Crude Sunflower Oil

About This Product

Crude sunflower oil is produced by pressing and solvent-extracting sunflower seed, usually after partial dehulling. Oil-type sunflower seed is rich in oil, and the crude oil is a principal product of the crush, with sunflower meal as the co-product. Two main types are traded: conventional, linoleic-type oil and high-oleic oil from specially bred varieties. They behave quite differently as feedstocks, so the type should always be stated. Conventional sunflower oil is rich in linoleic acid, with an iodine value of about 120–140 g I2/100 g. Its methyl ester generally exceeds the EN 14214 iodine value limit of 120 unless blended and needs antioxidant to meet the oxidation stability requirement, although its cold-flow properties are good. High-oleic sunflower oil, with an iodine value nearer 80–90, gives a much more stable ester. For HVO and HEFA-SPK (SAF), both types convert well into C18-derived paraffins, with the linoleic type consuming more hydrogen. Crude sunflower oil also carries natural waxes from the seed hull, which crystallise slowly on cooling. For food use they are removed by winterisation. In fuel production they can cause haze in the ester, filter blocking and deposits in cold tanks, so pretreatment usually includes a cooling and filtration step, or the plant relies on distillation of the ester. Degumming and drying are needed before alkaline transesterification, and phosphorus and metals must be brought down to low mg/kg levels for hydrotreating. Typical parameters are FFA (often up to about 1–2 % as oleic acid in crude oil), moisture and impurities, phosphorus, iodine value, wax content or a cold test, and oleic acid content where the high-oleic type is specified. For hydrotreating, buyers also set mg/kg limits on calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium and chloride. Sunflower oil is a food and feed crop oil and is not listed in Annex IX. Under RED III, fuels made from it count towards transport targets only within each Member State's crop cap, and ReFuelEU Aviation excludes it from its SAF obligation. Buyers should confirm the treatment in their market and the certificate scope for the lot with their certification body, and ensure that the sustainability declaration and greenhouse-gas data can be booked in their mass-balance records. Crude sunflower oil is liquid at ambient temperature and moves in bulk vessels, ISO tanks, flexitanks and road tankers. In cold holds waxes can settle, so gentle heating and recirculation before discharge help achieve a representative sample and a complete discharge. In an enquiry, state conventional or high-oleic type, your FFA, moisture and impurities, phosphorus, wax and iodine value limits, route, volume, packaging, delivery terms and documentation needs.