The results of a project carried out in Matís revealed that fish oils and oils from pelagic fish are well suited as wood preservatives.
Annually, a significant amount of fish oil is added as an additional raw material. In the production of fishmeal, part of the production becomes extra raw material due to high acidity due to free fatty acids or overheating. During the processing of cod liver oil, hundreds of tonnes of unusable fish oil are released due to the production of omega 3 extracts. In addition, hundreds of tons of sterin fall due to the cold cleaning of fish oil. This fish oil has been burned as a fuel and also used for mixing with tar in asphalt making.
In 1941, Tryggvi Ólafsson, the founder of Lýsir hf. summer house with wood paneling as the outer wall at Þingvellir. He used a mixture that mainly contained fish oil to protect the house. Now, 75 years later, the exterior of the house is still as good as new.
The aim of the project was to develop a product from fish oils for use as part of raw materials in wood preservation. Processing processes were developed to process dirty crude oil and pelagic fish into valuable wood oil.
The results showed that fish oils and oils from pelagic fish are well suited as wood preservatives. Sterin could not be used as it precipitates at room temperature and does not mix with other ingredients.
