Each candle consists of one or more wicks and solid fuel – wax. The word wax is a collective term for various raw materials. Candle wax can be mineral, animal or vegetable. The most common raw materials used today to make candles are paraffin, beeswax and stearin. All of them are components of nature and are processed through complex processes in such a way that they have the necessary properties.
Paraffin, beeswax and stearin can be used both in pure form and in mixtures for candles. The price and availability of the raw material, its processability on existing candle making machines, and the later properties of the product (e.g. during combustion) ultimately determine the use of the raw material in modern candle making.
Due to its good processing properties and availability, paraffin is by far the most commonly used in candle making.
Sustainability and recycling of renewable raw materials are also becoming increasingly important in candle production. Among other things, vegetable or animal fats are increasingly used in the production of candles.
High-quality candles contain natural contaminants so low that they do not pose a risk to people or the environment. The purity of raw materials and products is constantly monitored using the latest analytical techniques. Therefore, the decisive factor for the safety of the consumer is not what raw material was used, but the quality of this raw material.
Paraffin is a complex mixture (at room temperature) of solid hydrocarbons with a waxy consistency. The paraffins used to make candles are mainly extracted from the fossil raw material, crude oil. Paraffin is a by-product of oil refining.
With the help of complex subsequent stages of the process – filtration, degreasing, hydrotreating – processing into high purity paraffins occurs. These purified paraffins are subject to constant quality control and are harmless from a toxicological point of view. Paraffin is also used, for example, in the food industry and in cosmetic products. Pure paraffin is biodegradable.
The solidification point of paraffins commonly used to make candles is between 45°C and 70°C. Other important criteria for differentiation are hardness, oil content and viscosity. Due to their physico-chemical properties, paraffins are suitable for all candle manufacturing processes. Thanks to the close cooperation between Balthasar and the wax manufacturers, suitable wax can be used in the production of candles, depending on the final product.
Beeswax is the oldest raw material for candles, a metabolic product of the honey bee. The wax is secreted from the belly of builder bees and is used to create honeycombs. The color and pleasant smell of beeswax eventually acquires due to contact with honey and pollen.
Its color varies from yellow to light and dark green to red-yellow and dark brown. It has a blunt, fine-grained fracture, is easily kneaded, has great plasticity and clearly sticks when heated. Naturally, this raw material is only available in limited quantities.
Natural beeswax contains a number of impurities that are removed through various purification processes. It is then often bleached with bleaching earth or hydrogen peroxide. However, because color and odor are also lost as a result, high purity beeswax is sometimes used again for consumer reasons as an additive to wax mixtures and because of its elasticity to produce wax plates such as those used for candles. embellishments such as flowers, ribbons and ornaments.
Stearin (Greek Stear – solid fat) is a solid crystalline mixture of various fatty acids, which essentially consists of palmitic and stearic acids. Although it has waxy properties, it is not usually classified as a wax.
The starting materials for the production of stearin are animal or vegetable fats and oils. Palm oil is the main vegetable raw material. Raw materials of animal origin are mainly beef and pork fat, less often fish oil or fish oil. Today, candle makers mainly use vegetable stearins.
The solidification point of stearin ranges from 52 °C to 60 °C. A feature of stearins is that the softening and melting points are almost identical (for paraffins, both points differ by about 15 °C). One of the reasons for this is the very good temperature stability of stearin candles.
About the waxing process of candle machine
1. Follow wax: Add some water to the pot, put the solid paraffin into the pot (can melt the paraffin into wax water), melt it into liquid wax water until the pot is added to the configuration pigment color.
Soy Wax is a vegan wax made from the complete oiling of soybeans. Like honey, it is considered a natural wax, and 100% pure soy wax is often used in containers of soy wax.
Paraffin wax is a hydrocarbon mixture extracted from some distillates of petroleum, shale oil or other bituminous mineral oils. The main component is solid alkanes, odorless and tasteless, and it is a white or light yellow translucent solid.
Paraffin is a purified mixture of solid saturated hydrocarbons. Paraffin wax is a flaky or needle-like crystal obtained from lubricating oil fractions obtained by distillation of crude oil through solvent refining, wax freezing crystallization, and press dewaxing to obtain wax paste, and then solvent deoiling and hydrofining.
With the increasing popularity of scented candles, and the diversification of various candles, events need to be held, the atmosphere needs and incense. The demand for raw materials to make candles is also increasing.
refined paraffin wax candle: advantages, disadvantages and differences of other wax candle
Today, you can find all kinds of candles in sales – home furnishing, decoration, seasoning. You can select any shape and color. The composition of the product is also different.
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