Paraffin Wax
What is Paraffin Wax?
Paraffin wax is a white or colorless soft solid derivable from petroleum, coal or oil shale, that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbonmolecules containing between twenty and forty carbon atoms. These waxes are categorized by oil content and the degree of refinement.
The crudest versions fall into the slack wax category and contain between 7% to 20% oil.
Next on the step of refinement are scale waxes containing between 0.5% to 7% oil that are called Semi Refined Paraffin Wax.
The highest grade of refinement is the Fully Refined Paraffin Wax that has maximum 0.5% oil.
Paraffin wax, colourless or white, somewhat translucent, hard wax consisting of a mixture of solid straight-chain hydrocarbons ranging in melting point from about 52° to 66° C (120° to 150° F).
It is solid at room temperature and begins to melt above approximately 37 °C (99 °F) its boiling point is >370 °C (698 °F) Common applications for paraffin wax include lubrication, electrical insulation,rubber, and candles. It is distinct from kerosene, another petroleum product that is sometimes called paraffin. Praffin wax are semi refined and fully refined type. Semi refined is large used for making rubber product.
Paraffin Usage
It is used in candles, wax paper, polishes, cosmetics, and electrical insulators.
It assists in extracting perfumes from flowers, forms a base for medical ointments, and supplies a waterproof coating for wood.
In wood and paper matches, it helps to ignite the matchstick by supplying an easily vaporized hydrocarbon fuel.
History and Manufacturing process of Paraffin Wax
Paraffin wax was first produced commercially in 1867, less than 10 years after the first petroleum well was drilled. It precipitates readily from petroleum on chilling.
Technical progress has served only to make the separations and filtration more efficient and economical.
Purification methods consist of chemical treatment, decolorization by adsorbents, and fractionation of the separated waxes into grades by distillation, recrystallization, or both. Crude oils differ widely in wax content.
Synthetic paraffin wax was introduced commercially after World War II as one of the products obtained in the Fischer–Tropsch reaction, which converts coal gas to hydrocarbons.
Snow-white and harder than petroleum paraffin wax, the synthetic product has a unique character and high purity that make it a suitable replacement for certain vegetable waxes and as a modifier for petroleum waxes and for some plastics, such as polyethylene.
Paraffin wax color
It is generally white in color, whereas microcrystalline wax and petrolatum range from white to almost dark brown. A fully refined wax should be virtually colorless (water-white) when examined in the molten state. The absence of color is of particular importance in wax used for pharmaceutical purposes or for the manufacture of food wrappings. The significance of the color of microcrystalline wax and petrolatum depends on the use for which they are intended. In some applications (e.g., the manufacture of corrosion preventives), color may be of little importance.
The Saybolt color test method (ASTM D156) is used for nearly colorless waxes, and in this method, a melted sample is placed in a heated vertical tube mounted alongside a second tube containing standard color disks. An optical viewer allows simultaneous viewing of both tubes. The level of the sample is decreased until its color is lighter than that of the standard, and the color number above this level is the Saybolt color.
The test method for the color of petroleum products (ASTM DI500, IP 196) is for wax and petrolatum that are too dark for the Saybolt colorimeter. A liquid sample is placed in the test container, a glass cylinder of 30-35 min ID, and compared with colored glass disks ranging in value from 0-5 to 8-0, using a standard light source.
