Carnauba wax

Carnauba (/kɑːrˈnɔːbə, -naʊ-/; Portuguese: carnaúba [kahnaˈubɐ]), also called

Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the palm Copernicia prunifera
(Synonym: Copernicia cerifera), a plant native to and grown only in the
northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará, Maranhão, Bahia, and Rio Grande do
Norte.[1] It is known as "queen of waxes"[2] and in its pure state, usually comes in
the form of hard yellow-brown flakes. It is obtained from the leaves of the carnauba
palm by collecting and drying them, beating them to loosen the wax, then refining
and bleaching the wax.As a food additive, itsE number is E903.

Contents
Carnauba wax
Composition
Properties
Production and export
Technical characteristics
References
External links

Composition
Carnauba consists mostly of aliphatic esters (40 wt%), diesters of 4-
hydroxycinnamic acid (21.0 wt%), ω-hydroxycarboxylic acids (13.0 wt%), and fatty
alcohols (12 wt%). The compounds are predominantly derived from acids and
alcohols in the C26-C30 range. Distinctive for carnauba wax is the high content of
diesters as well as methoxycinnamic acid.[3]

Carnauba wax is sold in several grades, labeled T1, T3, and T4, depending on the
purity level. Purification is accomplished by filtration, centrifugation, and bleaching.
Carnauba palm

Properties
Carnauba wax can produce a glossy finish and as such is used in automobile waxes,
shoe polishes, dental floss, food products such as sweets, instrument polishes, and
floor and furniture waxes and polishes, especially when mixed with beeswax and
with turpentine. Use for paper coatings is the most common application in the
United States. It was commonly used in its purest form as a coating on speedboat
hulls in the early 1960s to enhance speed and aid in handling in salt water
environments. It is also the main ingredient in surfboard wax, combined with
coconut oil.
Candy coated with carnauba wax
Because of its hypoallergenic and emollient properties as well as its shine, carnauba
wax appears as an ingredient in many cosmetics formulas where it is used to thicken
lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, foundation, deodorant, various skin care preparations, sun care preparations, etc. It is also
used to make cutler's resin.
It is the finish of choice for most briar tobacco or smoking pipes. It produces a high gloss finish when buffed on to wood. This finish
dulls with time rather than flaking off (as is the case with most other finishes used).

Although too brittle to be used by itself, carnauba wax is often combined with other waxes (principally beeswax) to treat and
waterproof many leather products where it provides a high-gloss finish and increases leather's hardness and durability
.

It is also used in the pharmaceutical industry as a tablet-coating agent. Adding the carnauba wax aids in the swallowing of tablets for
patients. A very small amount (less than a hundredth of one percent by weight, i.e., 30 grams for a 300 kg batch) is sprinkled onto a
batch of tablets after they have been sprayed and dried. The wax and tablets are then tumbled together for a few minutes before being
discharged from the tablet-coating machine.

In 1890, Charles Tainter patented the use of carnauba wax on phonograph cylinders as a replacement for a mixture of paraffin and
beeswax.

Carnauba wax may be used as a mold release agent for manufacture of fibre-reinforced plastics. An aerosol mold release agent is
formed by dissolving carnauba wax in a solvent. Unlike silicone or PTFE, carnauba is suitable for use with liquid epoxy, epoxy
molding compounds (EMC), and some other plastic types and generally enhances their properties. Carnauba wax is not very soluble
in chlorinated or aromatic hydrocarbons.[4] Carnauba is used in melt/castable explosives to produce an insensitive explosive formula
such as Composition B, which is a blend of RDX and TNT.

Production and export

In 2006, Brazil produced 22,409 tons of carnauba wax, of which 14% was solid wax, and 86% was in powder form. [5] There are 20-
25 exporters of carnauba wax in Brazil who buy the carnauba wax from middlemen or directly from farmers. The exporters refine the
wax before exporting it to the rest of the world. The four largest exporters of carnauba wax are Pontes, Brasil Ceras, Foncepi, and
Carnauba do Brasil, who together account for around €25 million of the export market. According to the German television program
Markencheck, conditions for many carnauba production workers are quite poor; one Brazilian Labor Ministry official found
."[6][7]
conditions "that could be described as slavery

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, the major destinations for exported carnauba wax
are:

USA (25%)
Japan (15–25%)
Germany (10–15%)
Netherlands (5%)
Italy (5%)
other destinations (18%)

Technical characteristics
INCI name is Copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax
Melting point: 82–86 °C (180–187 °F), among the highest of natural waxes, higher than beeswax, 62–64C.
Relative density is about 0.97
It is among the hardest of natural waxes.
It is practically insoluble in water, soluble on heating in ethyl acetate and in xylene, and practically insoluble inethyl
alcohol.

References
1. Steinle, J. Vernon (September 1936). "Carnauba wax: an expedition to its source".Industrial & Engineering
Chemistry. 28 (9): 1004–1008. doi:10.1021/ie50321a003 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fie50321a003).
 2. Parish, Edward J.; Terrence L. Boos; Shengrong Li (2002). "The Chemistry of Waxes and Sterols". In Casimir C.
Akoh, David B. Min. Food lipids: chemistry, nutrition, and biochemistry (2nd ed.). New York: M. Dekker. p. 103.
ISBN 0-8247-0749-4.
3. 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
, Wiley-VCH,
Weinheim, 2002. doi:10.1002/14356007.a28_103(https://doi.org/10.1002%2F14356007.a28_103) .
4. Apps, E. A. (1958). Printing Ink Technology. London: Leonard Hill Books ltd. p. 86.
5. "Carnauba Wax Background Paper" (http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/portals/0/downloads/carnaubawax.pdf)(PDF).
ethicalconsumer.org. January 2011.
6. Der Haribo-Check (http://www.daserste.de/information/ratgeber-service/markencheck/sendung/markencheck-folge-2
-102.html). Markencheck (in German). ARD. October 16, 2017.
7. Knight, Ben (October 19, 2017)."Haribo gummy bear ingredients made by modern slaves, documentary shows"(htt
p://www.dw.com/en/haribo-gummy-bear-ingredients-made-by-modern-slaves-documentar y-shows/a-41036821).
Deutsche Welle. Retrieved October 29, 2017.

External links
Botanical description - from the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden
Carnauba wax data sheet- from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Carnauba Wax Background Paper - published report from field work.

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