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Chemical and physical properties of wax
The chemical composition of the wax varies greatly – depending on the origin and the supply of bees wax and conditions of obtaining, etc. The composition of the wax has around 300 different substances, for example, esters, hydrocarbons, free fatty acid, flavorings, water, dyes, mineral and other substances can dominate. The main component of waxes are esters (75%), formed by palmitic and others acids and alcohols. In addition, the wax contains cerotic and oleic acid and alcohols. Cerotic acid – the most active part of the wax, and it can react with most metals, and with alkalis. Wax color depends on the dyes that go into it from propolis and pollen. Flavors go into the wax mostly from honey, that is, from the plants from which the bees collected nectar. Wax is soluble in gasoline, chloroform, turpentine, etc.
Free fatty acid of wax dissolve some metals, forming colored salts. Thus, in contact with the iron the wax gets a brown color, copper paints it in green, zinc, dissolved in wax, gets dirty grayish color. Wax is very durable material and can be stored for hundreds of years without losing its properties. Thus, ancient Egyptian pyramids have pieces of wax that have retained their quality. Wax is solid, on the fracture has a granular structure. It burns with a luminous flame. Melting of wax – from 62°C to 72°C (143-161 F). Freezing of wax – from 60,5°C to 64°C (141-147 F).
Determining of quality and naturalness of wax
In recent years, there are a lot of cases of fake wax. Basically they add paraffin, resins, etc. The presence of these substances in the honeycomb leads to the fact that bees do not rebuilt cells on it, it warps, deforms and breaks. To determine the natural wax they apply organoleptic control and physical-chemical research. Unfortunately, collectors often do not have special laboratories and rely only on sensory characteristics, but this way you can fairly accurately establish fraud wax.
Table 3
Specifications for the wax
Index Characteristics and norms for wax
at the apiary production
Color White, light yellow, yellow, dark yellow, gray Is darker than light brown
Index Characteristics and norms for wax
at the apiary production
Odor A natural, wax Specific
The structure of the fracture Homogeneous Fine-grained
Water content,%, not more 0.5 1.5
Mechanical impurities,%, not more 0.3 0.3
The depth of needle penetration at 20°C (68 F), mm 6.5 6,6-9,0
6.5 6,6-11,0
The presence of falsify impurities Not allowed Not allowed
The density of water at 20°C (68 F), g/cm3 0,95-0,97 0,95-0,97
Refractive index at 75°C (167 F) 1,441-1,443 1,441-1,444
Dropping Point, °C 63,0-66,0 (145-159 F) 63,0-69,0 (145-156 F)
Acid number, mg of potassium hydroxide in 1 g. of wax 16,0-20,0 17,0-21,0
Saponification value, mg of potassium hydroxide in 1 g. of wax 85,0-101,0 85,0-101,0
Essential, mg of potassium hydroxide in 1 g. of wax 67,0-84,0 71,0-83,0
Iodine number, g. of iodine in 100 g. of wax 7,0-15,0 9,0-20,0
The ratio of ethereal number to acid 3,5-4,7 3,5-4,5
Having an idea about the requirements for natural wax, you can easily determine the falsify impurities. Falsify wax materials do not contain free fatty acids and esters (Table 4), so adding them to the wax reduces the number of acid and ether, and the addition of stearin and rosin increases acid number dramatically.
Honey bee wax - uses of bees wax (3)
Table 4
Characteristics of the beeswax and the materials used for its falsification
Substance Specific gravity, g/cm3 Melting point, ° C Acid number Ethereal number Saponification value
Beeswax 0,956-0,970 62-65 (143-149 F) 18,5-22 71-78 87-97
Ceresin 0,91-0,92 65-80 (149-176 F) 0 0 0
Paraffin 0,88-0,91 45-70 (113-158 F) 0 0 0
Waxtechnical 0.9 35-50 (95 -122 F) 0 0 0
Rosin 0,986-1,108 135 (275 F) 168 10 178
Stearin 0.89 55.5 (132 F) 204
SURSA: http://keepingbee.org/honey-bee-wax/