Soy vs. Paraffin Candles ...

Tag : paraffin

You may have heard stories recently about the benefits of soy wax,or about how paraffin wax is unhealthy or not good for you. In thisarticle we will examine the myths and rumors and give the straightfacts on both soy and paraffin wax candles and allow you to seewhat the truth and fuss is all about.

(Prudent Press Agency) Before we start, it is important for you toknow what the actual difference is between soy and paraffin waxes,and to see how each are produced. Let's start with paraffin wax,the most common wax to create candles with today. If you purchase acandle that isn't marked as soy, beeswax, or any other specialblend of wax, chances are that you have purchased a candle that ismade from a paraffin blend of wax.

Paraffin wax is a heavy hydrocarbon that comes from crude oil.Paraffin waxes are produced by refining or separating the waxes outof crude mineral oils. Obtained from the ground, crude oil is acompositionally varied product, consisting of a mixture ofhydrocarbons. Another name for crude oil is fossil fuel. Crude oilis transported to refineries where it is refined into finishedproducts by complex processes.

One of the many products derived from refining is lubricating oil.It is from the lube oil refining process that petroleum waxes arederived. There are three general categories of petroleum wax thatare obtained from lube oil refining. They include paraffin,microcrystalline and petrolatum. Paraffin waxes are derived fromthe light lubricating oil distillates. Paraffin waxes containpredominantly straight-chain hydrocarbons with an average chainlength of 20 to 30 carbon atoms.

Soy wax, on the other hand is made from vegetable matter. Soy waxis a vegetable wax made from the oil of soybeans. After harvesting,the beans are cleaned, cracked, de-hulled, and rolled into flakes.The oil is then extracted from the flakes and hydrogenated.

The hydrogenation process converts some of the fatty acids in theoil from unsaturated to saturated. This process dramatically altersthe melting point of the oil, making it a solid at roomtemperature. The leftover bean husks are commonly used as animalfeed. The U.S. grows the vast majority of the world's soybeans,primarily in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.

So now that you know how both soy and paraffin candles are made,let's take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages ofboth types.

There are a lot of myths surrounding soy candles. Most of these aredesigned to sell soy candles better, and have very little truth inthem. A great example is the great "no soot" myth. Sites that sellsoy candles love to say that there is absolutely no soot producedwith a soy candle. However, there is no truth and all hype to thatclaim.

Absolutely, positively, and most importantly, scientifically, allorganic compounds when burned will emit some carbon (soot) due toincomplete combustion. Sooting is primarily a factor of wick lengthand disturbance of the flame's steady teardrop shape. There is nosuch thing as a soot-free candle. Further, while soy wax isall-natural and will not produce the thick black soot that you seeon some paraffin containers, it does produce soot.

An important fact to remember is that not all soot is black. Sootcan be a "white soot" that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Soywax will produce little black soot - unless the candle isimproperly wicked, made, or burnt, but it may produce white soot.

But before you get scared of soot, let me tell you, that soot is infact not harmful to you. Candle soot is composed primarily ofelemental carbon particles, and is similar to the soot given off bykitchen toasters and cooking oils. These everyday household sourcesof soot are not considered a health concern, and are chemicallydifferent from the soot formed by the burning of diesel fuel, coal,gasoline, etc.

So the myth of "soot free soy candles" is not only inaccurate, butsimply an effort by some companies to scare the general public intobuying their candles.

With that being said, there are some benefits to purchasing soy waxcandles. While petroleum based paraffin wax is a limited resource,soy wax is a renewable resource that is limited only by how manysoybeans we can grow. It is also beneficial to farmers who sellsoybean crops, as well as lasting almost twice as long as paraffinwax.

However, soy wax is naturally a "soft" wax. While containercandles, tealights, and small tarts may be made entirely of soy, itis extremely difficult to make good pillar candles and votives outof 100% pure soy wax. Additives are used to make them better, butin most cases, paraffin wax is still a much better solution forthose types of candles. In my own company, Mystickal Incense &More, we use a blend of 50% soy wax and 50% paraffin wax for ourfree-standing candles.

In the end, both paraffin wax and soy wax are both good choices forcandle wax. Neither is more "environmentally friendly" than theother, as there has never been scientific evidence that paraffinwax is harmful to your health in any way at all. It is a personalchoice of which type you prefer to use, and both types hold scentand dye just as well.

The only benefit that there is in all reality, is that containercandles using soy wax do burn longer. And it does benefit thefarmers of the Mid-western United States. However, most otherclaims regarding soy wax are false and/or misleading.