Canola oil produced in Canada is obtained from the seeds of Brassica napus and Brassica rapa. These cultivars, low in erucic acid

and glucosinolates, are very different from high erucic acid rapeseed oil in chemical, physical and nutritional properties.

Growing areas in Canada

Growing areas: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan

End uses for Canadian canola

Canola has a variety of end uses. The oil from canola is used for cooking and is found in salad dressing and margarine. Canola’s industrial uses include oil for fuel and ink for printing. In agriculture, canola meal is used for high-protein livestock feed and forage. Canola is used as fertilizer.

The Canadian Grain Commission provides resources about Canadian canola that are related to the Canadian Grain Commission’s functions as defined under the Canada Grain Act. This includes information about Canadian canola standards and grades and the results of scientific analysis of Canadian canola.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Physical Properties of Canola OilRelative Density (g/cm3; 20°C/water at 20°C) 0.914 – 0.917

Refractive Index (nD 40°C) 1.465 – 1.467

Crismer Value 67 – 70

Viscosity (Kinematic at 20°C, mm2/sec) 78.2

Cold Test (15 Hrs at 4°C) Passed

Smoke Point (°C) 220 – 230

Flash Point, Open cup (°C) 275 – 290

Specific Heat (J/g at 20°C) 1.910 – 1.916

Thermal Conductivity (W/m°K) 0.179 – 0.188

Relative Density

The relative density of canola oil was first reported by Ackman and Eaton

in 1977 and later confirmed by Vadke et al. (1988) and Lang et al. (1992).

Noureddini et al. (1992) reported a density for high erucic acid rapeseed

oil of 0.9073 g/cm3 while Appelqvist & Ohlson (1972) reported a range

from 0.906 g/cm3 to 0.914 g/cm3. Ackman and Eaton (1977) indicated

that a different proportion of eicosenoic (C20:1) and C18 polyunsaturated

acids could be a major factor for the increase in relative density of canola

oil. The higher specific gravity of 0.9193 g/cm3 observed for soybean oil

can be attributed to the higher content of linoleic acid (Ackman and

Eaton, 1977). As for other liquids, the density of vegetable oils is temperature

dependent and decreases in value when temperature increases

 Effect of Temperature on Density of Selected Oils.

Adapted from Lang, et al (1992) and Noureddini, et al (1992)

Crismer Value

The Crismer Value measures the miscibility of an oil in a standard solvent

mixture, composed of t-amyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol and water in the volume

proportion 5:5:0.27. Crismer value (CV) is one of the specification

criteria used for international trade, mostly in Europe. Characteristic values

are usually within a narrow limit (AOCS, 1992). The miscibility of an

oil is related to the solubility of glycerides, and is affected mainly by the

unsaturation and chain length of the constituent fatty acids. Little data is

available describing the solubility characteristics of canola oil.

Sahasrabudhe (1977) found that the Crismer value decreased from 82.0

to 76.8 with the reduction of erucic acid content from 54 to 0.1%.

Viscosity

Viscosity values estimate an oil’s relative thickness or resistance to flow.

Viscosity of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) canola is higher

than soybean oil 

Effect of Temperature on Viscosity of Canola and Selected Oils.

Adapted from Lang et al. (1992), Vadke et al. (1988)

and Noureddini et al. (1992)

Lang et al. (1992) and Noureddini et al. (1992a) found that the viscosity

of canola and other vegetable oils, like other liquids, was affected by

temperature and proposed an equation to calculate viscosity in the

temperature range from 4 to 100°C. Figure 2 shows the relation

between temperature and viscosity for canola and selected vegetable oils.

Rapeseed oil exhibited a higher viscosity than canola, corn and soybean

oils. This can be directly related to the contribution of saturated fatty

acids (Noureddini et al., 1992a).