Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Make Soy Candles

There are numerous waxes that you can use for candlemaking. Of these, soy is one that has arrived relatively recent on the scene. At present, there are a limited number of primary soybean wax producers: This article highlights Nature's Gifts International, Inc. and Golden Brands, LLC.

Nature's Gifts International (NGI)

One supplier of soybean wax is Nature's Gifts International (NGI). They incorporated in 1999 and are headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee. Up until 2002, the used the brand name Ecowax. Their current brand name is EcoSoya.

They advertise that their soy waxes are engineered via their trademarked Molecular Blueprinting to control polymorphism. (Polymorphs are solids that have the same chemical makeup but different crystal structure. With regards to lipids, of which wax is one, polymorphism refers to how the lipid molecules line up for example in layers, tubes or blocks. Chocolate is a well known substance with polymorphism. That's why you have to temper chocolate - to get it to solidify to the structure that provides the best shine and snap. The keyword here is solidify. Even if you do start with solid soy wax that has a particularly consistent crystal structure, it all disappears once the wax is melted. Therefore, I do not see what the benefits are of starting with a wax of a particular morphology.)

NGI's soybean wax and soybean wax blend offerings for container candles are as follows:

EcoSoya CB-XceL; 100% soy; Melting point is 125 F (51.7 C)
ExoSoya CBAdvanced Soy; soy blend; Melting point is 111 F (43.9 C)
EcoSoya CB-135; soy blend; melting point is 122 (50 C)

NGI sells a soyblend for molded candles, EcoSoya PB. It has a melting temperature of 130 F (54.4 C)

Finally, NGI sells a wax formulated specifically for priming wicks. It is called Eco-Wick Wax, and its melting point is 175 F (79.4 C).

Golden Brands, LLC

Another company that is a primary supplier of soybean wax is Golden Brands, LLC. As is stated on their website, this soywax supplier had a fascinating origin.

Golden Brands was established in 1982 by a local group of private investors and their families, each of which are very professional and successful entrepreneurs. With backgrounds ranging from real estate development to founders of several fast foods restaurant chains to engineering and even a professional football star, how could this group be anything but successful? Their common thread is their roots and belief in their Louisville community.

Their primary business is making shortening for the food industry. They began to manufacture soybean wax in 2000.

Golden Brands' Product, GW416, is a natural soy tart wax, that is formulated for making tarts or for hardening other waxes. The melting point of GW416 is 130-135 F (54.4 57.2 C)

The rest of Golden Brands' soybean waxes and wax blends are formulated for container candles. These waxes and their respective melting points are as follows:

GW402 115-120 F (46.1-48.9 C) pure soy wax
GW415 120-125 F (48.9-51.7 C) pure soy wax
GW464 113-119 F (45.0-48.3 C) soy blend
GW444 119-125 F (48.3-51.7 C) soy blend
GW435 120-125 F (48.9-51.7 C) soy and cotton blend

This article has focused on two of the primary manufacturing companies of soybean wax. There are a variety of other soy wax manufacturing companies who do not do primary manufacturing. That is they do not extract the oil from the soybean. Instead they would start with soybean wax as a raw material to make their own wax blends.

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