Physical Characterization of Wax/Oil Crystalline Networks

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the physical properties of different types of wax/oil systems. Olive (OO), corn (CO), soybean (SBO), sunflower (SFO), safflower (SAFO), and canola (CAO) oils were mixed with sunflower oil wax (SFOW), paraffin wax (PW), and beeswax (BW) at different concentrations (1% to 10%). Results from this study show that the physical properties of wax/oil systems is affected not only by the concentration and type of wax used, but also by the type of oil used. In general, wax/oil systems formulated with SFOW generated crystalline networks with high enthalpies (1 to 22 J/g) and high G' values (2 to 6 × 10(6) Pa) compared with the values obtained for BW and PW. SFOW crystalline networks were characterized by needle-like crystals independently of the wax concentrations and type of oil used. BW crystalline networks, however, were characterized by different crystal morphologies (needle-like or spherulites) depending on the wax concentration and type of oil used. PW samples were characterized by a crystalline network formed by needle- and platelet-like crystals. Enthalpy values of BW and PW samples were similar (0.3 to 20 J/g), but BW samples resulted in significantly higher (P < 0.05) G' values in the 5% and 10% samples with values of 3.9 × 10(6) and 6.1 × 10(5) Pa for 10% BW and PW, respectively.

Phase Behavior of Binary Blends of Four Different Waxes

“…1b suggests that RBW and PW did not co-crystallize, a careful analysis of the melting enthalpies of the samples (data not shown) indicates that some degree of partial cocrystallization occurred in this system, which supports the monotectic behavior depicted in Fig. Some of the important physical properties include the texture, structural organization, and strength of the crystalline network formed [13][14][15][16]. If we compare the previous two type of diagrams, binary wax-based product formulation can be easily understood.…”

“…For example, paraffin wax (PW) is formed mainly of high molecular weight n-alkanes, and RBW consists mainly of long-chain aliphatic esters, while SFW and BW are a mixture of n-alkanes, esters, free fatty acids, and aliphatic alcohols. Despite a significant amount of research dedicated to evaluating the phase behavior of natural waxes [2,4,5,8,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16], none of these studies have evaluated the phase behavior of wax mixtures. Using combinations of different waxes can help in designing wax materials with specific physical properties for various food applications.…”

Physical Properties of Candelilla Wax, Monoacylglycerols, and Fully Hydrogenated Oil Oleogels

“…The SFOP sample was the one that showed the highest G ′ and G ″ moduli ( P < 0.05). In general, the crystallization behavior of lipids and the type of microstructure generated affect the viscoelastic properties of the crystalline network formed, a high G ′ is usually associated with either a higher amount of crystallized material and/or the presence of small crystals (Martini et al, ). However, the mean diameter observed using PLM for samples SFOP and SBOP was the same, which in this case could not explain the difference between these oils.…”

“…In the other samples, whose crystallization is driven by CLX, no difference was found in the hardness of the oleogels formulated with the two oils. The previous results also show differences in the organogelation power for waxes (SF, beeswax, and paraffin) with different oils (Martini et al, ).…”

“…Previous research has shown that the gelling properties of waxes depend not only on the type of wax but also on the oil used. Therefore, two different oils (SB and SF) were used in this study (Martini, Tan & Jana 2015). SB and SF were purchased from the local market.…”