b-natural Soy Candles

What are Soy Candles- Soy candles are made from soy wax, which is hydrogenated soybean oil. Soy wax was invented in 1992 by Michael Richards who was looking for a cheaper alternative to beeswax. As he entered the candle industry he realized there was a growing demand for natural wax candles. Soy wax is often mixed with fragrances to produces scented soy candles.

Soy wax history-  Soy wax is quite a recent invention. It was only in 1991, when Michael Richards, when looking for a cheaper alternative for beeswax, that he developed soy wax. There was a big demand for natural wax candles, but beeswax was about 10 times more expensive than paraffin. As he entered the candle industry with beeswax products he realized there was a growing demand for natural wax candles. Michael Richard tested different natural plant waxes and finally ended up with a vegetable wax which was made with partially hydrogenated soy oil, coconut oil and palm oil. He also blended beeswax with soy wax to make an economical natural wax candle.

Commercialisation of soy wax

    In 1995, the Body Shop, a national chain of stores, was the first to offer soy candles to the general public. The first natural wax candles which were delivered to the Body Shop were a mixture of beeswax and almond oil. Later this almond oil was completely replaced with soy wax.

In 1996 Michael succeeded in replacing the expensive beeswax with soy wax. The candle wax then mainly consisted of hydrogenated soybean oil. He developed different mixtures of soy wax for container candles and free standing candles, which needed a higher melting point.

The soy wax producer Candleworks negotiated in 1997 a research project with the University of Iowa which resulted in the study: "Increasing the Use of Soybeans in the Manufacturing of Candles".

In 1998 The Indiana Soybean Board unveiled at the Farm Progress Show special patented soy wax, Harvest Lights, which was developed by a farmer-funded group.

Since 1999 a lot of research was done to proof the benefits of soy wax. This resulted in 2 scientific publications:

• Rezaei, K., T. Wang, and L. A. Johnson. Hydrogenated vegetable oils as candle wax. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 79: 1241-1247 (2002).
• Rezaei, K, T. Wang, and L.A. Johnson. Combustion characteristics of candles made from hydrogenated soybean oil. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 79: 803-808 (2002).

Cargill bought in 2001 the patent of Michael's soy wax innovation. Now Cargill manufactures soybean wax, which is supplied to soy wax candle producers.

Soy wax production- Soy wax is produced form soybean oil but may contain other non-soy ingredients. Soybean oil is separated from the solid components by solvent extraction or by mechanical pressing. This raw oil will be further refined and bleached. About 60 kg of soybeans are required to produce 10 kg of soybean oil. The soy solids, which remain after oil extraction, can be used as cattle feed. To make the soybean oil more solid (to make wax of it) it is hydrogenated.

Hydrogenation of soybean oil

    The exact steps to produce soy wax are well protected and every producer may have his own secrets. The main step in making soy wax is hydrogenation. Hydrogenation is the process whereby the poly- and monounsaturated oils are solidified in order to increase the viscosity. This is done by reaction of hydrogen with the oil at elevated temperature (140-225°C) in the presence of a nickel catalyst. It is important to stir the mixture to help dissolve the hydrogen and to achieve a uniform distribution of the catalyst with the oil. The hydrogenation process will create saturated fats (the double bonds are converted into single bonds) which are not very healthy for human consumption because the contain trans-fats!. However, for making soy candles or soy wax this is not a problem.

Other ingredients of soy wax

    Hydrogenation of soybean oil alone will produce a wax with low melting point and not so solid texture. This type 100% soy wax may be suitable for container candles but not for pillar candles. Other ingredients, such as paraffin or stearic acid, need to be added to produce solid wax for votive candles. Many soy candles shops sell their pillar candle wax as "blended wax" and not as "soy wax." Fragrance oils and dyes often added to soy candles. Scented soy wax, which is very popular, can contain up to 10% fragrance oil, which are readily miscible with wax. Often dyes are incorporated in scented soy wax, for example green dye in apple flavoured wax or purple dye in blueberry flavoured wax. There are no regulations about the composition of soy wax.