What is paraffin? Paraffin wax is a common name for a blend of solid superior alkanes.How to write the chemical formula of paraffin, what is the use of paraffin, and what is made of paraffin, let’s take a look together below.

The chemical formula of paraffin wax: CnH2n + 2, where n = 20 ~ 40.

What is paraffin wax made of: Paraffin wax is a waxy white solid with a slight odor. It can be prepared by cold pressing or solvent dewaxing, sweating and other methods from waxy fractions of natural or artificial petroleum.

Paraffin wax is a solid crystal product extracted from petroleum. It is a variety of hydrocarbons, that is, a mixture of hydrocarbons of different molecular weight. It is composed mainly of normal paraffins, as well as some solid isoparaffins, cycloalkanes and a small amount of aromatic hydrocarbons. Commercial paraffin wax generally has a number of carbon atoms between 22 and 36, a molecular weight between 360 and 540, and a boiling point between 300 and 550 degrees Celsius. As the molecular weight, boiling point and melting point of paraffin wax increases, the normal paraffins in the composition decrease while isoparaffins and solid naphthenes increase. The chemical composition of paraffin from different crudes is also different.

Yellow paraffin wax or poorly refined wax still contains traces of non-hydrocarbon components Although these complex organic compounds of sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen contain only traces, the stability of paraffin wax is greatly reduced. Some molten ring aromatic hydrocarbons in the small amount of aromatics contained in paraffin are harmful to the human body, therefore, being a paraffin used in the food industry and medicine, molten ring aromatic hydrocarbons must be reduced below the index specified before can be used.

In the laboratory analysis of some paraffins with a mass spectrometer, the chemical composition data of each fraction divided by the number of carbon atoms in the molecule shows that the fractions with the fewest carbon atoms in the molecule are all normal alkanes , and as the number of carbon atoms increases, the content of isoparaffins and cycloalkanes increases, and aromatics in waxes appear only in the high-carbon fractions. Therefore, when the refining conditions are the same, in the general commercial paraffin wax, the melted ring aromatic hydrocarbon content in the low quality wax is lower than that of the high quality wax.

Paraffin wax is a blend of hydrocarbons, so it doesn’t have a rigorous melting point like pure compounds. The so-called melting point of paraffin wax refers to the temperature at which the period of stagnation first appears on the cooling curve when the molten paraffin sample is cooled under specified conditions. All types of wax products require paraffin wax to have good temperature resistance, i.e. it does not melt, soften and deform at a specific temperature. Depending on the conditions of use, the regions and seasons of use, and the differences in the environment of use, commercial paraffin waxes must have a number of different melting points.

The main factor affecting the melting point of paraffin wax is the weight of the selected raw material fraction.The paraffin wax melting point of the heavier fraction is higher. In addition, the oil content also has a great influence on the melting point of paraffin wax: the greater the amount of oil in the paraffin wax, the lower its melting point.