It means oil content has been reduced below 0.5 percent by deoiling and hydrotreating. Residual oil is what carries colour, odour and the tendency to sweat, so removing it to that level gives a white, effectively odourless, non-staining wax that is stable in storage. Half a percent is the practical threshold for food contact and cosmetic use.
2
How is the melting grade chosen?
By format. Lower melting grades, from around 50 degrees Celsius, suit container candles, where the wax must soften enough to adhere to glass and melt fully across the container. Higher grades, up to 68 degrees, suit pillars, tapers and moulded candles that must stand unsupported and release from a mould. Grades between are used for tealights, votives and blends.
3
Can fully refined paraffin wax be used in contact with food?
Grades meeting the relevant food-contact specification can be, and paraffin is widely used in food packaging, coatings and as a cheese and fruit coating. The specific grade and its compliance documentation must be confirmed for the destination market, since the generic term covers material at a range of purities and not all of it is food-contact approved.
4
Why is paraffin wax hard and glossy?
Because it is built from straight-chain normal alkanes, mostly C20 to C40, which stack into large, regular plate-like crystals. That ordered crystal structure gives hardness, a smooth reflective cast surface and a brittle rather than flexible break. Microcrystalline wax, built from branched and cyclic hydrocarbons, behaves in the opposite way for the same structural reason.
Still have questions?
Our team is ready to help with any specific enquiries about Fully Refined Paraffin Wax.