Paraffin wax is the most widely used commercial wax . It is mainly derived from the high boiling fractions of petroleum . It is commonly sold in slabs and exhibit crystallinity and various degrees of translucency . It is obtained during the process of refining petroleum and is the heavier distillates which requires a special process to extract during the process of extraction of base oils , the product is extracted from slack wax by various different and proven techniques paraffin wax usually come from a melting range between 50 degree to 65 degree however they are separated and commercially sold by variation of 2 degrees , most common range is between 58-62 deg centigrade.
It is white in colour and non sticky , tasteless and odourless in properties having specific gravity between .880 – .910 at ambient temperature.
Paraffin wax has versatile use and acts as a lubricant , mould release , casting , waterproofing , sealing purposes , it also has special applications for polishes or to give glossy finish to any surface.
They are largely differentiated on the basis of oil content and melting point while the products with higher oil content are called semi refined wax and lower oil content is called fully refined.