Linseed oil, as well as some similar products, are important raw materials in various industrial applications, such as the production of paints and / or special coatings / treatments.
Linseed oil is rich in triglycerides having di- and tri-unsaturated fatty acids, which tend to solidify in the presence of oxygen. This process of solidification, which produces heat energy, is therefore typical of the so-called "drying oils"; at the base of this process there is a polymerization reaction (formation of long molecular chains) which occurs with regard to the action of oxygen on carbon skeletons.
Triglycerides can also be divided into glycerol and fatty acids (hydrolysed, then esterified) to obtain a diesel fuel (or better, biodiesel). On the other hand, glycerin can be used for other uses, such as the production of food or pharmaceutical derivatives.
