Petroleum Based Waxes

Petroleum waxes are semi-refined or fully refined wax products obtained during the process of crude oil refining. By their structure, they are divided into macrocrystalline waxes (paraffin) and microcrystalline waxes (ceresin, petrolatum, etc.)

Main types of Petroleum waxes

The main types of petroleum waxes are two: paraffin waxes
and microcrystalline waxes.

Paraffin waxes

Paraffin waxes are petroleum waxes, which consist almost entirely of saturated normal hydrocarbons and small quantities of branched hydrocarbons. They form large crystals, they are hard, have a shine and fragility, opaque or white in color. They differ in their melting temperature as well as in the oil content.

Microcrystalline waxes

Microcrystalline waxes, on the other hand, are sticky, amorphous, soft, opaque, and with a higher melting temperature than paraffin waxes. Besides normal hydrocarbons, they contain a significant amount of branched and cyclic hydrocarbons.

Petroleum waxes - applications

The applications of petroleum waxes are numerous, mainly because of their various qualities: woodworking, protective coatings, production of candles, rubber and plastic products, packaging for the food industry, investment casting, cosmetics, lubricants, viticulture, fruit growing, etc.

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