Sugarcane wax

Key takeaways

Sugarcane wax belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sugarcane wax to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sugarcane wax from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sugarcane wax is a wax extracted from sugarcane.

Production The production of sugarcane wax is difficult and economically intensive. Sugarcane is used almost exclusively to produce sugar. More importantly, there is just about 0.1% of sugarcane wax in sugarcane. Therefore, economic productions can only be found in the major cultivation countries Brazil, India, China, Thailand, Pakistan and Mexico. During the production of sugar remains a filter residue, the so-called bagasse. The sugar cane wax is obtained from this filter residue. In that process, plant residues and chlorophyll are separated from the sugarcane.

History Around 1840, for the first time the American pharmacist Avequin was able to produce sugarcane wax out of the bagasse in a relatively pure form. In his quantitative analysis he found that there is just 0.1% of the whitish to dark yellow wax in sugarcane. In 1909, more than 60 years later, the Frenchman A. Wynberg was granted a patent for the production of sugarcane wax by extracting it out of the bagasse. During World War I, one of the first companies that produced large amounts of sugarcane waxes established in the South African province Natal. Already in 1924, 6000 tons of dark sugarcane wax were produced there. This amount was mainly used for the production of candles for the Russian Orthodox Church. Because of the Russian Revolution and the associated war against the church the consumption of sugarcane wax decreased so much that the company had to be closed. In the following period, sugarcane wax was produced in the US, mainly in Louisiana where there were up to 22 sugarcane wax producers. Already in 1922, M. Rindl described applications for sugarcane wax in detail, for example as substitute for Carnauba, Bee and Montan waxes.

Ingredients Sugarcane wax consists of the following ingredients: about 70% of alcohols of long-chain hydrocarbons having chain lengths of C 18 to C 32, wax acids having chain lengths of C 18 to C 32, ω-hydroxycarboxylic acids and aromatic carboxylic acids. Also fatty alcohols (wax alcohols) and diols are alcohol components. Besides that, about 5 to 10% consist of unesterified diols, long-chain wax acids such as behenic acid, cerotic acid, lignoceric acid or melissic acid and saturated hydrocarbons. Untreated sugarcane wax contains up to 25% of resin and moreover, up to 60% polycosanol (octacosanol) which can be extracted from sugarcane wax in the pure form.

Characteristics Sugarcane wax is indigestible and harmless to health. In case of accidental consumption it is excreted. In its refined form it has a light yellowish colour. Due to the high melting point of 75 to 80 °C it remains stable even if exposed to direct sunlight. Sugarcane wax offers a good oil and solvent retention for anionic bright emulsions.

Applications

Food Until the 1960s, sugar cane wax was added to the production of chewing gum as an edible wax. In this process the sugar cane wax acted as elastomer or as plasticizer and consistency regulator. In 1943, J. W. Schlegel and L. Lang were granted a patent to flour donuts with sugar. The ground sugar was mixed with 0.4% of sugar cane wax. Thus, the donuts became fat- and water-repellent and kept their fresh appearance longer. Also chocolate was thinly coated with sugarcane wax. The gloss durability improved, the melting reduced and the packing was relieved as well. In order to keep vegetables and fruits fresh or to make it look fresh emulsions from sugarcane wax mixed with other natural waxes were prepared. The vegetables or fruits were immersed in the emulsions or sprayed with wax emulsions.

Medical applications In the 1970s, a further field of application for polycosanols made from sugarcane wax was found in the medical industry, the lowering of the cholesterol level. This had been pursued with various investigations by the Cuban laboratory Dalmer S.A. in Havana, especially against the background of the fall of the Iron Curtain. During this time, there were many - also controversial - patent applications. The last known patent was applied in 1998 by S.A. Dalmer. Those results were analysed, summarised and developed further by I. Gouni-Berthold and H. K. Berthold. From 2004 to 2007 the cholesterol-lowering effect of polycosanols made from sugarcane wax was transferred to montan waxes because of their very similar chemical structure by E. Krendlinger and M. Neumaier. Currently, nutritional supplements containing polycosanols for lowering the cholesterol levels are offered in a wide range.

Currently Sugarcane wax is not only suitable for technical applications but also for applications in the food industry. So, sugarcane wax can be used as care product (shoe, floor and car care), in the leather and as well as for applications in the additive and cosmetics industry. Furthermore, it is applicable in the paints and printing inks industry and for the production of candles.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sugarcane wax

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sugarcane wax claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sugarcane wax before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sugarcane wax ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sugarcane wax

In research: Sugarcane wax appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sugarcane wax in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sugarcane wax is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Waxes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sugarcane wax outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Sugarcane wax in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sugarcane wax means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sugarcane wax out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sugarcane wax in simple terms?

Sugarcane wax is a wax extracted from sugarcane. Production The production of sugarcane wax is difficult and economically intensive.

Why does Sugarcane wax matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sugarcane wax?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sugarcane wax.