Do you know the difference between paraffin wax and liquid paraffin?
Paraffin wax:
Paraffin wax is also called crystalline wax, with a carbon number of 18~30 A mixture of hydrocarbons, the main components are linear alkanes (about 80%~95%), there are also a small amount of alkanes with individual branched chains and monocyclic cycloalkanes with long side chains (the total content of the two is less than 20%) . Paraffin wax is obtained from crude oil distillation and lubricating oil fractions through solvent refining, solvent dewaxing or wax freeze crystallization, press dewaxing to obtain wax paste, and then deoiled and refining to obtain flake or needle crystals. According to the different degrees of processing and refining, 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 according to its melting point, usually every 2°C, such as 52, 54, 56, 58 and other brands.
Crude paraffin has a high oil content and is mainly used to make matches, fiberboards, canvas, etc. Fully refined paraffin and semi-refined paraffin are widely used. They are mainly used as components and packaging materials for food, oral drugs and certain commodities (such as wax paper, crayons, candles, carbon paper), as coating materials for baking containers, and for fruits. Preservation, insulation of electrical components, improving the aging resistance and toughness of rubber, etc. It can also be used for oxidation to generate synthetic fatty acids.
Liquid paraffin:
A mixture of various normal alkanes with a melting point below 40°C from C10 to C18. Sometimes white oil is also called liquid wax, but there is a clear structural difference. It is produced from light distillates such as kerosene and diesel oil through molecular sieve and cold pressing dewaxing, refining with concentrated sulfuric acid, alkali washing, and water washing. According to the fraction, it can be divided into (light) liquid paraffin and heavy liquid paraffin, as well as various n-alkane monomers from C11 to C18 or a mixture of several n-alkanes. The volatile properties and kinematic viscosity of each n-alkane are different, which leads to various applications.
Light wax generally contains C9-C13, while heavy wax generally contains C13-C16. Its main uses include detergent raw materials, cosmetics, daily necessities diluents, solvents, etc.