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Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. [1] Oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train-oil , which comes from the Dutch word traan ("tear drop"). Sperm oil , a special kind of oil obtained from the head cavities of sperm whales , differs chemically from ordinary whale oil: it is composed mostly of liquid wax .
Left to right: A sample of solid raw spermaceti, a spermaceti wax candle and a bottle of sperm oil. Spermaceti / s p ər m ə ˈ s iː t i ˌ-ˈ s ɛ-/ is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of the sperm whale (and, in smaller quantities, in the oils of other whales). Spermaceti is created in the spermaceti organ inside the whale's head
Sperm oil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. Sperm oil has a different composition from common whale oil, obtained from rendered blubber. Although it is traditionally called an "oil", it is technically a liquid wax.
Throughout the 19th century, "millions of whales were killed for their oil, whalebone, and ambergris" to fuel profits, and they soon became endangered as a species as a result. [28] Due to studies showing that the whale populations were being threatened, the International Whaling Commission instituted a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982 ...
Whale oil was the result of "trying-out" whale blubber by heating in water. It was a primary lubricant for machinery, whose expansion through the Industrial Revolution depended upon before the development of petroleum-based lubricants in the second half of the 19th century. Once the prized blubber and spermaceti had been extracted from the ...
The first such whale hunting ship was the steamer Mabel Bird, which towed whale carcasses to an oil processing plant in Boothbay Harbor. At its height in 1885 four or five steamers were engaged in whale fishery at Boothbay Harbour, dwindling to one by the end of the decade.
Whale blubber, which tastes like arrowroot biscuits, has similar properties. [12] Whaling largely targeted the collection of blubber: whalers rendered it into oil in try pots, or later, in vats on factory ships. The oil could serve in the manufacture of soap, leather, and cosmetics. [13] Whale oil was used in candles as wax, and in oil lamps as ...
Whale oil continued to be used via an improved mechanical delivery system when the parabolic reflector system was introduced around 1810. Whale oil remained the fuel of choice until coiza oil (pressed from wild cabbages) replaced whale oil in the early 1850s. However, due to certain challenges, America's farmers lost interest in growing and ...