Beeswax is a complex organic compound. The substance is produced by honey bees, releasing it from special glands. Due to its natural origin, it is often used not only in the food industry, but also in folk medicine as a medicinal element, in cosmetology and even needlework to create various toys.
Thermal properties
Wax occurs naturally in the solid state. Plastic material becomes at a temperature above 35 degrees. There are many options for dissolving wax. This is not a problem, because when it cools it returns to a solid state.
To turn wax into a liquid, a temperature of 60–80 degrees is sufficient. At 100 degrees, the wax boils, and foam appears on the surface of the molten liquid. So the substance gets rid of the water, which is in its natural form in the structure of the material.
Temperatures above the boiling level bring the wax to destruction, due to which some of its elements begin tocollapse. This suggests that if the wax is dissolved to such a state, then the material will no longer be able to return to its original form. Wax starts to burn at temperatures above 300 degrees.
Chemical Features
Material does not dissolve in water and glycerin. In alcohol, its solubility is also low, therefore, before dissolving the wax, it is necessary to prepare the necessary ingredients for this process.
For a good dissolution of the substance, you will need essential oils in a heated form: paraffin, turpentine, gasoline, chloroform or ether. Each of these elements at a certain temperature begins to affect the wax and dissolve it.
Also advised option with heated alcohol. But here you need to be careful, before you dissolve the wax in this way, you need to check its naturalness. If there are no additional substances in the composition, then the material will dissolve quickly. If there are other elements there, this can lead to the destruction of the components of the substance, as well as the impossibility of returning to its original state.
Classification of substance
There are several varieties of wax, each with its own advantages. The most popular options are:
- Kapanets wax, which does not contain emulsified water, which makes the material sufficiently durable and hard. The melting point is higher than regular wax. It has good characteristics in purity, color and quality. Used for the manufacture of medicines. Possibilities than to dissolve the natural wax of thiskind, a little, in this case, the use of essential oils would be optimal.
- Bee wax from the category of ordinary beeswax. It is used for waxing and in the food industry. The material is more ductile and melts faster.
- Wax obtained by processing apiary merva at high temperatures. The primary qualities of the wax are lost, which is reflected in the cloudy color and uneven texture. Can be used as a foundation material. It is not difficult to dissolve the wax to a liquid state, you need to heat it to a temperature of 60 degrees.
- Extraction wax is obtained by processing raw materials and extracting the main component. Gasoline may be used in the process. This wax can only be used for industrial purposes.
The choice of wax determines the industry in which the material will be used. This should be taken into account, as well as the technical characteristics of each type.
History of Creation
Wax is considered one of the mass products in beekeeping, which is also actively used in agriculture. Bees accumulate wax in the process of life. Over time, the walls of the honeycombs begin to darken, the cells shrink, and enough of this substance appears on the surface to expel.
By the darkness of the honeycomb, you can determine the quality of the wax and the presence of additional substances and elements inside. In the process of extracting the material, the proportion of wax is minimal. Although it depends on how to dissolve the wax, what methods are used for this.
Cleanbeeswax can be obtained by melting the wax-containing material and additional filtration. On an industrial scale, this is done quite easily thanks to special filters. In agriculture, only numerous remelting serves as such purification.
Primary raw materials
Before you wonder how to dissolve the wax to a liquid state, you need to think about what to use as primary raw materials. These can be wax trimmings that are collected after trimming the combs in apiaries. The combs themselves are also used, which are already full, and it is difficult to clean them.
By scrubbing, you can get about 70 percent of the wax from its total mass on the comb. It is used for melting down both zabrus and the wax material from honeycombs remaining on the surface after eating honey.
Recycling options
The most popular option is the solar wax melter, which produces a high quality product. This is a good option. And it is the answer to what can dissolve the wax to a liquid state. Thanks to sunlight, it quickly clarifies and natural filtration occurs. The steam wax melter is gaining popularity, but interaction with water can negatively affect the concentration of the product itself.
How to dissolve wax or paraffin? This can be done with the help of water reflux, due to which, as a result, most of the filtered wax floats to the surface, from where it is immediately collected. The advantage of the methodthat in the end it turns out in a plastic state, and it is easy to give it the desired shape until it cools completely.
