Beeswax (also known as cera alba ) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis . The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees , which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers collect and use it to form cells for honey storage and larval and pupal protection within the beehive . Chemically, beeswax consists mainly of esters of fatty acids and various long-chain alcohols .
23-412: Beeswax has been used since prehistory as the first plastic, as a lubricant and waterproofing agent, in lost wax casting of metals and glass, as a polish for wood and leather, for making candles , as an ingredient in cosmetics and as an artistic medium in encaustic painting . Beeswax is edible, having similarly negligible toxicity to plant waxes, and is approved for food use in most countries and in
46-454: A component, dissolved in turpentine or sometimes blended with linseed oil or tung oil ; modeling waxes can also use beeswax as a component; pure beeswax can also be used as an organic surfboard wax . Beeswax blended with pine rosin is used for waxing , and can serve as an adhesive to attach reed plates to the structure inside a squeezebox . It can also be used to make Cutler's resin , an adhesive used to glue handles onto cutlery knives. It
69-808: A gram of wax. Worker bees use the beeswax to build honeycomb cells. For the wax-making bees to secrete wax, the ambient temperature in the hive must be 33 to 36 °C (91 to 97 °F). The book Beeswax Production, Harvesting, Processing and Products suggests one kilogram (2.2 lb) of beeswax is sufficient to store 22 kg (49 lb) of honey. Another study estimated that one kilogram (2.2 lb) of wax can store 24 to 30 kg (53 to 66 lb) of honey. Sugars from honey are metabolized into beeswax in wax-gland-associated fat cells . The amount of honey used by bees to produce wax has not been accurately determined, but according to Whitcomb's 1946 experiment, 6.66 to 8.80 kg (14.7 to 19.4 lb) of honey yields one kilogram (2.2 lb) of wax. Beeswax as
92-442: A product for human use may come from cappings cut off the cells in the process of extraction, from old comb that is scrapped, or from unwanted burr comb and brace comb removed from a hive. Its color varies from nearly white to brownish, but most often is a shade of yellow, depending on purity, the region, and the type of flowers gathered by the bees. The wax from the brood comb of the honey bee hive tends to be darker than wax from
115-442: Is a fragrant solid at room temperature. The colors are light yellow, medium yellow, or dark brown and white. Beeswax is a tough wax formed from a mixture of several chemical compounds . Beeswax has a relatively low melting point range of 62 to 64 °C (144 to 147 °F). If beeswax is heated above 85 °C (185 °F) discoloration occurs. The flash point of beeswax is 204.4 °C (399.9 °F). When natural beeswax
138-454: Is cold, it is brittle, and its fracture is dry and granular. At room temperature (conventionally taken as about 20 °C (68 °F)), it is tenacious and it softens further at human body temperature (37 °C (99 °F)). An approximate chemical formula for beeswax is C 15 H 31 COOC 30 H 61 . Its main constituents are palmitate , palmitoleate , and oleate esters of long-chain (30–32 carbons) aliphatic alcohols , with
161-664: Is further recommended for the making of other candles used in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church . Beeswax is also the candle constituent of choice in the Eastern Orthodox Church . Refined beeswax plays a prominent role in art materials both as a binder in encaustic paint and as a stabilizer in oil paint to add body. Beeswax is an ingredient in surgical bone wax , which is used during surgery to control bleeding from bone surfaces; shoe polish and furniture polish can both use beeswax as
184-566: Is known for its varying hues, strong honey fragrance, and a hard yet pliable feel. In 2020, world production of beeswax was 62,116 tonnes , led by India with 38% of the total. Candle-making has long involved the use of beeswax, which burns readily and cleanly, and this material was traditionally prescribed for the making of the Paschal candle or "Easter candle". Beeswax candles are purported to be superior to other wax candles, because they burn brighter and longer, do not bend, and burn cleaner. It
207-478: Is used as a coating for cheese ; by sealing out the air, protection is given against spoilage (mold growth). Beeswax may also be used as a food additive E901 , in small quantities acting as a glazing agent , which serves to prevent water loss, or used to provide surface protection for some fruits. Soft gelatin capsules and tablet coatings may also use E901. Beeswax is also a common ingredient of natural chewing gum. The wax monoesters in beeswax are poorly hydrolysed in
230-427: Is used in lip balm , lip gloss , hand creams , salves, and moisturizers; and in cosmetics such as eye shadow , blush, and eye liner . Beeswax is also an important ingredient in moustache wax and hair pomades , which make hair look sleek and shiny. In oil spill control, beeswax is processed to create Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP). It is used to absorb oil or petroleum-based pollutants from water. Beeswax
253-623: Is used in Eastern Europe in egg decoration; it is used for writing, via resist dyeing , on batik eggs (as in pysanky ) and for making beaded eggs. Beeswax is used by percussionists to make a surface on tambourines for thumb rolls. It can also be used as a metal injection moulding binder component along with other polymeric binder materials. Beeswax was formerly used in the manufacture of phonograph cylinders. It may still be used to seal formal legal or royal decree and academic parchments such as placing an awarding stamp imprimatur of
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#1732779929374276-491: The European Union under the E number E901. However, due to its inability to be broken down by the human digestive system, it has insignificant nutritional value. Beeswax is formed by worker bees , which secrete it from eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites (the ventral shield or plate of each segment of the body) on abdominal segments 4 to 7. The sizes of these wax glands depend on
299-473: The carbon chain , the most common being oxygen , nitrogen , sulfur , and chlorine , it is no longer a hydrocarbon, and therefore no longer an aliphatic compound. However, such compounds may still be referred to as aliphatic if the hydrocarbon portion of the molecule is aliphatic, e.g. aliphatic amines , to differentiate them from aromatic amines . The least complex aliphatic compound is methane (CH 4 ). Most aliphatic compounds are flammable , allowing
322-585: The C-C bonds are single requiring the structure to be completed, or 'saturated', by hydrogen) like hexane , or unsaturated , like hexene and hexyne . Open-chain compounds , whether straight or branched, and which contain no rings of any type, are always aliphatic. Cyclic compounds can be aliphatic if they are not aromatic . Aliphatic compounds can be saturated , joined by single bonds ( alkanes ), or unsaturated, with double bonds ( alkenes ) or triple bonds ( alkynes ). If other elements ( heteroatoms ) are bound to
345-640: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 931251846 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:45:29 GMT Aliphatic In organic chemistry , hydrocarbons ( compounds composed solely of carbon and hydrogen ) are divided into two classes: aromatic compounds and aliphatic compounds ( / ˌ æ l ɪ ˈ f æ t ɪ k / ; G. aleiphar , fat, oil). Aliphatic compounds can be saturated (in which all
368-475: The age of the worker, and after many daily flights, these glands gradually begin to atrophy . The new wax is initially glass-clear and colorless, becoming opaque after chewing and being contaminated with pollen by the hive worker bees, becoming progressively yellower or browner by incorporation of pollen oils and propolis . The wax scales are about three millimetres (0.12 in) across and 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) thick, and about 1100 are needed to make
391-433: The guts of humans and other mammals , so they have insignificant nutritional value. Some birds, such as honeyguides , can digest beeswax. Beeswax is the main diet of wax moth larvae. The use of beeswax in skin care and cosmetics has been increasing. A German study found beeswax to be superior to similar barrier creams (usually mineral oil-based creams such as petroleum jelly ), when used according to its protocol. Beeswax
414-517: The honeycomb because impurities accumulate more quickly in the brood comb. Due to the impurities, the wax must be rendered before further use. The leftovers are called slumgum , and is derived from old breeding rubbish (pupa casings, cocoons, shed larva skins, etc.), bee droppings, propolis, and general rubbish. The wax may be clarified further by heating in water. As with petroleum waxes, it may be softened by dilution with mineral oil or vegetable oil to make it more workable at room temperature. Beeswax
437-563: The market due to the presence of various suppliers, making it difficult to distinguish authentic from fake variants. Adulterated beeswax often contains paraffin and other toxic additives, posing potential health risks and lacking the genuine honey-scented aroma of pure beeswax. The fake counterparts, typically in pellet form, feel smooth, sticky, and greasy, reflecting the presence of added paraffin. To identify fake beeswax, consumers are advised to pay attention to color, scent, feel, and texture. Genuine beeswax, sourced organically from beekeepers,
460-463: The ratio of triacontanyl palmitate CH 3 (CH 2 ) 29 O-CO-(CH 2 ) 14 CH 3 to cerotic acid CH 3 (CH 2 ) 24 COOH, the two principal constituents, being 6:1. Beeswax can be classified generally into European and Oriental types. The saponification value is lower (3–5) for European beeswax, and higher (8–9) for Oriental types. The analytical characterization can be done by high-temperature gas chromatography . Beeswax faces challenges in
483-442: The university upon completion of postgraduate degrees. Purified and bleached beeswax is used in the production of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. The three main types of beeswax products are yellow, white, and beeswax absolute. Yellow beeswax is the crude product obtained from the honeycomb, white beeswax is bleached or filtered yellow beeswax, and beeswax absolute is yellow beeswax treated with alcohol. In food preparation, it
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#1732779929374506-442: The use of hydrocarbons as fuel , such as methane in natural gas for stoves or heating; butane in torches and lighters ; various aliphatic (as well as aromatic) hydrocarbons in liquid transportation fuels like petrol/gasoline , diesel , and jet fuel ; and other uses such as ethyne (acetylene) in welding . The most important aliphatic compounds are: Important examples of low-molecular aliphatic compounds can be found in
529-508: Was among the first plastics to be used, alongside other natural polymers such as gutta-percha , horn , tortoiseshell , and shellac . For thousands of years, beeswax has had a wide variety of applications; it has been found in the tombs of Egypt, in wrecked Viking ships, and in Roman ruins. Beeswax never goes bad and can be heated and reused. Historically, it has been used: Lost wax casting Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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