Patents
The invention relates to an improved process for the fractionation of hard microcrystalline waxes to produce different melting grade waxes. High melting waxes having a narrow melting range are required in many industries like paper coating, lamination, cosmetics, leather, rubber, textiles and tyre manufacture. This new process for the production of such waxes is simpler, cost effective and could be set up with a very low investment. The process consists of percolating fractionating solvent having a mixture of higher ketone and higher aromatic solvent in a ratio through a fixed bed of powdered or flakes of hard wax packed in the percolation column at a temperatures ranging from 20 to 80°C or successively at a uniform temperature interval selected from 5°C, 10°C and 15°C and recovering different melting grade waxes by distilling the solvent from the eluants obtained at different fractionating temperatures.