Paraffin Wax Harmful

Paraffin

Formula

CnH2n+2

Appearance

White, slightly odorous waxy solid

Solubility in water

Insoluble in water, but soluble in ether, benzene, and certain esters

Difference between paraffin wax and microcrystalline wax

Like paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax is extracted from petroleum. The difference is that paraffin wax comes from the fraction distilled from petroleum, while microcrystalline wax is separated from the residual oil left after petroleum distillation. The reason why it is called "microcrystalline wax" is because it can be clearly seen under a microscope that its crystals are much smaller than those of paraffin wax. The crystalline form of paraffin wax is generally a larger sheet, while microcrystalline wax is generally composed of finer needle or granular crystals. Paraffin wax is brittle and can easily break or even crush under stress; However, microcrystalline wax has low hardness, good flexibility, and is easy to deform and not easy to crack under stress. The main components in paraffin wax are alkanes with longer, unbranched chains, while the main components of microcrystalline wax are cycloalkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons with larger molecular weights and longer carbon chains. The grades of microcrystalline waxes are divided according to their melting points. The low melting point is the minimum temperature at which the wax sample can melt and drip under specified conditions. There are five grades of its first grade products, namely, 70, 75, 80, 65, and 90, which can be selected based on temperature and other usage conditions.