Product Overview
100% Pure Castor Oil ACS Grade (CAS 8001-79-4) is a natural triglyceride pressed from the seeds of the Ricinus communis plant, offered here at full strength with no dilution or carrier. Its defining character is a high ricinoleic acid content and unusually high viscosity for a vegetable oil, which is why it turns up in lubricant blending, plasticizer work, and oleochemical synthesis rather than the commodity oil aisle. This listing carries the ACS Grade designation — the descriptor laboratory and procurement teams typically specify when a purchase order calls for reagent-catalog castor oil rather than a general industrial fill. Pack sizes run from 1 quart bottles for the bench up to 275 and 330 gallon totes for production, all available to order from our Taylor, Texas operation.
Why This Concentration
At 100% concentration, you are buying the oil itself — nothing to back-calculate, no water phase, no carrier solvent to account for in a formulation. The practical decision on this page is grade, not strength. The ACS Grade descriptor is what analytical and R&D buyers ask for when their internal specs or customer audits require a reagent-catalog designation on the paperwork. If your process is purely industrial — gear and machinery lubrication, plasticizer compounding, biodiesel feedstock trials — the standard 100% Pure Castor Oil covers the same chemistry without the grade designation. Formulators working in pharmaceutical excipient or personal-care contexts often specify 100% USP Grade Pure Castor Oil instead, because USP is the designation their quality systems are written around. Match the grade label to what your documentation chain actually requests; the underlying oil is the same molecule family in every case.
Chemical Profile
Castor oil is a viscous natural triglyceride, and because it is a plant-derived mixture rather than a single molecule, it is identified by its CAS number, 8001-79-4, rather than a single molecular formula. Its fatty acid profile is dominated by ricinoleic acid, a hydroxylated fatty acid that gives castor oil two traits buyers care about: higher viscosity than most vegetable oils and better solubility in alcohols than typical triglycerides. You will also see it listed under the synonyms Ricinus Communis Oil and Castor Bean Oil on inbound purchase orders and older specifications — same material, same CAS. Lot-specific measured values are reported on the certificate of analysis and technical data sheet that accompany this product.
Industrial Applications
Castor oil earns its place in industrial purchasing because the ricinoleic backbone does work most triglycerides cannot. The established uses we see buyers order against:
-
Lubricants: the oil's high viscosity and film stability make it a base stock and additive in machinery and equipment lubrication, and a classic component in specialty lubricant blending.
-
Plasticizers: compounders use castor oil and its derivatives as plasticizing agents in flexible plastics production, where it improves workability of the polymer matrix.
-
Pharmaceutical excipients: formulators use castor oil as a carrier and excipient base in drug formulation work; buyers in this space should confirm the grade designation their quality system requires before ordering.
-
Oleochemical synthesis: the hydroxyl functionality on ricinoleic acid makes castor oil a preferred feedstock for downstream synthesis of derivatives used across coatings, polymers, and specialty chemistry.
-
Biodiesel production: renewable-fuel operations use castor oil as a transesterification feedstock in biodiesel trials and production.
-
Cosmetic formulation: personal-care manufacturers use castor oil as a formulation ingredient in skin and hair care products.
Handling & Storage
This product is not classified as hazardous under GHS based on available data (per the product's GHS classification), and it carries no signal word. That makes it one of the easier materials in a chemical storeroom, but standard practice still applies: wear appropriate PPE when handling and transferring, keep containers closed, and store cool, dry, and out of direct sunlight to protect the oil from oxidation. Keep it away from strong oxidizing agents, and use HDPE or glass containers for transfers and sub-packaging to avoid contamination. For bench quantities, smaller containers reduce headspace air exposure between uses; for drum and tote quantities, plan dispensing equipment suited to a viscous oil, especially in a cold warehouse. This handling guidance is reviewed by Andre Taki, DOT Hazmat Specialist.
Hazmat & Shipping
This product carries no UN number, hazard class, packing group, or proper shipping name in our transport records — it is not regulated as a hazardous material for transport. Note what that does and does not mean: it governs the transport classification only, not any individual carrier's fees, routing, or service terms, and not the receiver's own paperwork obligations. Quart and gallon sizes ship as standard parcel-class freight candidates; 55 gallon drums and 275–330 gallon totes move as palletized or bulk freight. Our Taylor, TX shipping team packs viscous oils in sealed, upright-secured containers to prevent seep at the closure during transit.
Documentation
An SDS ships with every order and is available in English, Spanish, French, and Japanese — useful when your EHS binder or an overseas customer audit needs more than the English sheet. A lot-specific certificate of analysis (COA) is available for the material you receive, and a technical data sheet (TDS) is available for engineering and formulation review. If your quality system requires documents up front, request them with your quote and we will send them before the order ships.
Why Buy from Alliance Chemical
One supplier covers your whole usage curve on this product: the same ACS Grade castor oil is offered from 1 quart laboratory bottles through 5, 15, and 55 gallon fills up to 275 and 330 gallon totes, each backed by a lot-specific COA and a four-language SDS. That means the material you validated at the bench is the material you scale with — no re-qualifying a second vendor at production volume. Alliance Chemical has operated as an industrial chemical distributor since 1998, serving more than 50,000 customers from our warehouse at 204 S Edmond St, Taylor, Texas. Every product page, including the shipping and handling guidance above, is reviewed by Andre Taki, DOT Hazmat Specialist. Request a quote for tote and drum pricing, or order packaged sizes online.
