Adiabatic reactor for simulating storage-damaged soybeans

An adiabatic reactor was constructed to simulate conditions that lead to storage-damaged soybeans. The heart of the system is an electronic temperature controller that causes the reactor temperature to closely follow intrinsic heating of the soybeans. Using moisture concentrations between 17% and 20%, we observed intrinsic heating ranging from 47 C to 52 C after 3–13 weeks. Quality of the extracted oil was determined by analyses for triglyceride (TG) composition, total phosphorus (P), peroxide value and free fatty acid (FFA). Higher FFA and lower P and linolenic acid concentrations in the damaged beans compared with undamaged beans agree with the literature and indicate reliability of the adiabatic reactor for further studies, e.g., the effect of enzymatic activity on the quality of resulting soybean oil.