Wax On, Wax Off: Refractometric Quality Control Of Waxes

In the 1984 film, Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi teaches his student to practice karate through simple movements: wax on, wax off, sand the floor, paint the fence. The result? Precise, effective, and effortless performance, even in the most difficult situations.

But what does karate performance have to do with quality control of petroleum waxes? Although these organic compounds are useful in manufacturing foods, candles and cosmetics, they get a bad rap in the oil industry. When present in crude oil, they can deposit in cold pipes and increase the cost of crude transport significantly.

Detailed characterisation and quality control can avoid these deposits, saving money and time. Measurement of refractive index is a quick and accurate way of controlling the quality of hydrocarbon liquids and of refined petroleum waxes. In both cases, just a small amount of sample and a few seconds of measuring time are required to provide a reliable indicator of deviations from normal composition, and of the progress of wax extraction or distillation.

Like Mr. Miyagi, Anton Paar (Austria) knows that simple is best. The Abbemat refractometer family takes hydrocarbon refractometry to a new level of precision and ability, meeting or exceeding the specifications of ASTM D1218 and D1747. That means a measuring range of 1.26 to 1.72, an accuracy of up to 0.00002 nD and measurement at temperatures of up to 110 °C (Abbemat HT model). Because of the measuring principle used, even dark-colored samples, such as montan wax, can be measured.

Measuring wax can be as easy as “wax on, wax off” with the Abbemat refractometer family from Anton Paar.