“Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants. Physically, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides, as contrasted with waxes which lack glycerin in their structure. Although many plant parts may yield oil,[1]in commercial practice, oil is extracted primarily from seeds.”  

“Vegetable oils are used as an ingredient or component in many manufactured products.”

“Many vegetable oils are used to make soaps, skin products, candles, perfumes and other personal care and cosmetic products. Some oils are particularly suitable as drying oils, and are used in making paints and other wood treatment products. Dammar oil (a mixture of linseed oil and dammar resin), for example, is used almost exclusively in treating the hulls of wooden boats. Vegetable oils are increasingly being used in the electrical industry as insulators as vegetable oils are not toxic to the environment, biodegradable if spilled and have high flash and fire points. However, vegetable oils are less stable chemically, so they are generally used in systems where they are not exposed to oxygen, and they are more expensive than crude oil distillate. Two examples are FR3 by Cooper Power and BIOTEMP  by ABB. Midel 7131 by M & I materials is a synthetic tetraester, like a vegetable oil but with four fatty acid chains compared to the normal three found in a natural ester, and is manufactured by Fischer esterification. Tetraesters generally have high stability to oxidation and have found use as engine lubricants. Vegetable oil is being used to produce biodegradable hydraulic fluid and lubricant.”

“One limiting factor in industrial uses of vegetable oils is that all such oils eventually chemically decompose, turning rancid.  Oils that are more stable, such as ben oil or mineral oil, are preferred for some industrial uses.”

“Vegetable-based oils, like castor oil, have been used as medicine and as lubricants for a long time. Castor oil has numerous industrial uses, primarily due to the presence of hydroxyl groups on the fatty acid chains. Castor oil, and other vegetable oils which have been chemically modified to contain hydroxyl groups, are becoming increasingly important in the production of polyurethane plastic for many applications. These modified vegetable oils are known as natural oil polyols.”

(Wikipedia, Vegetable Oil, 5/1/2011)

Applications     
Castor Oil    
Renewable Resources   
Soybean Oil
Sustainable Technology   
Sustainable Materials   

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