Japan wax (木蝋 Mokurō), also known as sumac wax, sumach wax, vegetable wax, China green tallow, and Japan tallow, is a pale-yellow, waxy, water-insoluble solid with a gummy feel, obtained from the berries of certain sumacs native to Japan and China, such as Toxicodendron vernicifluum (lacquer tree) and Toxicodendron succedaneum (Japanese wax tree).[1]
Japan wax is a byproduct of lacquer manufacture. The fruits of the Toxicodendron trees are harvested, steamed, and pressed for the waxy substance which hardens when cool.[2] It is not a true wax but a fat that contains 95% palmitin.[1] Japan wax is sold in flat squares or disks and has a rancid odor. It is extracted by expression and heat, or by the action of solvents.
Uses
[edit]Japan wax is used in candles, furniture polishes, floor waxes, wax matches, soaps, food packaging, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, pastels, crayons, buffing compounds, metal lubricants, adhesives, thermoplastic resins, and as a substitute for beeswax. Because it undergoes rancidification, it is seldom used in foods.
Properties
[edit]- Melting point = 51 °C (124 °F)[3] or 45–53 °C (113–127 °F).[1]
- Specific gravity ≈ 0.975[3]
- Soluble in benzene, ether, naphtha and alkalis; insoluble in water and cold ethanol.
- Iodine value = 4.5–12.6
- Acid value = 6–209
- Saponification value = 220[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Claude Leray "Waxes" in Kirk-othmer encyclopedia of chemical technology 2006, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/0471238961.2301240503152020.a01.pub2
- ^ 長崎新聞 (2018-10-28). "伝統産業 木蝋 こだわりの製法貫く ｜ 長崎新聞". 長崎新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-10-22.
- ^ a b c Brady, George S.; Clauser, Henry R.; Vaccari A., John (1997). Materials Handbook (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-007084-9.
