Mineral wax
Description
A series of high molecular weight hydrocarbons. Mineral waxes are relatively pure materials which have little to none of the alcohols or esters found in plant waxes and beeswax. Mineral waxes are generally obtained from the fractional distillation of petroleum, shale oil, lignite, or coal. Examples of purified mineral waxes are: paraffin, ceresin, microcrystalline, and petrolatum. These white, translucent materials are stable and unreactive.
Synonyms and Related Terms
cera mineral (Esp.); cire minérale (Fr.); ozocérite (Fr.); olio minerale (It);
Examples include: petroleum wax; paraffin; ozokerite; ceresin; ceresine; microcrystalline wax; Micro-Crystalline Wax; earth wax; Montan wax; Flexo Wax; Carbo Wax; Opalwax; Bareco; BeSquare; Petrolite; Cosmolloid; Multiwax; Renaissance Wax
Other Properties
Soluble in mineral oil, chloroform, benzene and ether.
Comparisons
Authority
- R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 567, 862
- Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
- Marie Svoboda, Conservation Survey Index, unpublished, 1997
- Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000