Textural and Physical Properties of Biorenewable ''Waxes'' Containing Partial Acylglycerides

Vegetable oil-based ''waxes'' are a promising alternative to beeswax and paraffin wax, the usual raw materials for candles and encaustic painting, because they are environmentally friendly, less expensive than beeswax and more biodegradable than paraffin. In this study, wax mixtures of mono- (MAG) and diacylglycerides (DAG) of fully hydrogenated vegetable oil were prepared at various ratios and their textural properties were compared to beeswax. Waxes having 30-40% of DAG were softer and more cohesive than those having other proportions of DAG, and their values were the closest to those of bees- wax. A wax mixture of 70% MAG and 30% DAG (MDWAX) was then treated with various additives, including free fatty acid, fatty alcohol, hydroxy triacyl- glycerides (OHWAX), dammar resin, and acetylated monoacylglycerides (AM). The 1:1 (wt.) mixture of MDWAX and AM (referred as 50% AM) had similar plasticity to that of beeswax, and a high textural stability during one-month storage. The melting and crystallization properties of the wax containing 10% OHWAX and 90% MDWAX had close similarity to those of beeswax. The crystal form in most formulated waxes was b 0 as deter- mined by X-ray diffraction. However, the 50% AM wax had a and b polymorphs in equal proportions and the MDWAX had only b form crystals. The crystallinity of all formulated waxes was lower than those of beeswax and paraffin. Polarized light microscopy images revealed that the microstructures of formulated waxes were different from that of beeswax. For sensory evaluation, the order of the surface buffability was determined as MDWAX?10% Dammar MDWAX MDWAX?50% AM paraffin beeswax.