Composition and physicochemical properties of corn wax

Abstract

AbstractCorn wax, as a kind of vegetable wax, is a by‐product of the corn oil industry. In this study, the corn wax was obtained from the corn oil refineries and purified by solvent defatting and bleaching. The composition and physicochemical properties of corn wax were studied to provide theoretical guidance for the production and application of corn wax. The results showed that the purity of corn wax was higher than 95%, and the corn wax ester ranged from C42 to C58, with C46, C44, and C48 being predominant. The carbon number of fatty acids was in the range of 16–30, with a higher proportion of C20, C22, and C24. The fatty alcohols varied from C20 to C32 and were dominated by C22, C24, C30, and C23. The physicochemical properties of corn wax were also determined and compared with other vegetable and animal waxes to get a more comprehensive understanding of corn wax. The results showed that the water content, iodine number, saponification number, and melting point of corn wax were 0.03 ± 0.01%, 6.77 ± 0.85 g/100 g, 74.31 ± 3.49 mg/g and 77.28 ± 7.89°C respectively. Corn wax was a green and healthy natural resource, which has great application potential in food, health care, and medicine.