Manufacture of a Wax-like Substance, by the Action of Oxidising Agents upon a Mixture of Resin and Paraffin.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 28th July, 1898—Accepted, 3rd Sept., 1898
Manufacture of a Wax-like Substance, by the Action of Oxidising
Agents upon a Mixture of Resin and Paraffin.
I, ERNST SCHLIEMANN, of Catharinenstrasse 25, Hamburg, Germany, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Imitations of or substitutes for wax which have hitherto come upon the market
have either been produced by admixture of paraffin and resin without special chemical
treatment; or the paraffin and the resin have, before being mixed together, been
subjected to a peculiar treatment, such as, for example, the introduction of air into
the heated primary materials. The products thus obtained all had certain
disadvantages which are obviated by the new process hereinafter described. This
new process is based upon the fact that the resin and paraffin are first mixed and
melted and then air in a state of fine subdivision is blown into the same or the
melted mixture is treated with other suitable oxidising agents.
A mixture of paraffin or similar hydrocarbons and resin, the proportions of which
may be varied, is heated to 90° C. and atmospheric air, or it may be oxygen, is forced
in a state of fine subdivision through it. By this means insoluble resin is separated
in the melted mass, and the treatment of the mass is continued until separation of
resin no longer takes place, and the mass has acquired a peculiar sweetish smell. The
product of the reaction is then boiled with steam for the purpose of separating the
last traces of the insoluble resin. Then small quantities of solid hydrocarbons are
added, and the product is made ready for commerce in its natural colour or it may
be after the addition of any desired suitable colouring matters.
The resin employed in the above process is preferably American or French
colophony, in fact a resin which is obtained from the Coniferae. The paraffin may
be of various origin; for example 35 p.c. of yellow American paraffin scales and 35 p.c.
of American refined paraffin may be mixed together with 30 p.c. of American
colophony.
The blowing of air into the melted mixture of resin and paraffin causes a peculiar
reaction to take place which has the result of imparting to the final product new and
characteristic properties which are considerably different from those of the primary
substances, and which differentiate the said product considerably from those products
heretofore known which have been produced by treating the resin and paraffin with
air or other agents before they were mixed together.
The action of the blowing in of air is as follows:-Whilst the blowing in of air into
melted resin has the result of oxidising and volatilising a portion of the same,
excessive oxidation is prevented, when paraffin is present, by its reducing properties.
That portion of the resin which has a low melting point and which remains dissolved
in the mass, loses its property of sticking, whilst the other portion, which has a high
melting point, is separated because it is insoluble. The same result is obtained by
treating the mixture of resin and paraffin heated to about 90° C. with 8-10 p.c. of
concentrated nitric acid. Also other oxidising agents, such as chromic acid, chromate
of potash &c. may be employed.

page_text: The finished product consists of a mass which is very similar to wax and is almost
identical with wax in many respects; it can therefore be employed for many purposes
as a substitute for wax or ceresine; especially as it offers many points of difference
from the known substitutes for wax.
Former known products have an indefinite poor-looking colour; they become
greasy and sticky when kneaded in the warm hand, and on protracted exposure to the
air they become hard and brittle, whereas the product of the process described has a
lively wax-like yellow colour, and consists of an unalterable elastic mass, which does
not become greasy or sticky when kneaded in the hand. Furthermore, when it is
melted, it can be stirred to an opaque mass whilst cooling, like ceresine and beeswax ;
this is not possible with the products of other methods.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The herein described manufacture of a wax-like substance by blowing air into
melted resin or resin-like products in the presence of paraffin or similar hydrocarbons.
2. The modified manufacture of a wax-like substance such as is referred to in
Claim 1, by employing oxidising agents, instead of an air blast.
Dated this 28th day of July 1898
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.