Editing Paraffin wax (section)

== Manufacturing ==
The feedstock for paraffin is [[Petroleum product#Specialty and By-products|slack wax]], which is a mixture of oil and wax, a byproduct from the refining of lubricating oil.

The first step in making paraffin wax is to remove the oil (de-oiling or de-waxing) from the slack wax. The oil is separated by crystallization. Most commonly, the slack wax is heated, mixed with one or more [[solvent]]s such as a [[ketone]] and then cooled. As it cools, wax crystallizes out of the solution, leaving only oil. This mixture is filtered into two streams: solid (wax plus some solvent) and liquid (oil and solvent). After the solvent is recovered by distillation, the resulting products are called "product wax" (or "press wax") and "foots oil". The lower the percentage of oil in the wax, the more refined it is considered to be (semi-refined versus fully refined).<ref>{{cite web |title=Paraffin Wax (Fully Refined) |url=http://www.barasatwax.com/fullyrefined.php |publisher=Barasat Wax Refiner |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130720100551/http://www.barasatwax.com/fullyrefined.php |archive-date=20 July 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The product wax may be further processed to remove colors and odors. The wax may finally be blended together to give certain desired properties such as melt point and penetration. Paraffin wax is sold in either liquid or solid form.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wax Refining |url=http://igiwax.com/reference/wax-refining.html |publisher=The International Group, Inc. |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-date=10 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121210142737/http://igiwax.com/reference/wax-refining.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Paraffin wax |url=http://bitumenengineering.com/materials/paraffin-wax |publisher=Bitumen Engineering |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630024342/http://bitumenengineering.com/materials/paraffin-wax |archive-date=30 June 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Manufacturing Process |url=http://www.barasatwax.com/mp.php |publisher=Barasat Wax Refiner |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130720100707/http://barasatwax.com/mp.php |archive-date=20 July 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>