‘Groundbreaking work’: U of M researcher honoured for solvent-free canola oil extraction

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This article was published 21/11/2024 (315 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nazanin Vafaei has worked behind the scenes to make canola oil production better for humans and the environment. Now, she’s getting recognized nationally for her efforts.

The University of Manitoba postdoctoral researcher flew to Ottawa earlier this week to accept an innovation award from Mitacs, a Canadian non-profit research organization.

“I’m really honoured,” Vafaei said. “I think it’s payoff … for all these years.”

She began playing with improvements to the canola oil extraction process three years ago.

Typically, processors use solvent to remove oil from canola seeds. Some of the solvent, which is toxic, remains in canola oil afterwards.

Government allows for a small level of residue that doesn’t negatively impact consumers’ health, said Rotimi Aluko, director of the University of Manitoba’s Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research (where Vafaei conducted her work).

Using solvent requires a lot of energy and it can’t be recycled. It evaporates into the atmosphere, but some accumulates in the environment, like entering soil, Aluko said. Tonnes of solvent are used in Manitoba’s canola processing sector, he noted.

Vafaei’s findings allow for a new form of canola oil extraction — one that doesn’t use solvent at all. Instead, processors use compressed carbon dioxide (which acts like a liquid) to take oil from canola seeds.

“We’re not adding to the carbon dioxide in the environment. We’re simply taking carbon dioxide from the environment,” Aluko said.

The carbon dioxide can be reused. The process is called supercritical fluid extraction.

“I don’t want any kind of solvent being in our environment anymore,” Vafaei said. “I hope, one day, all the oil manufacturers skip the solvent extraction using (these) kinds of environmentally friendly systems.”

The process is already used on hemp plants in Europe, Vafaei relayed. North American companies have used such technology for producing essential oils and decaffeinated coffee.

Vafaei is leading the change on canola oil extraction in the continent.

The new process is better for the environment and human health and it’s also good for Canada’s income, Aluko said.

Currently, leftover canola residue from the extraction process — called canola meal — is used for fertilizer or animal feed despite its high protein content. Through Vafaei’s method, canola meal can be used in human food.

Vafaei highlighted plant-based protein options like non-meat burgers.

More money comes from producing human food than animals’ meals, Aluko noted.

“The industry can get more money from the oil, they can get more money from the canola meal,” he said.

The upfront cost of switching technologies may keep industry using solvents for a while, Aluko predicted, adding he believes companies will eventually lean into adoption of Vafaei’s invention.

Stephen Lucas, chief executive of Mitacs, called Vafaei’s findings “groundbreaking work.”

Vafaei worked with the Canola Council of Canada and received support from Mitacs.

“Vafaei is a fantastic example of how bringing together critical talent with the right resources and partnerships is crucial to creating … innovations that benefit Canadians,” Lucas wrote in a statement.

She received $1,000 from Mitacs upon winning the award. She’s one of eight to be chosen, picked from a pool of thousands of researchers.

Her past work includes developing an alternative to palm oil Mitacs deems environmentally friendly and healthier.

The last Manitoban to receive a Mitacs innovation award was Moneca Sinclaire in 2021, for her work on a mobile app allowing Indigenous communities more control over their records and data.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com