Crambe oil is an inedible seed oil, extracted from the seeds of the Crambe abyssinica, a multibranched annual plant that is native to the Mediterranean. The oil has been shown to consist of 55-60% erucic acid. The Australian Farm Diversification Information Service writes:
- Intermediate product derived form high erucic acid oil include: triglycerides; erucamides; amines, behenic acid; erucyl alcohol; behenyl alcohol; wax esters; fatty acids; brassylic acid and pelargonic acid. These products are used to manufacture a multitude of industrial consumer items such as lubricants; heat transfer fluids; surfactants and coatings; cosmetics; polyesters; plastics and nylons.
Erucic acid is traditionally derived from older varieties of rapeseed. Crambe oil is considered to be a possible replacement for rapeseed oil in this capacity. The market for crambe oil is particularly developed in the USA.
Famous quotes containing the word oil:
“To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist—the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know exactly how much oil one must put with one’s vinegar.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)