Polyethylene wax

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Polyethylene wax ( (CH 2 ) ~ 50– ~ 100 H 2 ) is polyethylene which, due to its low molar mass (3,000–20,000 g / mol), has a wax - or fat - like character. It is colorless to white, clear as a melt, soluble in non-polar solvents and easy to emulsify. It is the most important polyolefin wax.

It can be produced with regulating substances by polymerizing ethylene or by depolymerizing polyethylene with higher molar masses. It is mainly made by thermal cracking at 400 ° C, but it can also be synthesized from natural waxes. There are different forms, including micronized and oxidized.

use

The main uses of polyethylene wax include: as an abrasion protection in printing ink films, for matt lacquer effects in varnishes and paints, as a lubricant and release agent in the processing of plastics , in polishes and hot-melt coatings and for corrosion protection. In many areas they are the much cheaper alternative to natural waxes. Oxidized polyethylene wax (or polyethylene wax oxidate ) is often used in the food industry in a mixture with natural waxes and in combination with wetting and mold protection agents for the surface treatment of fresh fruit . They are approved in the EU as food additive with the number E 914 without maximum quantity restriction ( quantum satis ) for the surface treatment of fresh pineapples, avocados , mangos, melons, papayas and citrus fruits. Correspondingly treated fruits must be marked as “waxed” in the trade.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Hermann Römpp , Jürgen Falbe, Manfred Regitz (eds.): Römpp Lexikon Chemie . Volume 5: Pl – S , 9th edition, Thieme Verlag, 1992, ISBN 978-3-13-735009-5 .
  2. ↑ RB Richards: Polyethylene structure, crystallinity and properties . In: Journal of Applied Chemistry . 1, No. 8, May 4, 2007, pp. 370-376. doi : 10.1002 / jctb.5010010812 .
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Kaiser : Kunststoffchemie für Ingenieure: From synthesis to application . 2nd Edition. Carl Hanser, 2007, ISBN 978-3-446-41325-2 , pp. 228 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  4. ↑ Uwe Wolfmeier, Hans Schmidt, Franz-Leo Heinrichs, Georg Michalczyk, Wolfgang Payer, Wolfram Dietsche, Klaus Boehlke, Gerd Hohner, Josef Wildgruber: Waxes. In: Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. June 15, 2000, doi : 10.1002 / 14356007.a28_103 .
  5. ↑ Reinhard Büll: The big book of wax: history - culture - technology. 2 volumes, Munich 1977, ISBN 978-3-7667-0386-6 .
  6. ↑ Food Lexicon
  7. ↑ Udo Pollmer : Additives from A – Z - What labels hide. Verlag Pardun, 2014, ISBN 978-3-9806226-4-6 .
  8. ↑ Polyethylene wax oxidate on Zusatzstoffe-online.de, accessed on March 9, 2017.