Physico-Chemical and Viscosity Studies in Some Seed Oils from Wild and Cultivated Plants

Physico-chemical properties of Madhuca longifolia L, Sterculia foetida L and Hibiscus cannabinus L seed oils were investigated. M. longifolia has significantly high oil content. These determined parameters have been compared with the literature and discussed. The temperature dependence of density and absolute viscosity in these oils has been determined over the temperature range from 303 K to 343 K. The values of density and absolute viscosity in these oils are comparable with that reported for other similar kind of oils. Both density and viscosity decreased monotonically with increase in temperature. Empirical relations which describe the temperature dependence of absolute viscosity were fit to the experimental data and the correlation constants for the best fits are presented and discussed.