Coconut Oil

coconut oil [′kō·kə‚nət ‚ȯil]

(materials)

A nearly colorless or yellow oil from fresh coconut (Cocos nucifera) or from copra (dried coconut); used in foods, in making soap, and as a raw material in fatty-acid production.

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Coconut Oil 

a fatty vegetable oil obtained from copra, the dried flesh of the fruit of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). It is one of the “hard” oils. Density, 0.925 g/cm³; coagulation temperature, 19°–23°C. Its composition is as follows (in percent): stearic acid, 1.0–3.0; palmitic acid, 7.5–10.5; myristic acid, 13–19; lauric acid, 44–52; caproic acid, 0.2–2.0; caprylic acid, 6.0–9.7; capric acid, 4.5–10.0; oleic acid, 5–8; linoleic acid, 1.5–2.8; hexadecenic acid, up to 1.3. Kinematic viscosity at 50°C, (251–264) × 10^-6 m²/sec; iodine number, 7–10.5. Coconut oil has great industrial value and is used mainly in the manufacture of soap and cosmetics, as well as in the food industry (in the production of margarine).