Separation of Paraffin Wax Using Solvent Fractionation

Abstract

In order to separate and characterize some grades of paraffin waxes from El-Ameria crude waxes (slack waxes), a one-stage fractional crystallization technique has been done to separate the paraffin waxes with different characteristics by using different solvents and solvent mixtures at ambient temperature of 20°C and fixed dilution and washing solvent ratios (S/F) of 4:1 and 2:1 by weight, respectively. The fractionating solvents used are n-hexane, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), dioxane, ethyl acetate, and butyl acetate as a single solvent and a mixture of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) containing benzene (B) and toluene (T) as a mixed solvent. The resulting data revealed that dioxane and n-hexane solvents are not suitable for fractional crystallization of slack waxes, and the most suitable solvents for separating paraffin waxes with the standard specifications are ethyl and butyl acetates, MIBK, and the mixture of MEK, B, and T (60:20:20 by weight, respectively).