Linseed oil

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Linseed oil

Linseed oil, also known as flax seed oil or simply flax oil, is a clear to yellowish drying oil

Drying oil

A drying oil is an oil which hardens to a tough, solid film after a period of exposure to air. The term "drying" is actually somewhat of a misnomer - the oil does not harden through the evaporation of water or other solvents, but through a chemical polymerization reaction in which oxygen is absorbed from the environment and the fatty acid ch...
derived from the dried ripe seeds of the flax

Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean region to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent....
plant (Linum usitatissimum, Linaceae

Linaceae

The Linaceae is a family of flowering plants, mostly herbaceous or rarely woody plants, sometimes large trees in the tropics. The simple entire leaves are almost always alternate, sometimes with stipules....
). It is obtained by pressing, followed by an optional stage of solvent extraction. Cold pressed oil obtained without solvent extraction is marketed as flaxseed oil.

eed oil is the most commonly used carrier in oil paint

Oil paint

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Linseed oil'

Start a new discussion about 'Linseed oil'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Uses

Paint binder

Linseed oil is the most commonly used carrier in oil paint

Oil paint

Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint consisting of small pigment particles suspended in a drying oil. Oil paints have been used in England as early as the 13th century for simple decoration, but were not widely adopted for artistic purposes until the 15th century....
. It can also be used as a painting medium, making oil paints more fluid, transparent and glossy. It is available in varieties such as Cold Pressed, alkali refined, sun Bleached, sun thickened, and polymerised (stand oil).

Putty

Glazing putty

PuTTY

PuTTY is a terminal emulator application which can act as a client for the Secure Shell, Telnet, rlogin, and Transmission Control Protocol computing protocols....
, consisting of a paste of chalk

Chalk

Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. It forms under relatively deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
powder and linseed oil, is a traditional sealant for glass windows that dries hard within a few weeks and can then be painted over.

Wood finish

When used as a wood finish

Wood finishing

Wood finishing refers to the process of embellishing and/or protecting the surface of a wooden material. The process starts with surface preparation, either by sandpaper by hand , Card scraper, or Plane ....
, linseed oil dries slowly and shrinks little upon hardening. Linseed oil does not cover the surface as varnish does, but soaks into the (visible and microscopic) pores, leaving a shiny but not glossy surface that shows off the grain. Wood treated with linseed oil is resistant to denting and scratches and is easily repaired, but the surface is not as hard as a modern varnish

Varnish

Varnish is a Transparency , hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Varnish is traditionally a combination of a drying oil, a resin, and a Turpentine substitute or solvent....
, and the wood will slowly absorb moisture if allowed to stay wet. Soft wood is protected from denting, but requires numerous applications and even more drying time than harder wood. Garden furniture

Garden furniture

Garden furniture, also called patio furniture, is a type of furniture specifically designed for outdoor use. It is typically made of weather resistant materials....
treated with linseed oil may develop mildew

Mildew

Mildew refers to certain kinds of mold or fungus. In Old English, it meant honeydew , and later came to mean mildew in the modern senses.*The term mildew is often used generically to refer to mold growth, usually with a flat growth habit....
. Oiled wood is yellowish and darkens with age.

Linseed oil is a traditional finish for gun stocks, but a very fine finish may require months to obtain. Several coats of linseed oil is the traditional protective coating for the raw willow

Willow

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere....
wood of cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games team sport that originated in southern England. The earliest definite reference is dated 1598, and it is now played in more than 100 countries....
bats, and thus has a special cultural place in cricket-playing countries. Fire departments treat the wood handles of hand tools that have metal implements (e.g. axes, plaster hooks) with Linseed oil to prevent buildup of static electricity

Static electricity

Static electricity refers to the buildup of electric charge on the surface of objects. The static charges remains on an object until they either bleed off to ground or are quickly neutralized by a discharge....
. Linseed oil is also often used by billiards

Billiards

Cue sports are a wide variety of Game of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a Baize-covered billiards table bounded by rubber ....
/pool

Pocket billiards

Pocket billiards, most commonly referred to as pool. It is the general term for a cue sport played on a specific class of billiards table, having 6 receptacles called pockets along the rails, in which billiard ball are deposited as the main goal of play....
cue-makers

Cue stick

A cue stick , is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of Pocket billiards, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a Billiard ball, usually the ....
cue shafts, as a lubricant/protectant for wooden recorders, and used in place of epoxy to seal modern wooden surfboard

Surfboard

Surfboards are elongated platforms used in the sport of surfing. They are relatively light, but strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding a Ocean surface wave....
s.

Nutritional supplement

Food-grade flaxseed oil is cold-pressed, obtained without solvent extraction, and marketed as edible flaxseed oil. Fresh, refrigerated and unprocessed, linseed oil is used as a nutritional supplement. It contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acid

Omega-3 fatty acid

n-3 fatty acids are a family of unsaturated fat fatty acids that have in common a final carbon?carbon double bond#Bond order in the essential fatty acid#Nomenclature and terminology position; that is, the third bond from the methyl end of the fatty acid....
s, especially alpha-linolenic acid

Alpha-linolenic acid

a-Linolenic acid is an organic compound found in many common Vegetable fats and oils. IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry, it is named all-cis-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid....
, which has been suggested to be beneficial for reducing inflammation leading to atherosclerosis, preventing heart disease and arrhythmia, and is required for normal infant development. However recent well-controlled placebo

Placebo

The placebo effect is a phenomenon in medicine where the results of a medical treatment are affected by their symbolism, and not just their medical value....
studies suggest that regular consumption of flax seed oil may not reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease, or cancer any greater than placebo. Regular flaxseed oil contains between 52 and 63 % alpha linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3). Plant breeders have developed flaxseed with high alpha linoleic acid content (70 %) and very low alpha linolenic acid content (< 3%).

Although flax seeds themselves contain lignan

Lignan

The lignans are a group of chemical compounds found in plants, particularly in flax seed. Lignans are one of the major classes of phytoestrogens, which are estrogen-like chemicals and also act as antioxidants....
s, a class of phytoestrogens considered to have antioxidant

List of antioxidants in food

File:Foods highest in antioxidants.jpg...
and cancer preventing properties, the extracted linseed oil does not contain the lignans found in flax seed, and therefore does not have the same antioxidant properties. In fact, flax seed oil is easily oxidized, and rapidly becomes rancid with an unpleasant odor

Odor

An odor or odour is a volatilized chemical compound, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction....
unless refrigerated

Refrigeration

Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable....
. Even when kept under cool conditions it has a shelf life of only a few weeks. Oil with an unpleasant or rancid odour should be discarded. Rancid oils contribute to the formation of free radicals and may be carcinogenic. Oxidation of flax seed oil is major commercial concern, and antioxidants may be added to prevent rancidification

Rancidification

Rancidification is the decomposition of fats, oils and other lipids by hydrolysis or oxidation, or both. Hydrolysis will split fatty acid chains away from the glycerol backbone in glycerides....
.

Nutrient content

Typical Fatty Acid Content	%
Palmitic acid Palmitic acid Palmitic acid,CH314COOH or hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature, is one of the most common saturated fatty acids found in animals and plants....	6.0
Stearic acid Stearic acid Stearic acid or 18:0 is a saturated fatty acid. It is a waxy solid, and its chemical formula is C18H36O2....	2.5
Arachidic acid Arachidic acid Arachidic acid, also called eicosanoic acid, is a saturated fatty acid found in peanut oil. Its name derives from the Latin arachis — peanut....	0.5
Oleic acid Oleic acid Oleic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid fatty acid found in various animal and vegetable sources. It has the formula C18H34O2 ....	19.0
Linoleic acid Linoleic acid Linoleic acid is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. It is a colorless liquid. In physiological literature, it is called 18:2. Chemically, linoleic acid is a carboxylic acid with an 18-carbon chain and two cis double bonds; the first double bond is located at the sixth carbon from the omega end....	24.1
Linolenic acid Linolenic acid Linolenic acid can refer to either of two fatty acids:alpha-Linolenic acid – an Omega-3 fatty acid found in many vegetable oils. The unmodified term linolenic acid* most commonly refers to this substance....	47.4
Other	0.5

Nutrition information from the Flax Council of Canada.

Per 1 Tbsp (14 g)

Calories: 124
Total fat
Fatty acid

In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid often with a long unbranched aliphatic tail , which is either saturation or Unsaturated compound....
: 14g
Omega-3: 8g
Omega-6: 2g
Omega-9: 3g

Flax seed oil contains no significant amounts of protein, carbohydrates, or fibre.

Additional uses

Animal feeds
Fodder

In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs....
Sealants
Caulking
Caulking

Caulking is a Process used to seal the seams in wooden boats or ships, and riveted iron or steel ships, in order to make them watertight. The same term also refers to the application of flexible sealing compounds to close up crevices in structures against water, air, dust, insects, or as a component in firestopping....
compounds
Linoleum
Linoleum

Linoleum is a floor covering made from solidified linseed oil in combination with wood flour or cork dust over a burlap or canvas backing. Pigments may be added to the materials used....
Earthen floor
Earthen floor

An earthen floor, also called an adobe floor, is a floor made of dirt, raw earth, or other unworked ground materials. It is usually constructed, in modern times, with a mixture of sand, finely chopped straw and clay, mixed to a thickened consistency and spread with a trowel on a sub-surface such as concrete....
s
Adobe
Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, and water, with some kind of fibrous or organic material , which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun....
Textile
Textile

A textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by Spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands known as yarn....
s
Bicycle
Bicycle

The bicycle, bike, or cycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered transport with two bicycle wheel attached to a bicycle frame, one behind the other....
maintenance as a thread fixative, rust inhibitor and lubricant
Leather
Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
treatment
Polish
Polishing

Polishing is the process of creating a smooth and shiny surface by rubbing it or using a chemical action, leaving a surface with significant specular reflection and minimal diffuse reflection....
es, varnishes and oil paints
Composition ornament
Composition ornament

'Compo' is a mouldable resin worked either by hand or more usually pressed into moulds to produce decorative work. It's now most commonly seen as part of Gilding picture frames, but was in use for many smaller decorative mouldings from the later part of the Baroque period....
for moulded decoration
Animal care products
Wood preservation
Industrial Lubricant
Particle Detector
Particle detector

In experimental and applied particle physics and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify high-energy Elementary particles, such as those produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a particle accelerator....
s

Boiled linseed oil

Boiled linseed oil is used as a paint

Paint

Paint is any liquid, liquifiable, or mastic composition which after application to a Substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film....
binder or as a wood

Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
finish on its own. Heating the oil causes it to polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. While polymer in popular usage suggests plastic, the term actually refers to a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a variety of properties....
ize and oxidize, effectively making it thicker and shortening its drying time. Today most products labeled as "boiled linseed oil" are a combination of raw linseed oil, petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
-based solvent and metallic dryers. The use of metallic dryers makes boiled linseed oil inedible. There are some products available that contain only heat-treated linseed oil, without exposure to oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
. Heat treated linseed oil is thicker and dries very slowly. This grade of linseed oil is usually labeled as "polymerized" or "stand" oil, though some types may still be labeled as "boiled".

Spontaneous combustion

Rags dampened with boiled linseed oil are considered a fire hazard because they provide a large surface area for oxidation of the oil. The oxidation of linseed oil is an exothermic

Exothermic

File:Explosion1.JPG In thermodynamics, the term exothermic describes a process or reaction that releases energy usually in the form of heat, but also in form of light , electricity , or sound....
reaction which accelerates

Thermal runaway

File:ThermalRunaway.pngThermal runaway refers to a situation where an increase in temperature changes the conditions in a way that causes a further increase in temperature leading to a destructive result....
as the temperature of the rags increases. If rate of heat accumulation exceeds the rate of dissipation, this reaction may eventually become sufficiently hot to cause spontaneous combustion of the rags. Linseed oil soaked rags should never be stored, least of all in an enclosed container. Instead, rags should be washed, soaked with water, or incinerated. A fire that destroyed the El Rey Theater-Golden West Saloon in February 2008 was ignited by the spontaneous combustion of linseed oil soaked rags left in a plastic container.

Linseed oil

Uses

Paint binder

Putty

Wood finish

Nutritional supplement

Nutrient content

Additional uses

Boiled linseed oil

Spontaneous combustion

See also