Japan wax

Japanese wax tree ( Rhus succedanea )

Fruits of Rhus verniciflua

Japan wax , also called Japanese tallow , sumac wax or berry wax , is a mixture of vegetable fat and free fatty acids , which is obtained from the fruits of various plants such as. B. the Japanese wax tree ( Rhus succedanea ), the lacquer tree ( Rhus verniciflua ) or the Japanese cinnamon ( Cinnamomum pedunculatum ) and various Toxicodendron - and other species.

properties

Japan wax is a white to yellowish, sticky, solid and plastic substance that is insoluble in water and cold ethanol. Despite the name, Japan wax is not a wax in the chemical sense, but a mixture of glyceride esters mainly with palmitic acid (tripalmitin) and in small amounts with Japanese acid , a dicarboxylic acid , as well as free fatty acids and soluble acids such as isobutyric acid .

Japan wax is easily soluble in benzene , ether and naphtha . The melting point is 52 ° C to 54 ° C. The iodine number is between 4.5 and 12.6, the acid number is 20–30. The saponification number is between 214 and 222.

Extraction

The fruits contain up to 30% Japanese wax, the Japanese wax is obtained by pressing or extraction processes .

In the pressing process, the fruits are first sieved and then pressed and chopped. The crushed fruits are boiled. The Japan wax collects on the surface of the hot water and is skimmed off there. The fresh wax has a yellowish-green color and is bleached in the sun. In the extraction process, an organic solvent such as hexane is added to the fruit after sieving and the Japan wax is extracted.

use

Japan wax is used in cosmetics, food and medical products such as dental wax preparations, as well as a raw material for soap production and in the textile industry.

literature

Emil Abderhalden : Biochemical Hand Lexicon. III. Volume, Springer, 1911, ISBN 978-3-642-88965-3 (reprint), p. 152.
Gustav Hefter: Technology of fats and oils. Volume 2, Springer, 1908, ISBN 978-3-662-01825-5 , p. 706.
Rudolf Benedikt : Analysis of the fats and types of wax. 3rd edition, Springer 1897, ISBN 978-3-662-38642-2 , p. 539 f.

Web links

What is japan wax? ( Memento of April 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ).
Japan wax from materialarchiv.ch accessed on January 23, 2017.

Individual evidence

↑ H. Bennett: Commercial Waxes - Natural and Synthetic. 2007, ISBN 978-1-4067-5966-2 (reprint).

[1] H. Bennett: Commercial Waxes - Natural and Synthetic. 2007, ISBN 978-1-4067-5966-2 (reprint).