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What is Oil Used For

Aparna Jadhav
Oil can be generally categorized into three main categories which are petrochemical oils, volatile essential oils and vegetable oils. Read to find out what are the various uses of different types of oils.
If you had to generalize oil on the whole, there would be a simple explanation to that. Oil is that form of any substance which is liquid and hydrophobic at ambient temperatures but soluble in organic solvents.
Oils are non-polar substances which have a high carbon and hydrogen content and have many sources in nature. They are summed up in three main categories of oils which are petrochemical oils, volatile essential oils, and vegetable oils. Each of these has its own individual characteristics and uses.

Oil and its Uses

In the ancient times, when man found ways to extract oil from vegetables and rock, he realized that there are limited uses of oil. But today, we need oil for a lot of things like food, automobiles, hair, cosmetics and many other purposes.

Oil in Automobiles

This application or use of oil is the largest throughout the world. Vehicles, trains, planes, ships and every other automobile which works on an engine, uses motor oil or some form of petroleum to work.
Cars, which are the most extensively used vehicles on roads are also maintained by engine oil and petroleum. Oil in cars is used mainly for lubrication of the metal parts present in the internal body of the vehicle.
It keeps the parts from corroding against each other and thus, increases the shelf life of the vehicle. It is also essential that you use the right kind of engine oil for your motors as there are cases of infiltration many times.

Sweet Oil

Sweet oil is olive oil because it is sweet in taste. There are many applications of olive oil with regard to food and cosmetics. It is one of the oldest known oils in human culture and has a variety of uses all over lifestyle.
Medically it has been used for ear problems, to bind various ingredients together in medicines and also as a massaging oil for spasm and muscle pain treatments.
The culinary uses of sweet oil are as cooking oil, to making butter and margarine. It is also used as salad dressings and to fry foods. It is a good substitute for cholesterol, including animal oils and thus, it helps to fight diabetes and heart diseases.

Cottonseed Oil

Cottonseed oil is a vegetable oil which is extracted from cottonseeds of the plant. It is used for cooking and is known for very low cholesterol levels. It is also a great salad oil used for dressings and is preferred for diets as there is very low level of saturated fats in it.
Cottonseed oil has a unique taste and hence, it is used in a number of fast foods and snacks. This is a completely culinary oil and thus, there aren't many uses of this oil in the medical field or as an essential oil.
Oil is a basic necessity for us in today's world. But these resources are limited so, make sure you use oil in any form, sensibly and carefully!