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Hey all,

Not sure where to put this, im growing soy beans on my allotment to make soymilk and eat the beans too.

But I was reading that you can make oil from soya beans (via compression somehow) then turn that into wax (out of my league as you need to hydrogenate it).

But that got me thinking, I could make a parafin wick style burner using soya oil (if indeed it will burn in that form). But first I need to make the soya oil, so anyone got a clue how to do that, all I seem to be able to google is how to make the wax.

Cheers all

i would assume that it is a simlar process to making sunflower oil

Yep, but in my experience it is still not easy, I am yet to get useable quantities of oil.......

Nev

Andy Hamilton wrote:i would assume that it is a simlar process to making sunflower oil

Thankyou for the link. I am experimenting with alternative fuels (on a "jamjar" scale only), and am growing corn, sunflowers and miscanthus grass to experiment with yields, etc.
Sunflowers for oil for biodiesel / corn and grass for bio-ethanol.
I might just end up eating the corn though.

It's more of a learning experience / hobby. I have a 10 ton hydraulic press that I use for mechanicing and engineering type things, but I want to make attachements for it to make it into a cider press, but it looks like I can also use it for oil extraction.

Good article, thanks!

Edit : I have read that soya beans are very difficult to grow in the UK, but sunflowers obviously grow like billy-o (is that a proper word?). The "Kong" type variety which I am growing produce multiple heads and grow up to 14 feet high. I got my seeds from
here (Mr Fothergills) and they do some pretty good special offers if you order a couple of packs.

Thanks again for all the replies

Soy Beans are quite hard to grow but its an all rounder, beans for food and milk, oil for oil and burning (maybe candles).

Ill let you know how I go on