12 Facts About Castor oil

Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans.

Castor oil is well known as a source of ricinoleic acid, a monounsaturated, 18-carbon fatty acid.

Castor oil has been used in cosmetic products included in creams and as a moisturizer.

Small amounts of castor oil are frequently used in cold-process soap to increase lathering in the finished bar.

Castor oil is used as a biobased polyol in the polyurethane industry.

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Castor oil is not a drying oil, meaning that it has a low reactivity with air compared with oils such as linseed oil and tung oil.

Castor oil can react with other materials to produce other chemical compounds that have numerous applications.

Vegetable oils such as castor oil are typically unattractive alternatives to petroleum-derived lubricants because of their poor oxidative stability.

Castor oil has better low-temperature viscosity properties and high-temperature lubrication than most vegetable oils, making it useful as a lubricant in jet, diesel, and racing engines.

Castor oil has been suggested as a lubricant for bicycle pumps because it does not degrade natural rubber seals.

Castor oil was the preferred lubricant for rotary engines, such as the Gnome engine after that engine's widespread adoption for aviation in Europe in 1909.

Gummy residues can still be a problem for aeromodelling powerplants lubricated with castor oil usually requiring eventual replacement of ball bearings when the residue accumulates within the engine's bearing races.