Oleic Acid

oleic acid [ō′lā·ik ′as·əd]

(organic chemistry)

C₁₇H₃₃COOH Yellowish, unsaturated fatty acid with lardlike aroma; soluble in organic solvents, slightly soluble in water; boils at 286°C (100 mmHg); the main component of olive and cooking oils; used in soaps, ointments, cosmetics, and ore beneficiation. Also known as octadecenoic acid; red oil.

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Oleic Acid 

CH₃(CH₂)₇CH═CH(CH₂)₇COOH, a monobasic unsaturated carboxylic acid; a colorless, viscous liquid. Boiling point, 225°–226°C at 1.33 kilonewtons per sq m, or 10 mm of mercury; density, 0.825 g/cm³ at 20°C. Nearly all vegetable oils and animal fats contain oleic acid in triglyceride form. Oleic acid is usually prepared from olive oil, in which its content reaches 70–85 percent. Oleic acid esters are used in the preparation of paints and varnishes and the manufacture of cosmetics and oleyl alcohol; the acid itself and certain esters are also used as plasticizers (for example, in the production of rubber). Oleic acid salts and the salts of other higher fatty acids are soaps.