Wax is a multicomponent organic compound. The waste product of bees is widely used in folk medicine, cosmetology, and the pharmaceutical industry. Old honeycombs are used to extract wax, so it needs to be cleaned after collection. There are several ways to do this. Details on how to clean wax will be useful not only to beekeepers.
How to remove impurities from wax at home
Wax is a yellowish, greenish or brown solid with a slight honey smell.The product is insoluble in water, partially soluble in cold alcohol, soluble in hot alcohol. It melts easily when heated, becomes plastic already at +34-35 °C, liquid at +62 °C, boils at 100 °C.
It is the easy fusibility of the compound that underlies its purification from impurities. When melted, a purified product is obtained. High-quality wax has the following parameters:
- product is white in color (yellowness is allowed);
- no odor;
- plasticity, absence of a greasy mark on the fingers when kneading;
- matte cut;
- flat and smooth surface.
The substance should not have additional impurities: paraffin or ethers. Fragility, greasy stains on the hands after interacting with the substance, foreign aroma warn of low quality.
Dry and wet processing methods
The dry method is only applicable to clean product. This type is rarely used for melting, leaving it to insects. The pieces are placed in a stainless steel pan and melted. After the substance passes into the liquid state, heating is stopped. It is dried in an oven or wax furnace.
To clean a product containing impurities, clean hot water is required. Beeswax is placed in a container and filled with water heated to +40 °C. Cover the container with a lid and take it outside, leaving it in the sun. The water in the container is stirred every 2-3 hours and changed once a day.
When the liquid in the container stops coloring, the product is removed and placed in several (2-3) layers of gauze. Then they are immersed in hot water in a gauze bag until completely melted. The substance flows into the water, impurities remain on the fabric. In the oven (at +80 °C) excess moisture is removed from the compound.
Natural cleansing
The method is to use solar heat. A solar wax refiner consists of a metal container placed inside a mesh with small cells, an inclined plate and a tray for collecting the purified product. Foil is placed around the perimeter, on the inner walls of the structure, and the container is covered with glass, creating a greenhouse effect.
Place the container with wax in a sunny area. On fine days, the temperature inside the container is maintained at +50-55 °C. This ensures that the wax melts slowly and gradually.
Application of reagents
Citric acid and activated carbon are used to chemically purify the compound. When cleaning with citric acid, you will need 20 liters of water, 5-6 kilograms of raw materials, 15 ml of lemon juice or 15 g of citric acid diluted 1:1 with water.
Place wax into boiling water, stir, then add acid without ceasing to stir, and turn off the heat. Cover the container with a lid and wrap it for slow cooling. When it has cooled completely, remove the purified product.
To clean with activated carbon, you need to melt the substance, add a reagent to it (10% of the weight of the piece), mix and filter the product using a fine sieve or gauze.
Traditional methods
Wax has been used by people for a long time, so there are effective folk methods for cleaning it from impurities.
Filtration
By passing the melted substance through a filter system, it is purified. First, the substance is heated and impurities are filtered out using a fine metal mesh. Then the heating is repeated and the wax is drained through 2-3 layers of gauze. The last step is filtering through nylon.
Advocacy
When cleaning with this method, liquid wax is poured into water, the temperature of which is 18-20 degrees lower than the temperature of the product. The container is wrapped, allowing it to cool slowly, gradually. Impurities settle at the bottom of the dish or concentrate on the surface of the product. After complete cooling, the top contaminated layer is cut off with a sharp knife.
Whitening
Produced using 9% vinegar. The wax is heated in water, vinegar is added to the container and the heating is immediately stopped. To clarify, 40 milliliters of vinegar are used for each kilogram of product. The bleached wax is removed from the container after it has completely cooled.
The cleaning processes are simple but labor-intensive; as a result, you can get a high-quality product that is used in cosmetology, medicine, and other industries.
