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Seed oils that are now widespread as cooking oils were originally used as machine lubricants.

by p886 4y ago

TSiege 4y ago
Fascinating and makes sense. I've recently gone down a rabbit hole on the uses of linseed oil pre fossil fuels, but it's too gummy to ever be used as a lubricant. Do you know off hand which seed oils were used for lubricants?
- ElevenLathe 4y ago
  Castor oil was famously used as a lubricant in early WWI-era airplane engines. The fumes would blow in the pilot's face and are also a laxative.
  - TSiege 4y ago
    Haha that's amazing! Hopefully the pilots weren't too phased. Thanks for sharing Did some further digging and it looks like it does have a tendency to gum. From wikipedia, "The viscosity of castor oil at 10 °C is 2,420 centipoise,[28] but it tends to form gums in a short time, so its usefulness is limited to engines that are regularly rebuilt, such as racing engines. Lubricant company Castrol took its name from castor oil." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil#Lubrication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil#Lubrication
trompetenaccoun 4y ago
So was olive oil, in addition to the use in food.
hammock 4y ago
Yes my point. They still are. Soybean oil is used in a wide range of lubricant and functional fluids applications: Gear oils and lubes Chainsaw bar oil Compressor oil Two-cycle engine oil Metalworking oils and Wire rope, chain, and cable lubricants General purpose and penetrating lubricants Transformer and transmission line cooling fluids Greases - automotive, machinery, rail curve, track Food-grade, industrial, and elevator hydraulic fluids https://www.stle.org/images/pdf/STLE_ORG/AM2019%20Presentations/Environmentally%20Friendly%20Fluids/STLE2019_Environmentally%20Friendly%20Fluids%20I_Session%203K_R.%20Brentin_Soybean%20Oil.pdf https://www.stle.org/images/pdf/STLE_ORG/AM2019%20Presentati... Obviously this is a backwards example (food-grade oil used for non-food applications), and my question was using this plastic oil for food applications.

Seed oils that are now widespread as cooking oils were originally used as machine lubricants.

by p886 4y ago

Seed oils that are now widespread as cooking oils were originally used as machine lubricants.

Fascinating and makes sense. I've recently gone down a rabbit hole on the uses of linseed oil pre fossil fuels, but it's too gummy to ever be used as a lubricant. Do you know off hand which seed oils were used for lubricants?

ElevenLathe 4y ago
Castor oil was famously used as a lubricant in early WWI-era airplane engines. The fumes would blow in the pilot's face and are also a laxative.
- TSiege 4y ago
  Haha that's amazing! Hopefully the pilots weren't too phased. Thanks for sharing Did some further digging and it looks like it does have a tendency to gum. From wikipedia, "The viscosity of castor oil at 10 °C is 2,420 centipoise,[28] but it tends to form gums in a short time, so its usefulness is limited to engines that are regularly rebuilt, such as racing engines. Lubricant company Castrol took its name from castor oil." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil#Lubrication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil#Lubrication

trompetenaccoun 4y ago

So was olive oil, in addition to the use in food.

hammock 4y ago

Yes my point. They still are. Soybean oil is used in a wide range of lubricant and functional fluids applications: Gear oils and lubes Chainsaw bar oil Compressor oil Two-cycle engine oil Metalworking oils and Wire rope, chain, and cable lubricants General purpose and penetrating lubricants Transformer and transmission line cooling fluids Greases - automotive, machinery, rail curve, track Food-grade, industrial, and elevator hydraulic fluids https://www.stle.org/images/pdf/STLE_ORG/AM2019%20Presentations/Environmentally%20Friendly%20Fluids/STLE2019_Environmentally%20Friendly%20Fluids%20I_Session%203K_R.%20Brentin_Soybean%20Oil.pdf https://www.stle.org/images/pdf/STLE_ORG/AM2019%20Presentati... Obviously this is a backwards example (food-grade oil used for non-food applications), and my question was using this plastic oil for food applications.