Development of New Fields of Application for Linseed Oil

Abstract

Abstract Linseed oil is a less developed raw material in oleochemistry, though it is available in technical scale. The main reasons for its limited industrial utilization can be attributed to its high reactivity towards oxygen, which results in a high autoxidation rate and a distinct propensity to polymerization and yellowing. The oxidative drying property has given the oil its historical usage in the coating and linoleum industry. On the other hand the specific characteristics of linseed oil, which refer to the pronounced reactivity of the olefinic double bond systems of linoleic and especially linolenic acid, are responsible for prohibitive difficulties in chemical exploitation of this domestic vegetable oil. Our work focussed on the utilization of the double bond functionality of linseed fatty acid for chemical transformations to modified fatty acids, polyfunctionalized fatty acids and derivatives thereof. The investigations with orientating character served to sketch the chemical reaction potential as well as novel applicational aspects of linseed oil based derivatives.