How is an oil converted into a substance that is solid at room temperature?

Answer 1

Oils naturally contains a lot of unsaturated triglycerides (aka. Fats) which are molecules that contain three long carbon chains. Each of these carbon chains can be either saturated (meaning the carbon atoms are only bonded together by single bonds and have as many hydrogen atoms as it's valence will allow) or unsaturated (meaning the carbon atoms are bonded together by single and double bonds and could "convert" the double bonds to single bonds allowing it's valence to accept another hydrogen). Unsaturated triglycerides are flexible because the double bonds that make them up make them more linear. As a result, they are liquid. In a chemical process known as Hydrogenation, these unsaturated fats converted to saturated fats by the addition of hydrogen. The single bonds that result allow more rotation of various parts of the molecule. This rotation and the extra hydrogen atoms make the molecule more bulky and allowing the molecules to "intertwind" with eachother, thereby coverting the fat to a solid.

Answer 2

The solidification of oil at lower temperatures is the same process as the freezing of any liquid into a solid. At lower temperatures, there is less molecular motion, therefore it is easier for molecules to become attached to each other and form a solid.

Answer 3

adding hydrogens, decreasing the numbers of double bonds in the molecules

Answer 4

An oil is converted to a room temperature solid through hydrogenation. A simple form is H4C2 + H2 --> CH3CH.