain variable amounts of cellulose (29–51%), hemicelluloses (10–25%), lignin (1–4%), pectins (4–8%), proteins (11–15%), and minor extractives. This chapter provides a review on the composition and structure of soybean hulls, especially in regard to the application and conversion of the compositions. Current applications of soybean hulls are utilizations to animal feed, treatment of wastewater, dietary fiber, and herbal medicine. The conversion of soybean hulls is concerned with ethanol production, bio-oil, polysaccharides, microfibrils, peroxidase, and oligopeptides. On the basis of the relevant findings, we recommend the use of soybean hulls as important source on environment, energy, animal breeding, materials, chemicals, medicine, and food.
Part of the book: Soybean