Increase in Sales of Vegetable Oils from Austrian Oilseeds by Increase of the Technical Grade with Regard to the Demands of the Varnishing Industry

Status

completed

Summary

Oil seeds have a great importance in some agricultural areas in Austria in crop rotation and have been cultivated in the last years with alternating economic success. This project aims to establish contact-initiating measures in order to make cultivation of oil crops appealing by increasing economic advantages. Concurrently the Austrian Agricultural Oil Producers should be enabled to fit the demands of the Austrian Bonding-Agent Industry in amount quality.

This topic is promising and meets the interest of industry an agriculture , because of the intention of the EC to enforce restrictive legislation on chemicals. Renewable materials will have a great future due to their less toxicological relevance.

As shown in the current project it is possible to enhance the importance of by-products in a new application. Waldland Inc. , an Austrian Agricultural Association produces milk thistle in order to extract Silymarin a hepatoprotective agent. Milk thistle oil is produced as an by-product in an extent of 10%. Due to its odour and taste it is not usable as a food ingredient, therefore experiments as a heating oil recently have been made.

Pre-investigations of three raw oils, comprising milk thistle oil, Sun flower oil and Linseed oil, have revealed good, but recently not satisfying properties to be used in bonding agents for varnishes.

Milk thistle oil (Silybum marianum)

• Color number after transesterification: 40
• Color Number after Alkyd Resin Synthesis: 9
• Comments:
  Disadvantageous high Color Number, later improvement, but unacceptable, after Alkyd-resin synthesis further improvement

Sunflower oil (Helianthus)

• Color number after transesterification: <10
• Color Number after Alkyd Resin Synthesis: 6-7
• Comments:
  Good properties in resin synthesis, after transesterification not acceptable, slightly bad application properties

Linseed oil (Linum usitatissimum)

• Color number after transesterification: 27
• Color Number after Alkyd Resin Synthesis: 27
• Comments:
  Color number worse than sun flower oil, after transesterification quite out of average, disadvantageous high Color Number,

New investigations have to be made with cleaned oil. It is therefore necessary to have a pilot plant for cleaning less amounts of oil for new pre-investigations, deeper enquiries are to be made to find possibilities in the scientific community.

The securing of a continuos availability of raw materials demand a economic fair situation for agriculture. This situation enforces planning reliability for the agricultural producer and furthermore contributes to an increasing of acreages and crop production. This will also be possible by the establishment of a direct agricultural-industrial marketing without broker activity. An important problem to be solved is the perception of the revenue of the agricultural producer and the expenses for the industry. This point must be overcome by concensus.

The intention of the EC agricultural policy will also have a part in the efforts, because the future plan on close-down areas and area premiums will have great impact the future development of crops.

It must be concluded that at recent time the development of crop areas for enhancing oil crops can not be estimated reliably. The biggest impacts are the development of the cereral crop market and the animal food market, in order to ensure the supply of the Austrian population with home-grown products, which is the major aim of agriculture in Austria. If a new regulation would lead to an excess of crop and a decay of the market price, a large area would be exempted. At recent time the extent of this area, it can not be estimated reliably.

Project management

Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Michael Gann
HOLZFORSCHUNG AUSTRIA

Project or cooperation partner

• Ing. Josef Breinesberger
  AgrarPlus GmbH
  Julius Raab Promenade 1, A-3100 St. Pölten
  Tel.: +43 (0)2742 352234-0
  Fax: +43 (0)2742 352234-4
  E-Mail: josef.breinesberger@agrarplus.at
• Dr. Albert Keiler
  ADLER WERK Lackfabrik
  Johann Berghofer
  Bergwerkstr 22, A-6130 Schwaz
  Tel.: +43 (0)5242 6922 / 400
  Fax: +43 (0)5242 6922 / 499
  E-Mail: albert.keiler@adler-lacke.com
• Dr. Edmund Urbano
  Surface Specialties Austria GmbH
  Leechgasse 21, A-8010 Graz
  Tel.: +43 (0)50 399-0
  Fax: +43 (0)50 399-1249
  E-Mail: edmund.urbano@vianova-resins.de
  Internet: http://www.ucb-group.com/
• Ing. Thomas Bammer
  TIGERWERK Lack- u. Farbenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG.
  Negrellistr. 36, A-4600 Wels
  Tel.: +43 (0)7242 400-0
  Fax: +43 (0)7242 65008
  E-Mail: t.bammer@tiger-coatings.com

Unit Pulp and Paper
Franz Grill Straße 7, A-1030 Wien
Tel.: +43 (0)1 7982623 22
Fax: +43 (0)1 7982623 50
E-Mail: m.gann@holzforschung.at