
Colza oil or colza is a
non-drying oil obtained from the seeds of
rapeseed (''Brassica napus'' subsp. ''napus''.
syn. ''Brassica campestris'' subsp. ''napus'' (L.) Hook.f. & T. Anderson). Colza is extensively cultivated in
France,
Belgium, the
United Kingdom, the
United States, the
Netherlands,
Germany,
Denmark (especially on the island of
Bornholm), and
Poland. In France and Denmark, especially, the extraction of the
oil is an important industry. In commerce, colza is a traditional
rapeseed oil (with turnip rape oil, sarson oil, toria oil (''
Brassica rapa'' ssp.), and
ravison oil), to which they are very closely allied in both source and properties. It is a comparatively nonodoriferous oil of a yellow colour, having a
specific gravity varying between 0.912 and 0.920. The cake left after extraction of the oil is a valuable feed ingredient for
pigs.
Uses
Colza oil is extensively used as a
lubricant for machinery. It was widely used in European domestic lighting before the advent of
coal (city) gas or
kerosene. It was the preferred oil for train pot lamps, and was used for lighting
railway coaches in the
United Kingdom before
gas lighting, and later
electric lighting, were adopted. Burned in a
Carcel lamp, it was part of the definition of the French standard measure for
illumination, the
carcel, for most of the nineteenth century. In
lighthouses, for example in early
Canada, colza oil was used before the introduction of
mineral oil. The colza oil was used with the
Argand burner because it was cheaper than
whale oil. Colza was burned to a limited extent in the
Confederacy during the
American Civil War.
Colza oil was used in Gombault's Caustic Balsam, a popular horse and human
liniment at the turn of the 20th century.
Among the more unusual applications of colza oil is the
calming of choppy seas, where the oil modifies the
surface tension of the water and rapidly smooths the surface. For this purpose, colza oil was carried in ship's lifeboats.
More recently, colza has been cultivated in Europe as an ingredient for
biodiesel fuels, and is the primary source of biodiesel in Germany.
Colza oil is also used as a food oil.
Bornholm, Denmark is the only place to produce rapeseed oil from the seed's
germ.
Production
See also
*
Toxic oil syndrome
*
Canola oil, a low erucic acid rapeseed oil
References
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colza Oil
Category:Lubricants
Category:Vegetable oils