When purchasing candles, it is better to verify their origin in order to protect yourself from harmful counterfeits. Nowadays, paraffin candles are very often made to reduce production costs and simplify the process itself. But paraffin is a chemical product and cannot be called harmless, unlike natural wax, from which high-quality wax candles are made.
Paraffin candles
Paraffin is a synthetic substance that is obtained from petroleum and a mixture of hydrocarbons. To produce paraffin candles, the following is added to the substance:
- chemical wax substitutes;
- fragrances;
- other non-natural components.
Because of this composition, paraffin candles are harmful to health. When burned, they release benzene and toluene into the air, which do not have time to burn due to the low combustion temperature. The entry of benzene into the human body is fraught with sleep disturbances, weakness and dizziness. When regularly entering the body through the respiratory tract, the functioning of the kidneys, liver, nervous and circulatory systems is disrupted, and diseases of the blood and bone marrow begin to develop. When inhaled, toluene also immediately affects the nervous system, and then reaches the bloodstream.
Wax candles
Wax is a waste product of bees, produced by their glands to build cellular cells. The production of wax candles does not require the addition of any unnatural components, and therefore does not cause harm to health. Such candles burn smoothly, do not emit any harmful substances into the air and do not smoke.
More than once, each of us has wondered whether it is possible to distinguish natural wax from industrial paraffin and how to determine what material a candle is made of? It's actually very simple, and this experiment requires the components listed at the beginning of the article. In general, beeswax finds its use as often as paraffin, despite the fact that the latter is made from petroleum products. Beeswax is often counterfeited, trying to pass off the surrogate as something similar to a natural product.
How to distinguish natural wax from a fake?
In fact, the surface of beeswax is always smooth and has a slightly concave shape, and if you run or hit it with a sharp object, it will split into several parts, while the fake material only forms a dent after a strong blow.
How to distinguish wax from paraffin using a knife?
When cutting, paraffin always crumbles into small pieces, and natural wax is cut similarly to plasticine; it is a very soft and flexible material. In addition, natural beeswax is a natural product, and paraffin is a synthetic material obtained from petroleum products.
In addition, wax and paraffin behave differently when burned. Thus, wax, which does not contain artificial components and additives, never burns. Instead, it simply melts, forming large droplets that run down the length of the candle, while synthetic paraffin usually burns completely, leaving no trace behind. Regarding the color palette, the paraffin itself can be made in any color, for example, blue, red, pink, burgundy, and even the color of silver, gold or pearl. A candle made from natural wax is usually tan or bright yellow in color.
In order to understand the difference between wax and paraffin, you should also pay attention to whether such material causes allergic reactions in humans. Often, natural wax, like any natural product, can cause allergies, but in the case of a candle made from paraffin, this cannot be said - allergic reactions to such a synthetic product are a priori impossible. However, this only applies to pure paraffin, in the production of which no additives or dyes were used.
Another way One way to check what material the candle is made of is the formation of soot.
To do this, you need to light a candle and hold the glass over it for just a few seconds. If soot immediately forms on it, in other words, a dark spot, then you can be sure that the candle is made of paraffin. Beeswax, when burned, will not leave soot stains on the glass. Also, a wax candle, unlike a paraffin candle, becomes covered with a white coating when stored for a long time in a cool room.
Paraffin - what is it? This product is well known to each of us. At least once in our lives we had to deal with him. It is widely used in a wide variety of fields - medicine, food production, and electrical engineering. Let's try to understand the properties of this product and its types.
Paraffin - what is it?
The above substance is a fairly solid mixture of high molecular weight. Paraffin also contains cyclic hydrocarbons, which are obtained from ozokerite and oil.
Purified paraffin - what is it? It has the following features:
- the product is colorless;
- greasy to the touch;
- without smell;
- no taste;
- soluble in organic solvents;
- insoluble in water and alcohol.
Poorly purified paraffin is a product that has a brown or yellow tint and also darkens in the light.
The above substance has good resistance to bases and acids, oxidizing agents, and halogens.
Types of paraffin
This product is divided into the following paraffins:
- highly purified technical (grades A and B);
- unrefined (match);
- purified technical (grades G and D);
- medical.
The most important characteristics of paraffin are:
- melting point - 50 (not lower);
- oil content - minimum 0.6% and maximum 2.3% (not higher).
Match paraffin has certain features. Its melting point should be 42 degrees Celsius, but in no case lower, and the oil content is allowed no higher than 5%.
Application of paraffin
The above product is widely used in the following industries:
- printing;
- paper;
- textile;
- tanning;
- electrical engineering;
- paintwork.
It is also used:
- for paraffin therapy in cosmetology and medicine;
- as paraffin for candles;
- as a lubricant for rubbing parts made of wood;
- in combination with gasoline acts as an anti-corrosion coating;
- for the production of Vaseline;
- this product is registered as E905 - food additive;
- acts as a lubricant for snowboard skis;
- used in technology and nuclear physics (slows down neurons and is a “generator” of protons).
In addition, paraffin is actively used in radio engineering. It is used in situations where high electrical strength, low cost, minimal AC losses and the ability to quickly release this fill by a simple heating method are needed.
How does the above petroleum product differ from wax?
Wax is a mixture of solid esters that form fatty acids and higher alcohols (high molecular weight).
What is the difference between the above substances? It should be noted that a product that does not burn at all, but only melts, is, of course, wax. Paraffin, on the contrary, burns completely.
The wax has a yellow-brown tint. Paraffin is exclusively white. Manufacturers obtain all its other shades by adding dyes to it.
Natural wax is natural, environmentally Paraffin is obtained from petroleum products, so it is a synthetic material.
Wax often resembles plasticine in its properties. It is very flexible, very soft, quite plastic. Paraffin, on the contrary, crumbles excessively when cut.
How to use paraffin at home?
This product is actively used for paraffin therapy. This is a very effective and natural procedure that provides the opportunity to eliminate defects and imperfections on the skin and more. The paraffin therapy technique is based on the use of a special film from the above product, which creates the so-called greenhouse effect.
Paraffin at home can be used for:
- skin whitening;
- elimination of double chin and gravitational ptosis;
- protection from cracks and dryness;
- cleansing the skin and rejuvenating it.
Paraffin therapy for your hands at home is, of course, not difficult. To do this, you need to purchase purified. Experts point out that allergy sufferers need to buy this product containing peach oil.
Paraffin must be heated to a liquid state. To do this, use the water bath method. Then it is important to massage your hands using a scrub or, for example, a special mitten. Next, you need to dip your hands in liquid paraffin and immediately remove them. After 10 seconds, repeat this action. It is necessary that thin “gloves” of paraffin are formed. Then wrap your hands in cling film or, for example, a cellophane bag and leave for at least 20 minutes.
After this, remove the paraffin. Experts do not recommend reusing this product. After the procedure, you should apply cream to moisturize the skin on your hands.
Paraffin is an excellent product that has found its application in various fields.
It is useful to know that in addition to natural, bee wax, experts distinguish several other types of natural waxes - animal, vegetable, mineral and artificial origin. Real beeswax is considered a very scarce and expensive product. It is very important to be able to distinguish a fake from natural wax, known for its medicinal qualities, and also necessary in beekeeping for making foundation (building honeycombs). This knowledge reduces the risk of purchasing a low-quality product.
Unscrupulous sellers falsify wax by adding cheap waxy industrial products or even replacing it with them. According to experts, it is relatively easy to falsify wax with “contaminants.” First of all, it is important to learn to evaluate it visually. The color of the wax can be of different shades (white, to dark brown and even black) depending on the plants from which the bees took pollen and honey, the color of the propolis in the hive, and how long ago it was. Light wax is valued much higher than dark wax. Real wax has a pleasant honey smell. The presence of impurities in it (paraffin, stearin, rosin and ceresin) leads to the fact that the smell of the wax is different, corresponding to the additives.
The surface of the natural wax is flat or slightly concave. When paraffin is added, according to experts, the surface of the ingot becomes strongly concave. When struck with a hammer, high-quality wax easily splits (a fine-grained structure is clearly visible on the break), when freshly cut with a knife, it is matte, and wax clogged with impurities does not split, forms a dent around which the “pulp” brightens, and the cut is shiny and smooth, individual crystals stand out . If you run a sharp object over the surface of a wax block contaminated with paraffin, cerazin or rosin, the shavings will crumble. With high-quality wax, it curls into a long continuous spiral.
Real wax becomes plastic if it is kneaded with your fingers, and when chewed, it sticks to the teeth. On wax with an admixture of paraffin, your fingers feel the greasyness of the piece, and with the content of stearin, lard or rosin, it sticks to the teeth. In addition, the admixture of cerazin can cause color inhomogeneity of the surface. It is also known that beeswax has a significantly higher specific gravity than mineral waxes, which makes it possible to establish its falsification. For example, at 20°C in a mixture (alcohol, water) having a specific gravity of 0.95, natural wax sinks, adulterated wax (even with an admixture of 10% mineral wax) floats on the surface. It is believed that identifying the impurity of stearin or rosin is not difficult: 1 g of wax is boiled in 10 g of alcohol, the resulting solution is cooled to 20oC, then filtered and water is added. The milky color of the solution and the presence of sediment indicate falsification.
The unusual properties of real beeswax as a miracle of Nature have determined its use since ancient times. Due to the warming properties of wax, the famous healer Hippocrates suggested applying it when heated to the head and neck of a patient to treat a sore throat. In the “Canon of Medical Science,” the famous ancient Arabic scientist Avicenna suggests using wax in many of his medicinal recipes. Interestingly, wax has always played an important role in the rituals of various religions. In ancient Rome, during festivals in honor of Saturn, Bacchus and other gods and goddesses, huge wax candles burned with bright flames. In Christianity, a wax candle began to mean a symbol of the sacrificial life of the Savior.
Before the invention of paper, letters were written on flat wooden boards coated on one side with an even layer of wax. They used a special metal stick with a pointed end to write like a pen; and with its blunt end, if necessary, smoothed out the scribbled surface. For many centuries, artists have used wax-based paints: they have both extraordinary durability and remarkable shine. And although now the latest technologies have seriously displaced wax painting, wax still serves as the most important element of oil paints.
Archaeologists have found that from the beginning of the second millennium, beekeeping in Rus' was very widespread and one of the most important crafts of the population. It has always been considered one of the most popular goods in natural exchange. There was extensive trade in beekeeping products (especially wax) with Western Europe. During the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, there was even a ritual according to which, at the wedding, the groom would put a wax candle weighing “a pound and a quarter,” and the bride, “a pound without a quarter.”
From ancient Russian books we learn that, among other beekeeping products, doctors and healers gave many recipes for the use of wax in the treatment of injuries and wounds of warriors (later scientists confirmed that wax is destructive for a number of pathogenic microbes). In Rus', wax was recommended to nursing mothers to stimulate milk production.
For several centuries in Russia, huge quantities of wax were used to illuminate rooms in the homes of rich people and churches during church ceremonies. Each of us has heard about the famous wax museum (London), which is sometimes called the “wax kingdom”. It has existed for more than a century and a half. Wax figures of kings, queens, tsars, famous public and government figures from different countries in costumes of the corresponding eras are exhibited there. A similar museum is organized in Amsterdam; the Wax Museum, located on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, has a short history. Beeswax is widely used in the manufacture of medical plaster casts.
Thanks to wax rollers and special technology, the voices of L.N. Tolstoy, A.A. Blok, V. Mayakovsky, V.F. Komissarzhevskaya, F.I. Shalyapin, V.I. Kachalov, V. Nezhdanova, have been preserved for future generations. L.V. Sobinov and other famous writers and artists.
Wax is able to retain its qualities for many years. For example, wax bars discovered in ancient Egyptian pyramids were characterized by sufficient softness.
More than half a century ago, a technology was developed for producing fragrant essential oil - an extract from natural wax (more than 5 kg from 1 ton of raw materials), which serves as a valuable product for the perfume industry. This extract is not inferior in quality to expensive rose and jasmine oils, and is much cheaper in cost.
Pharmacologists of past centuries have already found out that beeswax is well absorbed by the skin and gives it a smooth and delicate appearance. For more than 300 years, it has been included in many cosmetic products (it serves as an excellent thickening base for the preparation of various lotions and lipsticks). Beeswax is included in nourishing, astringent, cleansing, whitening creams and face masks. The following creams are somewhat famous: cleansing (beeswax - 6 g, peach oil - 27.5 g, borax -0.5 g, water - 16 ml); nutritious (beeswax - 3 g, spermaceti - 6, peach oil - 24 g, glycerin - 4 g); for oily skin (beeswax - 5 g, ammonia - 5 ml, water - 7.5 ml). Popular masks (in g): nourishing (beeswax - 5, honey - 70, juice of one white lily bulb), astringent (beeswax - 10, peach oil - 10, lanolin -10, petroleum jelly -50, zinc sulfate - 0, 5, bismuth nitrate - 1, zinc oxide - 8). Such masks protect the skin from drying out, retaining moisture well. There is an interesting recipe for anti-wrinkle cream (in equal quantities): beeswax, onion juice, honey, juice from white lily flowers are placed in a porcelain bowl, the wax is heated until it liquefies, and then the mixture is gradually cooled, stirring with a wooden stick. This cream-mask composition is generously applied to a face washed with warm water, after half an hour removing excess with a soft cloth. After some time, lightly powder the face.
Anyone who is even more or less familiar with gardening knows that fruit growing cannot be done without garden varnish. It is used in the treatment of fruit crops and for grafting. Although it is publicly available, to make their own interesting recipes for their own high-quality brew, gardeners, as a rule, take natural wax, as it creates favorable conditions for healing mechanical injuries and wounds received after damage by pathogens. It is thanks to these properties of wax that acceleration of the fusion of cuttings and wound healing is observed, as well as successful protection of exposed plant tissue from both waterlogging and drying out.
Here are some gardener-tested wax recipes:
Ingredients 1: fresh unsalted lard, beeswax, rosin in a ratio of 1:1:4. First, melt the lard, then add wax and crushed rosin. After boiling (20 minutes), cool the mixture, knead it well with your hands and wrap it in parchment or oiled paper to prevent it from drying out.
Ingredients 2: beeswax, rosin, linseed oil (raw), crushed and sifted charcoal; proportion 2:10:0.5:1. Rosin, linseed oil and charcoal are added to the melted wax. After boiling, the mixture is cooled. Before use, the putty is slightly warmed up.
Composition 3: beeswax - 400 g, turpentine - 400 g, rosin - 400 g, lard - 85 g. Add crushed rosin and lard to the melted wax. After cooling, turpentine is poured into the mixture.
Composition 4: wax, rosin, propolis, turpentine; proportion 3:6:2:1. Melt the wax and propolis over low heat, add crushed rosin and boil. When the mixture has cooled, add turpentine and stir well. Before use, knead the mixture with your fingers.
And, of course, beekeepers use a significant portion of their wax to make foundation, which bees use to build honeycombs.
Alexander Lazarev,
Candidate of Biological Sciences,
senior researcher at the All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Protection,
Pushkin
Wax
In nature there is a whole range of waxes of plant and animal origin, of which only beeswax, Japanese wax and, in particular, valuable carnauba wax are used in painting. The use of the latter in painting already has its own history.
Beeswax is well known. In its raw form, that is, obtained from honeycombs, it is usually yellow in color, soft, and contains a small amount of honey and flower dust. The wax is purified by repeated melting in water, after which it is bleached by air and sunlight, giving it the appearance of threads and shavings. The coloring beginning of the wax is fragile. In contrast to fatty oils, which turn yellow and darken in the layers of painting, wax whitens under the same conditions.
Beeswax in its chemical composition is mainly an ester of palmitic acid and myricyl alcohol. Japanese and carnauba waxes have a different composition. Its melting point is from 63 to 65°. In warmth it softens, in cold it becomes brittle. It dissolves in ether, chloroform, turpentine, oil and gasoline (without heating, slowly), in fatty oils - only when heated, and separates from them upon cooling. Emulsifies with alkalis in water. Due to its low chemical activity, beeswax has the properties to withstand all the influences to which painting is subjected under ordinary conditions, immeasurably better than any other paint-binding substance. It was used for painting purposes in ancient times; Let us remember, for example, the “encaustic” of the ancient Greeks.
Recently, among specialists dealing with painting techniques, there has been a renewed interest in beeswax, its composition, properties and suitability for painting purposes. The reason for this was the results of later studies of the binding substances of painting in general and wax in particular.
Paraffin
Paraffin is obtained from oil and coal. It is a waxy, translucent crystalline substance. Paraffin does not dissolve in either alkalis or acids (with the exception of chromic and nitric acids). The best varieties of it are hard, white in color and melt at 65 - 80° C. Paraffin dissolves in gasoline, kerosene, ether, benzene, turpentine, when heated and in fatty drying oils, and when cooled the solution becomes cloudy. Introduced into oil paints, paraffin, due to its crystalline structure, gives them the appearance of a roughly ground paint and in this respect is inferior to wax; in other cases, it can replace the latter everywhere.
Ceresin
Obtained from ozokerite, which is also called earth wax. The best grade of ceresin is hard, almost non-crystalline, white and in its physical properties closely resembles wax, while at the same time having all the chemical advantages of paraffin, melts at 69-78°. Like paraffin, it finds various uses in painting: in the composition of matte varnishes, etc.
Resin Solvents
Resins dissolve in many solvents, which are very different in origin and composition, namely: 1) in drying fatty oils when heated, and soft types of resins soften in them even at ordinary temperatures; 2) in plant essential oils at ordinary or high temperatures: in lavendula, spike, rosemary, clove, caeput, etc.; 3) in volatile mineral oils: gasoline and oil, at ordinary or high temperatures and 4) in a number of other solvents, the description of which follows.
Wine alcohol (ethyl alcohol). Anhydrous alcohol, or so-called absolute alcohol, is the strongest solvent in general for most organic compounds, including resins. Pure wine alcohol, called rectified, containing 95-97% alcohol, also dissolves some soft resins and shellac between them. Alcohol mixes with ether (and water) in all proportions and boils at 78.3° C.
To remove old varnishes and dissolve dried oil, use the following compositions: 1) 2 parts of wine alcohol with a strength of 90°, mixed with 1 part of ammonia; 2) 1 part hydrochloric acid with 7 parts alcohol; 3) a composition called “Putzwasser” by the Germans, and by the French « Eau á netoyer», representing a mixture of 2 parts of wine alcohol with 1 part of turpentine or 2 parts of wine alcohol with 3 parts of turpentine, to which is added 1/20 part of poppy oil or copai balsam. Denatured alcohol 90° containing wood alcohol can also be used in the formulation of nail polish removers.
Wood alcohol (methyl alcohol). It is obtained from wood vinegar obtained by dry distillation of wood. It has a characteristic unpleasant odor and produces vapors harmful to breathing. Used to remove old varnishes 63.
Amyl alcohol. The main component of fusel oil, obtained by purifying wine alcohol. Its fumes are poisonous. It is part of liquids used for cleaning old oil paintings, as well as for removing old varnishes.
Sulfuric ether. It is obtained by distilling wine alcohol with sulfuric acid. It boils at 35° and evaporates very quickly at ordinary temperatures, forming an explosive mixture with air. Slightly soluble in water. Dissolves oil and resins.
Carbon disulfide, or carbon disulfide. It is obtained by the action of sulfur vapor on hot coal. A mobile liquid that quickly evaporates at ordinary temperatures, spreading an unpleasant odor and toxic fumes. Boils at 46.5°. It does not mix with water and dissolves in it in an insignificant amount, but with alcohol, ether, acetone and similar liquids it dissolves in all proportions. Resins, essential and fatty oils, rubber, gutta-percha, camphor and sulfur dissolve freely. It is also used to extract oil from seeds and dissolve dried oil.
Carbon disulfide is flammable and requires careful handling. Purified carbon disulfide is less harmful to inhale and does not have an unpleasant odor.
Acetone. A product of the distillation of acetic acid salts. Contained in some quantities in wood alcohol. Has a strong but not unpleasant odor; a very mobile liquid that quickly evaporates at ordinary temperatures. Miscible with water, alcohol and oils. Dissolves resins, camphor and dried old oil.
Chloroform. It is obtained from wine alcohol or acetone in combination with bleach (bleach).
Alcohol-like liquid with a characteristic odor and sweetish taste. It quickly evaporates, forming stupefying vapors. Boils at 61-62°. Mixes with wine alcohol, fatty and essential oils, but is very slightly soluble in water. Dissolves resins and long-dried oil well.
It is stored in a dark place, as it decomposes when exposed to light.
Nitrobenzene or mirban oil. It is obtained by the action of nitric acid on benzene. An oily, slowly evaporating yellow liquid with a strong odor of bitter almonds. Mixes with fatty essential oils and dissolves old varnishes well.
Camphor. The solid component extracted from the essential oil obtained by distilling crushed parts of the camphor tree with water. A crystalline white, strong-smelling substance, easily soluble in alcohol, chloroform, etc. It is used to dissolve solid resins, but its use has a bad effect on varnishes, which lose their shine in the presence of it.
Amyl acetate ether (“pear essence”). Obtained from amyl alcohol. Colorless mobile liquid with a pear odor. Mixes with wine alcohol and ether. In addition to resins and oils, it dissolves celluloid, resulting in “cellon varnish.”
In addition to the above-mentioned resin solvents, modern chemistry has others that are also used in practice in the factory production of varnishes. These are: mono- And dichlorobenzenes, epichlorohydrin, dichlorohydrin, terpineol(dissolving most copals) tetralin and etc.
LUCKY
Varnishes are solutions of resins in various solvents that give varnishes certain properties and determine their purpose. This is how alcohol, turpentine, petroleum, oil and other varnishes are obtained, which serve various purposes: they are used to eliminate desiccation, dilute or grind paints, cover finished paintings and other purposes.
