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. It is composed of wax esters with a small proportion of triglycerides, an ester of an unsaturated fatty acid, and a branched-chain fatty alcohol.[1] It is a natural antioxidant and heat-transfer agent.[1] In the late-18th and early-19th centuries, sperm oil was prized as an illuminant for its bright, odorless flame and as a lubricant for its low viscosity and stability. It was supplanted in the late 19th century by less expensive alternatives such as kerosene and petroleum-based lubricants. With the 1987 international ban on whaling, sperm oil is no longer legally sold.[2]
The oil from bottlenose whales was sometimes called "Arctic sperm oil." It was cheaper than and inferior to true sperm oil.[3][4]
^ ab[Transmission Digest, Volume 26, No. 2, October 2006, "The Science of Synthetic Sperm Whale Oil"]
^"$2,000 Penalty Assessed for Illegal Attempted Sale of Sperm Whale Oil Over Internet". NOAA. 8 June 2004. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004.
^Julius Lewkowitsch (1904). Chemical technology and analysis of oils, fats, and waxes. pg 870
^"Official Swatch Website - Swatch International". Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
Spermoil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. Spermoil has a different composition from...
("tear drop"). Spermoil, a special kind of oil obtained from the head cavities of sperm whales, differs chemically from ordinary whale oil: it is composed...
extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia. The sperm whale is a pelagic mammal...
Sperm whaling is the human practice of hunting sperm whales, the largest toothed whale and the deepest-diving marine mammal species, for the oil, meat...
liquid was bottled and sold as "winter-strained spermoil". This was the most valuable product - an oil that remained liquid in freezing winter temperatures...
The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) is one of two extant species in the family Kogiidae in the sperm whale superfamily. They are not often sighted...
It can be used for oiling machinery, and indeed has a reputation for this purpose as watch oil, but is now superseded by spermoil. The ancient Greeks...
a sexual partner. Sperm sold by a sperm donor is known as donor sperm. A sperm bank may be a separate entity supplying donor sperm to individuals or to...
porpoises, and all other whales possessing teeth, such as the beaked whales and sperm whales. 73 species of toothed whales are described. They are one of two...
eases sperm specimen collection by masturbation. Commonly used lubricants include saliva, oil (such as baby oil, olive oil, canola oil, or mineral oil) or...
jojoba contain about 52% oil, 97% of which are wax esters. These wax esters, which are monounsaturated, are very similar to spermoil. Marine organisms like...
Livyatan is an extinct genus of macroraptorial sperm whale containing one known species: L. melvillei. The genus name was inspired by the biblical sea...
remaining majority of the carcass was discarded. Spermaceti oil came solely from the head-case of sperm whales. It was processed by pressing the material rather...
was a significant improvement over lamps designed to burn vegetable or spermoil. In 1914, the Coleman Lantern pressure lamp was introduced by the Coleman...
providing the economic basis for the sperm whaling industry. A sperm whale may contain as much as 1,900 liters of this oil. While nasal complex morphology...
lucrative market for fueling indoor lamps was supplied by whale oil, specifically that from sperm whales, which burned brighter and cleaner. Canadian geologist...
fertility, a measure of the ability of sperm in semen to accomplish fertilization. Semen quality involves both sperm quantity and quality. Semen quality...
Macroraptorial sperm whales were highly predatory whales of the sperm whale superfamily (Physeteroidea) of the Miocene epoch that hunted large marine mammals...
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