Editing Beeswax (section)

== Chemical composition ==
[[File:Triacontanyl palmitate.png|thumb|upright=2|center|Triacontanyl palmitate, a [[wax ester]], is a major component of beeswax.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Tulloch |first1=A. P. |year=1980 |title=Beeswax—Composition and Analysis |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/0005772X.1980.11097776 |journal=Bee World |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=47–62 |doi=10.1080/0005772X.1980.11097776 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>]]

An approximate [[structural formula|chemical formula]] for beeswax is C<sub>15</sub>H<sub>31</sub>COOC<sub>30</sub>H<sub>61</sub>.<ref>{{cite book |last=Umney |first=Nick |title=Conservation of Furniture |author2=Shayne Rivers |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |year=2003 |page=164}}</ref> Its main constituents are [[palmitate]], [[palmitoleate]], and [[oleate]] [[ester]]s of long-chain (30–32 carbons) [[aliphatic]] [[Alcohol (chemistry)|alcohol]]s, with the ratio of [[palmitate|triacontanyl palmitate]] CH<sub>3</sub>(CH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>29</sub>O-CO-(CH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>14</sub>CH<sub>3</sub> to [[cerotic acid]] CH<sub>3</sub>(CH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>24</sub>COOH, the two principal constituents, being 6:1.{{citation needed|reason=need reference for main components and ratio|date=April 2020}} Beeswax can be classified generally into European and Oriental types. The [[saponification value]] is lower (3–5) for European beeswax, and higher (8–9) for Oriental types.{{citation needed|reason=where are these numbers from?|date=April 2020}} The analytical characterization can be done by high-temperature [[gas chromatography]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Limsathayourat |first1=N. |last2=Melchert |first2=H.-U. |year=1984 |title=High-temperature capillary GLC of hydrocarbons, fatty-acid derivatives, cholesterol esters, wax esters and triglycerides in beeswax analysis. |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00533223 |journal=[[Fresenius' Zeitschrift für analytische Chemie]] |trans-journal=Fresenius’ Journal of Analytical Chemistry |volume=318 |issue=6 |pages=410–413 |doi=10.1007/BF00533223 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>