Paraffin (redirected from paraffine)

paraffin, white, more-or-less translucent, odorless, tasteless, waxy solid. It melts between 47°C; and 65°C; and is insoluble in water but soluble in ether, benzene, and certain esters. Paraffin is unaffected by most common chemical reagents but burns readily in air. Obtained from petroleum during refining, it is used in candles, for coating paper, and for various other purposes. Chemically, paraffin is a mixture of high-molecular-weight alkanes, i.e., saturated hydrocarbons with the general formula C_nH_2n+2, where n is an integer between 22 and 27.

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alkane

 or paraffin

Any of a class of hydrocarbons whose molecules consist only of carbon and hydrogen atoms joined by single covalent bonds (general formula C_nH_{(2n + 2)}). The simplest is methane (CH₄). Alkanes with more than three carbon atoms may have straight and branched isomers. Cycloalkanes have ring structures (but are not aromatic compounds) with two fewer hydrogen atoms per molecule than the corresponding alkane; many have more than one ring. Commercial sources include petroleum and natural gas. Uses, often as mixtures, include fuels, solvents, and raw materials. See also paraffin.

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paraffin (less commonly), paraffine

1. a liquid mixture consisting mainly of alkane hydrocarbons with boiling points in the range 150°--300°C, used as an aircraft fuel, in domestic heaters, and as a solvent

2. another name for alkane

3. See paraffin wax

4. See liquid paraffin

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paraffin [′par·ə·fən]

(materials)

alkane paraffin wax

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Paraffin 

a petroleum product that consists of a mixture of predominantly straight-chain alkanes that range from nine to 40 carbon atoms in length. Isoparaffin, cycloparaffin, and naphtheno-aromatic hydrocarbons are also found in paraffin. Solid paraffin, which melts between 45° and 70°C, is primarily obtained from oily distillates of paraffin-base petroleum. In this process, the crude mixture of paraffin and oil is dewaxed by crystallization. Paraffin is also extracted from petroleum fractions through the selective adsorption of straight-chain alkanes by zeolites. Liquid paraffin, which boils off between 180° and 360°C, is obtained during the urea dewaxing of certain petroleum products. Commercial paraffin undergoes preliminary adsorbent processing and is then purified by other methods.

Because of its chemical neutrality and various other properties, paraffin is widely used in the food industry, in medicine, in the manufacture of cosmetics and perfumes, and as an insulating material in electrical engineering. It also serves as a raw material for the petrochemical industry in the manufacture of such substances as higher fatty acids, higher alcohols, and detergents. Several brands of paraffin are currently available, including fully refined paraffin, semirefined paraffin, and medicinal paraffin.

REFERENCE

Pereverzev, A. N., N. F. Bogdanov, and lu. N. Roshchin.
Proizvodstvo parafinov. Moscow, 1973.

I. P. LUKASHEVICH