Wax
Contents
Basics
- Waxes are Hydrocarbon Solids that are maleable at room
Temperature, and molted at low raised temperatures (40c+)
- Many Uses, and Easily Producible and/or Cheap so VERY good from an Appropriate Materials standpoint
Use Cases
- Candlemaking
- Sealant ( Vacuum Wax , Wax Rings , Even could make a Goofy Wax Letter Seal , etc)
- Waterproofing ( Wax Paper , Leather Cleaning and Care Supplies such as Saddle Soap etc)
- Firestopping Wax / Putty
- Wax Actuators
- As a Phase Change Material for Thermal Storage
- Cosmetic Uses
- Medical Use (Either for heat mased thearapy or Pill Coatings etc)
- Confectionary
- Lost Wax Casting / Investment Casting
- Beekeeping
- As a fuel
- As an ingredient in Firestarters or in Solid Rocket Motors/Hybrid Rocket Motors
Types
Plant Waxes
- Carnauba Wax
- Pure Plant Oil Processing ( Dewaxing / Oil Winterization ) Derived Wax / Soapstock
Animal Waxes
- Beeswax
- Need to get hard data on Beeswax Production Per Hive etc, but this is probably the most accessible form
- Lanolin
Semi-Synthetic Waxes
- Soy Wax / Rapeseed Wax and other similar products are essentially fully hydrogenated Plant Oils
- Akin to Margarine (although i am uncertain if the same worry/optimization to avoid Transaturated Fats is done)
Synthetic Waxes
- From Fossil Fuels:
- More Relevant to Bio-Refineries :
- Fischer-Troph Wax (Can be done with FT Crude from Fossil Derived and/or Renewable Syngas )
- Bio-Paraffin Wax
Specialty Waxes
- Rather than using a pure wax, for many applications premade mixes for that use case are made such as:
- Casting Wax formulated to “burn out” easily/with little residue
- Candle Wax Blends (Soy-Paraffin Blends etc)
Categories Used in Candlemaking
- Typically:
- Paraffin Wax
- Beeswax
- Soy Wax
- ”Wax Blends”
- Some of these are also specifically optimized for certain types of candles such as Pillar Candles etc
- Also optimizing Scent Throw (Candlemaking) (“Cold Throw” or how much scent a cold non-lit candle gives off, and “Hot Throw” or how well a lit candle adds scent to a space) is also a goal of some wax blends
- Some more novel waxes exist mainly
- ”Gel Wax” (Which is supposedly Mineral Oil and a polymer gelling agent
Form Factors
- Furthermore wax is sold to consumers in a variety of form factors
- Blocks (From small sizes like the brand “Gulf Wax” one can find in the canning section of grocery stores to giant slabs)
- Flakes
- Pellets
- Beads/Granules/Pearls/etc