Wax Facts
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What is wax?
The word "wax" usually refers to a variety of organic substances that are solid at ambient temperature but become free-flowing liquids at slightly higher temperatures. The chemical composition of waxes is complex, but normal alkanes are always present in high proportion, and molecular weight profiles tend to be wide. The main commercial source of wax is crude petroleum, but not all crude oil refiners produce wax. "Mineral" wax can also be produced from lignite, plants, animals and even insects produce materials sold in commerce as "wax."
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What are types of waxes?
- Beeswax has been traded for over 2000 years; references to "wax" before the 19th century typically meant beeswax. Yellow beeswax is secreted by bees to build honeycombs; the empty comb is melted in boiling water to recover the wax. Yellow beeswax can be bleached with oxidizing agents to white beeswax, a product favored in the cosmetic industry. The composition of beeswax varies widely with geography and the diet of the bees forming the combs, but typical components are C25-C31 hydrocarbons, esters of C30 -C32 alcohols with C16 acids and free C25 - C31 carboxylic acids.
- Other animal-based waxes include lanolin from the wool of sheep, and ambergris, produced in the intestines of sperm whales. Another example of animal waxes that have been traded in the past is spermaceti, derived from the head oil of the sperm whale. Of course, the endangered status of the whale has stopped trading in this product and resulted in the development of synthetic substitutes. One of the most enduring qualities of the wax business has been the ability to improvise and develop substitutes in the face of supply disruptions.
- Carnauba wax is recovered from a variety of palm tree which grows almost exclusively in northeastern Brazil. Carnauba wax forms on the fronds of the trees and is recovered by cutting and drying the fronds, then mechanically removing the wax. Impurities are removed from the wax by melting and filtering or centrifuging. Carnauba wax is distinguished by its hardness and high melt point, combined with an ability to disperse pigments such as carbon black, properties which make carnauba useful in printing inks. It is also used to gel organic solvents and oils as a component of solvent and paste formulations. Carnauba polishes to a high gloss, and is used to polish items such as leather products, candies, metal surfaces, etc.
- Candelilla wax is harvested from shrubs grown in the Mexican states of Coahuila and Chihuahua and in Texas. The entire mature plant is uprooted and immersed in boiling water acidified with sulfuric acid; the wax floats to the surface for recovery. Principal markets for candelilla wax include cosmetics, food and pharmaceuticals.
- Other vegetable-based waxes include Japan wax, produced on the berries of a small tree native to Japan and China; Ouricury wax, obtained from the fronds of another palm tree growing in Brazil; Rice-bran wax, extracted from crude rice bran; and Jojoba, obtained from the seeds of the jojoba plant grown in parts of Costa Rica, Israel, Mexico and the United States.
- Montan wax is derived by solvent extraction of lignite. The earliest production of montan wax on a commercial scale was in Germany during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and Germany continues to lead the world in production of montan wax; some montan wax is produced in the United States from the Ione lignite bed in California. The composition of montan wax varies geographically with production, but includes varying amounts of wax, resin and asphalt. The largest traditional use for Montan wax is in the formulation of carbon paper inks. The decrease in use of carbon paper resulted in montan wax being further refined for use in the formulation of polishes and as plastics lubricants. Montan wax is hard and brittle and has a high melt point; its properties are similar to those of natural plant waxes such as carnauba, which it can replace.
- Other mineral waxes include peat waxes, ozokerite and ceresin waxes. Peat waxes are similar to montan waxes in that they contain wax, resin and asphalt, but montan waxes contain 50% more wax in proportion to peat waxes. Ozokerite wax was a product of Poland, Austria and the former USSR where it was mined. True ozokerite is no longer produced but has been replaced with blends of petroleum-derived paraffin and micro-crystalline waxes designed to meet specific applications once filled by ozokerite. Ceresin wax originally was a refined and bleached ozokerite wax, but now is a paraffin wax of very narrow molecular weight distribution. Once again we see the adaptability of the wax business - as supplies of these limited minerals have declined, innovators have developed ways to replace the functionality of natural materials by modifying other waxes; this is a trend that continues today.
- Most of the waxes described so far can be characterized by a higher degree of difficulty required to recover and purify them in significant quantity. Waxes derived from petroleum are much easier to recover, and offer a wide range of physical properties that can often be tailored by refining processes. Most producers offer two distinct types of petroleum waxes: paraffins, distinguished by large, well formed crystals and micro-crystalline, higher melting waxes with small, irregular crystals. Some producers also sell "intermediate" wax, the boiling range cut where the transition in crystal size and structure occurs. Petroleum wax producers also characterize wax by degree of refinement: fully refined paraffin has oil content generally less than .5%, and fully-refined micro-crystalline less than 1.5%; "slack wax" - precursors to the fully refined versions in either case would have oil content above 2 and as high as 35% by weight. Paraffin wax produced from petroleum is essentially a pure mixture of normal and iso-alkanes without the esters, acids, etc. found in the animal and vegetable-based waxes.
- Microcrystalline wax contains substantial proportions of branched and cyclic saturated hydrocarbons in addition to normal alkanes.
Synthetic waxes have entered the wax market in the past 50 years. Polyethylene waxes are low molecular weight polyethylenes (less than 10,000 Mn) having wax-like properties made by either high-pressure or low-pressure (Zeigler-type catalyst) polymerization. All such waxes have the same basic structure, but the various production processes yield products with distinctly different properties, and these have a major impact on the use of products. Products from one manufacturer may satisfy one particular application, while product from a similar process will not work well at all. Major uses include hot-melt adhesives for applications requiring high-temperature performance, additives to improve the processing of plastics, and slip and rub additives for inks, paints and cosmetics.
Fischer-Tropsch (FT) wax is a polyethylene wax produced by the polymerization of carbon monoxide under high pressure; this is the technology used in the emerging natural Gas to Liquid (GTL) projects. The hydrocarbon product of FT reaction is distilled to separate the mix into fuels products and waxes with melting points ranging from about 45 - 106ºC. Currently FT waxes are commercially produced in large volumes in South Africa and Malaysia, with over 20 k MT consumed in the US in '02. Uses are similar to those for polyethylene waxes including hot-melt adhesives and additives for inks and coatings.
Product Source Melt Pt/Pen 25C Main Uses Beeswax Honeycombs 64c 20dmm Cosmetics Carnuba Palm Tree 84 2 Inks, Polishes Candelilla Bush 70 3 Cosmetics, Foods Ceresin Lignite 65 60 Cosmetics Japan Wax Bush 50 30 Candles, Pencils Montan Lignite 80 10 Carbon paper ink Ouricury Palm Tree 85 2 Inks, Polishes Ozokerite Mined East Europe 68-96 9-15 Cosmetics Petroleum -- Paraffin Crude Oil 46-68 10-20 Various Petroleum -- microcrystalline Crude Oil 60-93 2-10 Various Polyethylene Synthesis 85-140 3 Various Fischer Tropsch waxes Synthesis 54-72 10-41 Various Chemically modified waxes: microcrystalline hydrocarbon and polyethylene waxes may be modified to meet specific market needs, most often to match performance characteristics of animal or vegetable waxes. In most cases, the first step is air oxidation of the wax with or without catalysts An alternative approach is to react the wax with a carboxylic acid at high temperature. Oxidized wax can be further modified by saponification or esterification at the carboxyl sites. Oxidized wax is easily emulsified in water through the use of surfactants or simple soaps, and is widely used in many coating and polish applications. Petroleum waxes modified in this way can compete in specific areas with vegetable and insect waxes.
Polymers of higher -olefins (e.g. C>20) have wax-like properties and are sold as synthetic waxes. The polymerization process yields highly branched materials with broad molecular weight distributions. Properties of the individual products are highly dependent on the -olefin monomers and polymerization conditions. Melt points range from 54 - 74C. The unique structure makes these products very effective when used in additive amounts to modify the properties of paraffin wax, primarily for use in candles. The products can increase the hardness and opacity of the paraffin with minimal impact on cloud point or viscosity. Other uses include mold release for polyurethane foams, additives for casting wax, and additive for leather treating.
A description has been provided of a very interesting market, one over 2000 years old where vegetable, mineral and synthetic materials come together to serve a wide variety of needs. Wax is truly a versatile product whose unique properties pave the way for a myriad of end uses. The most interesting part of this is the ability of wax to re-invent itself over time. If you look back over the last forty years - "our lifetime" - you would recognize wax products in every home as part of bread wrap, waxed paper food wraps, cold drink cups and the Pure Pak milk container. Walk into your kitchen today, and you will still find wax used in most of these applications, in addition likely a significant amount of wax is used in the building materials to construct the room. New uses for wax have been found time and again, and the wax market today is as vital as ever. This has been going on since Romans walked the Via Appia, which, of course, was named after the honeybee.
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What are the major wax markets?
North American wax consumption is estimated at approximately 3 billion pounds a year, split here between two major markets, packaging materials and all others. The split is interesting, with packaging representing only 30% of the market, but this is the way the world historically views the wax business. Think of how wax was used thirty years ago - waxed paper, milk cartons, paper drinking cups, etc. Packaging was and still is one of the primary markets for wax, but technology has found other cost-effective alternatives for wax in packaging. However, wax marketers have been equally innovative in finding new uses for this unique material. Packaging uses for wax are currently forecast to continue to decline, though overall wax demand is expected to grow about 2-3% per annum, in line with economic growth.
North American Wax Consumption (link to NAWaxConsumption.pdf)
Markets for wax are truly diverse, ranging from simple fuel in manufactured fire logs and candles through practical applications such as adhesives, anti-oxidation agents in tires, and sizing in construction materials, to even more exotic uses in cosmetics and foods. Herewith some examples:
- Building Materials: wax is added as a water repellent in the production of wood-based manufactured composite boards such as particle board, medium density, oriented strand and other board products.
- Candles: one of the oldest uses of wax, but still vital. No longer used for primary illumination, candles are the fastest growing segment of the wax market with new decorative and therapeutic uses.
- Chlorinated paraffins: chemicals manufactured by chlorination of paraffin waxes. The largest application for chlorinated paraffins is as a plasticiser and flame-retardant in flexible PVC. They are also used as plasticisers in paint, sealants and adhesives. The higher chlorine content grades are used as flame-retardants in a wide range of rubber and polymer systems. Another major outlet for chlorinated paraffins is in the formulation of metalworking lubricants where they have long been recognized as one of the most effective additives for lubricants used in a wide range of machining and engineering operations. Finally, they are used in leather formulations.
- Corrugated Board: wax is applied to corrugated containers in order to provide wet and top to bottom strength, key concerns in food packaging.
Coatings: wax can be used to form a coating that allows oxygen to pass but not water; generating numerous applications in such diverse areas as cosmetics, food, packaging, furniture, time release properties, etc.
- Cosmetics: fully-refined wax is non-toxic, and many products are approved by the FDA for direct use in food and personal care formulations. Waxes are widely used in the cosmetic industry in products such as lipstick, mascara, moisturizing creams and sunblocks.
- Chewing gum: chewing gum base is a compound of elastomers, resin and FDA wax to which other materials are added to produce chewing gum. Hard, high melt-point waxes are used in this application, including microcrystalline and candelilla waxes.
- Crayons: FDA wax provides the solid structure for a crayon and, since most crayon users are young children, its non-toxic characteristics are critical.
- Firelogs: a modern convenience product, wax acts as both a binder and as fuel.
- Food: FDA wax is used to cover certain types of cheese that would dehydrate if not properly protected, is sprayed on citrus and other fruit to protect from oxidation and enhance appearance, and in meat/bone wraps.
- Hot melt adhesives: waxes are present in most hot melt adhesive formulations, where they control the viscosity of the adhesive and contribute to open time, flexibility and elongation.
- Inks: graphical printing inks include wax in their formulation to make them brighter and to improve sliding capabilities, as well as to prevent scratches that affect some printing inks.
- Investment casting: in the "lost wax" method of casting of jewelry, industrial products, etc. a wax model of the piece is made, then used to create a clay mold. The wax is melted out, and the clay used to cast the final piece.
- Polishes: the application of waxes to wooden floors to improve their appearance and provide protection dates back several hundred years. The application of wax retards the penetration of air and moisture, thereby increasing the life of the flooring material as well as preventing abrasion by surface grit.
- PVC: two different lubricants are used in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride thermoplastic: internal and external. Two different types of wax are used in the lubricants. Internal lubricants are formulated to help PVC flow in the manufacturing process; they form a solution with PVC. External lubricants are not soluble in PVC and they produce a film between the PVC and its extrusion equipment.
Tire and Rubber: wax is a vital component in rubber tire formulations; it is added for protection from atmospheric ozone that will "dry" unprotected rubber, causing cracking that compromises the strength of the tire. Wax creates a physical barrier between the tire surface and the atmosphere.
The biggest single consumer of wax in North America remains the packaging area; the next biggest (and fastest growing) segment is candles, followed by building materials and then firelogs.
U.S. Wax Production Data
US wax production grew at a compound rate of about 3.1% per annum from 1982 to 1998 when the impact of industry consolidation and new base oil technology became significant. The production peak in 1996 is exaggerated due to product definition issues, but the trend line is true. Between 1998 and 2002, annual wax production fell from 2480 MM# to 1900MM#, about 23% as several small base oil plants shut down and another large one converted from MEK dewaxing process to wax hydroisomerization technology to manufacture higher quality Group II base oils. Wax imports have grown steadily throughout this period, about 6.1% per annum according to Energy Information Agency (EIA) reporting, while wax exports grew at an annual rate of 9.1%. In 1953, there were 67 base oil plants in the US, about half of them producing some kind of wax. Today, there are 12 US wax producers.
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Who are the American wax producers?
Refiner Location Finished Semi-Finished American Refining Group Bradford, PA 0.5 Calumet Lubricants Company Shreveport, LA 1.1 CITGO Lubes & Waxes Lake Charles, LA 1.5 0.4 Equilon Enterprises Deer Park, TX 1.1 Ergon -- West Virginia Newell, LA 0.9 ExxonMobil Corporation Baton Rouge, LA 2.5 ExxonMobil Corporation Baytown, TX 4.5 ExxonMobil Corporation Beaumont, TX 1.5 0.6 Flying J N. Salt Lake City, UT 3.5 Honeywell Specialty Chemicals Smethport, PA 1.2 0.3 Marathon Ashland Petroleum Catlettsburg, KY 2.2 Sunoco, Inc. Tulsa, OK 1.0 Total -- U.S.
9.9
12.9
Imperial Oil. Ltd Sarnia, Ontario 2.0 Imperial Oil, Ltd. Strathcona, Alberta 0.6 The International Group Agincourt, Ontario 1.0 Petro-Canada Lubricants Mississauga, Ontario 1.8 Shell Canada Products, Ltd. Montreal, Quebec 1.3 Total -- Canada
1.0
5.7
PDVSA Amuay, Venezuela 0.3 PDVSA Cardon, Venezuela 1.9 PDVSA Curacao, Netherlands Antilles 1.5 PEMEX-Refinancion Salamanca, Mexico 0.5 0.7 Total -- Latin/South America and Caribbean
3.4
4.4
Total -- All Sources
14.3
23.0
Source: NPRA
In North America, fifteen companies currently manufacture finished or semi-refined waxes at 17 locations in North America; not all companies produce both semi-refined and fully refined waxes. Product distribution is about 50/50 between finished and semi-refined, though this can be misleading because semi-refined is sold as feedstock to fully-refined producers as well as being sold into end-use markets
A typical wax producer in North America produces wax concurrently with base oils at an integrated solvent dewaxing/deoiling unit, although there are also "stand-alone" deoiling plants producing finished wax from purchased feedstocks. An average finished wax plant produces about 1,000 barrels a day of product, or 100MM# a year. About half of US wax manufacturers produce low oil content, finished waxes, the rest simply recover slack wax from their operations. One producer sells residual material from waxy crude without further processing. Curiously, no integrated Canadian refiner produces finished wax, nor do most of the Caribbean plants. North American producers operate only solvent deoiling processes. There are other technologies available for deoiling, including sweating and fractional crystallization; the latter process is the only practical alternate for large scale production. After deoiling, product wax is typically finished by hydrogenation or clay treating to decolorize it and assure FDA performance where required.
A reduction in nameplate capacity for wax production in North America has drawn increased import of raw and finished waxes. EIA data for the period 1992 - 2002 show an increase from about 170 MM# per annum to 270 MM#, or roughly 14% of domestic production in 2002. International Trade Agency (ITA) statistics, however, tell a somewhat different tale: ITA shows low imports in the early '90's with a steep change to about 250 MM#/year in the last half of the decade and continued growth to about 344 MM#/yr estimated for 2002. This chart reinforces one of the problems inherent to the wax business: with so many sources and classifications of product, it's easy to find conflicting data. EIA statistics are based on self-reporting within the relatively small community of producers, so they probably represent their business well; the ITA numbers are subject to classification by tariff codes, etc. and are probably more subject to confusion. This paper takes the higher number as the correct one, assuming that it is easy to miss itemized imports because of the multiple tariff classes. The data do lead to consistent conclusions: that there is an ample world supply of wax, that US imports have increased sharply in recent years, and that profit opportunities will drive trade to meet demand.
U.S. Imports for Consumption, 2001 Product Million Pounds Dollars/pound Main Suppliers Paraffin 130.86 0.2209 China, Canada, Brazil, Japan Micro/other 154.51 0.131 China, Canada, Iraq Other Wax 152.64 0.0721 Mexico, Canada, Iraq Artificial NESOI 16.84 0.7272 Canada, Malaysia, UK, Germany, Taiwan Montan Wax 1.87 0.5179 Germany, Iraq, UK Artificial - PEG 1.29 0.5505 Mexico Artificial - Lignite 0.35 1.5894 Germany Artificial - Beeswax 0.04 1.2826 France, China, Brazil Source: International Trade Agency
Examination of available import statistics illustrate several facts about the wax market. First, wax derived from petroleum far outweighs all other sources by volume. Second, the value of waxes vary dramatically with degree of refinement and functionality; in this chart, you can see slack waxes and feedstocks selling in the 10 cp# range, synthetic waxes in the 50 - 70 cp# range and special-purpose waxes selling for over 1.00 $/lb. The third lesson from this table is the identification of trading partners; it is not surprising to see Canada and Mexico on the list and Chinese imports are well-known, but to see the trade in feedstocks with Saudi Arabia and Iraq raises questions as to the classification of the import - perhaps being a topped waxy crude oil.
Over the past twenty years, US exports have exceeded imports and, despite the significant increase in imports in recent years, they continue to do so. ITA doesn't capture the export picture well, probably because product may be classified in end-use categories instead of being recognized as raw material. At any rate, ITA reports only about 20 MM pounds a year of exports, while EIA shows about 350 MM pounds in 2002.
The ever-increasing trends in both imports and exports beg the question of overall supply. The present "gap" between imports and exports is 114 MM#, or about 1,100 barrels a day - roughly one good-sized production facility.
Domestic supply is the net sum of production less exports plus imports and net stock changes. US supply peaked in 1996 when about 133 MM#/year of waxy residual material was added to supply, then decreased for four years before picking up again in 2001. Indications for 2002 are that domestic production will hold even with 2001, that imports will increase about 10% and that overall supply will be about the same as 2001.
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How will wax manufacturing develop in the future?
Given the current state of flux in the North American lubricants business, there are three strategic concerns for its wax co-products: attrition of base oil manufacturing facilities, the rising trend of imports and the advent of new process technologies, specifically Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) and Coal-to-Liquids technologies capable of co-producing premium waxes along with sulfur-free fuels and premium lubricants.
Base oil refinery attrition is the factor influencing wax production the most in the past twenty years. A historical view of North American paraffinic base oil manufacture shows a clear trend to consolidation. This somewhat busy chart shows the number of paraffinic lubes plants in North America declining from 27 to 14 in the last 15 years, while nameplate capacity actually increased slightly and the average size of a lube plant grew from 4,700 to 11,400 bpd. The good news here is that much of the practical consolidation has already taken place. The bad news for the wax buyer is that the newer, bigger plants have installed hydroisomerization technology that converts wax to base oil, thus eliminating the wax as a coproduct. To the extent that increasing demand for low volatility, high VI stocks for engine oil drives investment in lubricants, there may be further conversion of existing capacity to isomerization with resultant decrease in wax manufacturing. NPRA estimates that approximately 25% of finished wax capacity could be considered "at risk" for such conversion, and about the same proportion of semi-finished wax. This represents approximately 500 MM pounds/year of wax products, roughly twice the present import amount. However, many current wax manufacturers are independent operators, not major international integrated companies. These players are considered less likely to move to the new technology than the integrated majors. The two major integrated companies among wax producers have already committed themselves to technology choices, one reducing its capacity by a hydroisomerization conversion, and one maintaining its wax capacity by developing alternate processing for its base oil products. Given that the capacity of one production plant is dedicated to the "export gap" defined previously, it is believed that further rationalization, if it occurs, will not seriously affect supply, and that supply shortages can be made up by imports. The other side of the supply question is how much can domestic supply be expanded? Given the relatively high cost of building process units and the low price of import waxes, it is unlikely that there would be grass roots construction of a wax deoiling plant. However, one can expect to see the usual "capacity creep" through debottlenecking, but no grass-roots construction.
Imports are a growing part of the North American wax picture, though they have actually been an enduring part of it for a long time. The significant increase in imports in the '97 - '98 time frame drew a lot of attention, and resulted mainly from China significantly penetrating the North American market. The good news here is that China has large production volumes of waxy crude and a fairly large processing capability, so it is a ready source of wax. Quality is always a concern in international trade, and wax is a particularly complicated product area - there are no international standards as there are for lubricants, and there is an enormous product line with active trading at all levels of the supply chain - i.e. feedstocks, semi-refined, fully refined and modified and compounded products. In addition, many end-use customers have proprietary performance tests that do not relate directly to manufacturing controls, and from the earlier market discussions it should be obvious that there is no single trade association to promulgate standards. For our purposes today, suffice it to say caveat emptor, recognize the opportunity for standardization to simplify the business and applaud the efforts of NPRA's Wax Task Force for introducing a forum to address these needs from the supply side.
The third strategic influence on wax is the potential new supply that could be introduced by large-scale GTL operations. GTL is a hot topic in the industry and seems to have been talked about forever, but there are presently a number of projects announced to finally build large-scale commercial units although not all with wax plants. The technology of producing wax by Fischer Tropsch (FT) synthesis has been proven for many years, and there are presently two FT-based plants operating in South Africa and Malaysia. GTL could multiply the supply of these waxes many times. Nothing in the wax business is ever simple and considering the vagaries of crude and natural gas markets, the proliferation of GTL plants is not a given. A basic GTL plant uses FT to synthesize a wide-boiling paraffinic "gas oil" that is then refined into finished products. The main interest in GTL is to produce environmentally friendly fuels, in which case the FT product is hydrocracked and dewaxed: expected fuels yield would be about 50 - 80% from such a feedstock. The remaining material can be processed for ultra-high VI lube base oil or wax. A world-scale GTL plant thus has the capability to produce a lot of wax, say 4,000 barrels a day or more, or about 400 MM#/year over a range of melt points. Three such plants could replace the entire North American finished wax production. Capital costs for GTL plants are currently estimated at $20,000 to $30,000 per daily barrel, compared to refinery capital costs of $12,000 to $14,000, and the "common wisdom" is that sustained crude prices over 25 $/barrel will justify GTL investment. GTL wax would normally be regarded as a premium grade, but a sudden surge in availability would not necessarily shut down other producers. The diverse wax business accommodates low melt waxes, soft waxes, slack waxes, etc in specialized niches and it's unlikely that GTL waxes would sweep existing products from their markets. Given the cost of GTL plants (measured in billions of dollars)the remote location of the proposed plants, and the extended time line for completion, GTL remains a tantalizing subject but a remote threat to existing business. As GTL is commercialized, one may see the same evolution of the market that has taken place for the past 2000 years: smart operators will continue to find new ways to take advantage of the special properties of this unique material.
ASTM/IP Standards Applicable to Petroleum Waxes ASTM IP Title D 87 55 Melting Point of Petroleum Wax D 127 133 Drop Melting Pont of Petroleum Wax, Including Petrolatum D 156 Saybolt Color of Petroleum Products (Saybolt Chrometer Method D 445 71 Kinematic Viscosity of Transparent and Opaque Liquids (and the Calculation of Dynamic Viscosity D 612 Carbonizable Substances in Paraffin Wax D 721 158 Oil Content of Petroleum Waxes D 937 179 Cone Penetration of Petrolatum D 938 76 Congealing Point of Petroleum Waxes, Including Petrolatum D 1160 Distillation of Petroleum Productsat Reduced Pressure D 1320 Tensile Strength of Paraffin Wax D 1321 Needle Penetration of Petroleum Waxes D 1465 Blocking and Picking of Petroleum Wax D 1500 196 ASTM Color of Petroleum Products (ASTM Color Scale) D 1832 Peroxide Number of Petroleum Wax D 1833 185 Odor of Petroleum Wax D 1834 20-Degree Specular Gloss of Waxed Paper D 2008 Ultraviolet Absorbance and Absorptivity of Petroleum Products D 2423 Method for Surface Wax on Waxed Paper or Cardboard D 2534 Coefficient of Friction for Wax Coatings D 2669 Apparent Viscosity of Petroleum Waxes Compounded with Additives (Hot Melts) D 2887 Boiling Range Distribution of Petroleum Fractions by Gas Chromatography D 2895 Gloss Retention of WAxed Paper and Paperboard AFter Storage at 40C (104F) D 3234 Abrasion Resistance of Wax Coatings D 3235 Solvent Extractables in Petroleum Waxes D 3236 Apparent Viscosity of Hot Melt Adhesives and Coating Materials D 3344 Total Wax Loading of Corrugated Paperboard Source: ASTM Significance of Tests