Difference Between Paraffin and Beeswax

What is the difference between paraffin wax and beeswax? Here are some related knowledge of paraffin wax and beeswax for you.

What is paraffin?

   Paraffin wax is a kind of strange wax extracted from certain distillates of petroleum, shale oil or other bituminous mineral oil, which is white or light yellow translucent, and has a fairly obvious crystal structure. Another artificial paraffin.

Paraffin physical properties

   Paraffin, also known as crystalline wax, is usually a white, colorless and odorless waxy solid that melts at 47°C-64°C with a density of about 0.9g/cm3. It is insoluble in water, but soluble in ether, benzene and some esters. Pure paraffin is a good insulator, higher than most materials except some plastics (especially Teflon). Paraffin is also a good heat storage material with a specific heat capacity of 2.14–2.9 J g–1 K–1 and a heat of fusion of 200–220 J g–1. Paraffin is the main ingredient of candles.

Main uses of paraffin

    Because of its high oil content, crude paraffin is mainly used in the manufacture of matches, fiberboards, tarpaulins, etc. After adding polyolefin additives to paraffin, its melting point is increased, adhesion and flexibility are increased, and it is widely used in moisture-proof and waterproof packaging paper, cardboard, surface coating of certain textiles and candle production.

    After immersing paper in paraffin, various wax papers with good waterproof performance can be prepared, which can be used in food, medicine and other packaging, metal rust prevention and printing industry; when paraffin is added to cotton yarn, it can make textiles soft, smooth and elastic. ; Paraffin can also be made into detergents, emulsifiers, dispersants, plasticizers, greases, etc. Due to the increasing shortage of animal and vegetable waxes, most candles today are made of paraffin. Paraffin melts when heated, glows, emits black smoke, and emits heat when candles burn.

   Fully refined paraffin wax and semi-refined paraffin wax are widely used. They are mainly used as components and packaging materials for food, oral medicines and certain commodities (such as wax paper, crayons, candles, carbon paper), coating materials for baking containers, and for fruit preservation. , Electrical components insulation, improve rubber aging resistance and increase flexibility. It can also be used for oxidation to generate synthetic fatty acids.

So is there any way to tell the difference between paraffin wax and beeswax?

• 1. Unfiltered and purified beeswax is called raw beeswax, which generally contains impurities, which are generally deposited at the bottom of the wax block. The paraffin and bee paraffin mixed wax will not have impurities.
• 2. Both the original beeswax and the purified beeswax have a honey-like aroma and slightly sour, light taste, delicate and sticky chewing, and strong toughness. Paraffin is odorless or organic oil, tasteless, brittle and non-stick.
• 3. The texture of beeswax is soft and smooth, it feels greasy to the touch, and the broken surface is granular, which can be softened by hand rubbing and kneading. Paraffin wax, on the other hand, has a hard texture, and the fractured surface is flaky, which cannot be softened by hand rubbing. Tianmafeng, join our WeChat to learn beekeeping together.
• 4, the melting point of beeswax is relatively low, and its melting speed and solidification speed are relatively slow; in contrast, the melting point of paraffin wax is relatively high, and the melting speed and solidification speed are relatively fast.
• 5. Light candles made of beeswax and paraffin respectively for comparison. Because the main component of paraffin is hydrocarbons containing carbon, it is very easy to burn, and the flame and burning speed of the candle are significantly higher than that of beeswax candles. Use a clean glass piece to stop at half a centimeter above the flames of the two candles, and you can see that the glass piece above the flame of the paraffin candle is covered with carbon black, while the glass piece above the flame of the beeswax candle has no carbon black. , which is the most significant difference between the two.