Simple understanding of paraffin

Paraffin wax, also known as crystalline wax, is a type of non-polar solvent that is soluble in gasoline, carbon disulfide, xylene, ether, benzene, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, naphtha, etc. It is insoluble in polar solvents such as water and methanol.

A hydrocarbon mixture with a carbon atom number of about 18-30, mainly composed of straight chain alkanes (about 80-95%), as well as a small amount of alkanes with individual branched chains and monocyclic alkanes with long side chains (the total content of the two is less than 20%). Paraffin wax is a wax obtained from lubricating oil fractions distilled from crude oil through solvent refining, solvent dewaxing, or wax freezing crystallization, pressing dewaxing to obtain a wax paste, which is then deoiled and supplemented with refined flake or needle shaped crystals. According to the degree of processing refinement, it can be divided into three types: fully refined paraffin, semi refined paraffin, and crude paraffin.

Each type of wax is divided into different varieties, such as 52, 54, 56, 58, etc., according to its melting point, usually every 2 ℃. Coarse paraffin has a high oil content and is mainly used in the manufacturing of matches, fiberboards, canopies, and canvas. Fully refined paraffin wax and semi refined paraffin wax are widely used, mainly as components and packaging materials of food, oral medicine and some commodities (such as wax paper, crayons, candles, carbon paper), as well as coating and dressing of baking containers, for fruit preservation, insulation of electrical components, improvement of anti-aging resistance and flexibility of rubber, etc. It can also be used for oxidation to generate synthetic fatty acids.