File Photo
Linseed oil is an edible and industrial vegetable oil made from the seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum). Linseed and food-grade linseed oil (called flaxseed oil in some places) are considered to have health benefits and are consumed as a food. Lower-quality linseed oil, which generally has a less pleasant smell and taste, is used for various industrial purposes.
Flax, the source of flax fiber, flaxseed, and linseed oil, is one of the world's oldest cultivated crops, dating back to the Neolithic era. Native to Europe and Asia, it is cultivated as an annual crop in temperate regions worldwide, particularly in China, Russia, Belgium, the United States, and Canada. Varieties grown for fiber generally produce fewer seeds than those grown for flaxseed and linseed oil.
Linseed oil is golden yellow, brown, or amber and slightly more viscous than most vegetable oils. Food-grade linseed oil is used in cooking, although it is somewhat volatile and goes rancid quickly. Given that it contains the highest levels of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) of any vegetable oil, linseed oil is sometimes taken as a nutritional supplement, although ground or whole flaxseed is more commonly used.
Photo: Collected
Industrially, it is classified as a drying oil because it thickens and hardens on exposure to air. These properties make it particularly useful in the manufacture of paints, printing inks, linoleum, wood varnishes and stains, and oilcloth. Linseed oil is primarily used in artists' oil paints, which are made by grinding raw pigments into oil. It is also used as a coating for concrete surfaces, such as on buildings, bridges, and parking lots, for its ability to repel water, which helps maintain the concrete and reduces rusting of reinforced steel. It was once a common ingredient in exterior house paints but has largely been replaced by petroleum-based materials.
The main commercial grades of linseed oil for industrial use are crude, refined, boiled, and bloomed. Crude oil is the slowest drying. Refined oil is crude oil with free fatty acids, gums, and other foreign matter removed. Boiled and bloomed grades dry very quickly and form the hardest films. After the oil is removed from flaxseed by compression, the remaining meal, rich in protein and minerals, is heated to make a cake for livestock.
Source: Online/OFA
Comment Now