Carnauba Wax

I haven’t written a technical blog recently, so I have decided that I should write one regarding Carnauba wax. We have high stocks of Type 3 Carnauba wax, in powder form, so perhaps it might bring us some new sales!

With the help of Norman Challinor, here is some information on Carnauba wax!

Carnuaba wax is also known as Brazil wax and Palm wax. It is a hard wax obtained from the leaves of the palm copernicia prunifera - a plant native to and only grown in north eastern Brazil.

It is usually in the form of hard yellow / brown flakes that can also be ground down to a fine powder and often offered in that alternative form.

Due to its fantastic properties compared to other waxes, most people believe it is one of the best waxes in the world; hence it is sometimes referred to as the “queen of waxes.”

It has a melting point of 80 – 86 oc and a density of about 0.97

The main components are:-

Aliphatic esters                                                   (40% by wt.)
Di-esters of 4 – hydroxycinnamic acid                (21% by wt.)
ω – hydroxycarboxylic acids                               (13% by wt.)
Fatty acid alcohols                                              (12% by wt.)

Predominantly derived from acids and alcohols in the c26 – c30  range.

Carnauba wax, can come in Type 1, Type 3 and Type 4. These “types” relate to the purifity level, with Type 1 being most pure and Type 4 being least.

It has a very wide range of uses, including …..

  • Polishes (Usually Type 4 used)
  • Food (chewing gum, gravy, sauces, sweets etc) (Usually Type 1 used)
  • Pharmaceutical (tablet coating agent)  (Usually Type 1 used)
  • Cosmetic (Usually Type 1 used)
  • And of course, as a process aid and mill / mould release agent in rubber compounds, particularly the harder to process specialist materials. (Usually Type 3 used)

For rubber compounders:

In rubbers, the hard nature of the material will not act as a softener but will behave as an internal lubricant, facilitating the incorporation and dispersion of the non-rubber ingredients.

Its relatively low melting point means that it will migrate to the surface of the rubber and form an extra, very thin, layer between the rubber surface and the metal it is in contact with – - i.e. The mill bowls or the mould surface.  The hardness of the wax means that it will not act as a sticky softener, but will form a release layer, overcoming the tendency for the rubber to stick to the metal.

Allcocks mostly sell, Type 3 Powder, and we really focus on selling to the high specification rubber compounding industry, such as FKM compounds.

Here is some technical information on our T3 Carnauba Wax Powder:

Solubility                                      Insoluble in water; partially soluble in Alcohol.
.                                                   Soluble on warming in Ethyl Acetate & Xylene.
Melting Point                               80-86°C
Acid Value                                   2-7 mg KOH/g
Sponification Value                     78-95 mg KOH/g
Ester Value                                 71-93 mg KOH/g
Sulphated ash                             No more than 0.25% w/w
Unsaponifiable matter                 50-55 μm
Particle Size                                100%  passing 600 μm
.                                                   94.8% passing 300 μm
                                                  88.1% passing 250 μm
                                                  40.6% passing 125 μm

If you have any questions regarding carnauba wax, please feel free to email ja@allcocks.co.uk! Despite only selling T3 Carnauba Wax powder, please feel free to get in touch regarding other types, we may be able to help.