Wax/Fragrance Oil Composition - does it changes as it burns?

[wakeylad]

Hi:

If I had a perfectly blended candle with a 6% fragrance load so we have a wax to FO ration of 94:6. Does this ratio, even minutely, get affected as the candle burns? Does the FO stay tightly bound to the wax so they burn at even rates so at the end of the candle's life the ratio of wax to FO would still be 94:6?

I'm curious, that even in minute fractions, the oil get burnt at a faster (or slower) rate than the wax in the candle. As the candle creates a melt pool does it make more FO available to the flame; the next layer of unmelted wax acting as a reservoir of FO for future burns?

For example, if I made sixteen 16oz candles and burnt them all until they had exactly 1oz of fragranced wax remaining and made a new 16oz candle from that wax, would it burn the same?

If you answer this post can you clarify whether your post is your own theory/opinion or is based on fact/science? Any supporting links would be great.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Neil

[blacktieaffair]

Ok Im going to be the devils advocate here but, IS there such a thing as a "perfectly blended candle " that , molecule for molecule, is bound and blended exactly like the molecule next to it on such a scale that it fills up an entire 16oz container? And, its going to suspend and stay exactly that way, when poured into a container and lit on fire? Bad gas might be combustible in your car engine, but if there's ANY thing (i.e. water) thats in that gas, its going to make your car skip and sputter................. I truly suck at Math but even just taking THAT part of your question, it seems to me that the odds of that ever happening are so far out in the stratosphere that it would be astronomically / humanly impossible for anything to be so "perfect" . Now, having said that, no, I don't believe there is any way you are ever going to make a candle or anything else, that is composition wise, identical at the end of a burn as it was when it was poured. While FO does bind and suspend with the wax, we all know that it does in fact settle somewhat when it is poured.

Even a glass of tap water, is not the same, chemically, at the bottom of the glass as it was when it was poured into the glass. The chemicals and additives settle depending on which ones are "heavier" than the water.

But, that's just my southern redneck opinion.

[rjdaines]

First, I am not convinced that the FO binds to the wax in the sense that it forms a chemical bond. In my mind, the wax acts as a matrix in which the FO is suspended. How well you mix and blend will determine how evenly distributed the FO is with in the wax. A wrinkle here is that the transformation from liquid to solid is not instantaneous and there would be some settling of the FO as the wax cools. The FO is also a volatile oil and diffuses into the air. This diffusion is (in part) determined my temperature. At room temp we call this cold throw (CT), heating the wax increased the rate of release into the air and therefore (hopefully) more smell (HT). The melt pool is the most active site of FO release, FO consumed in the flame (in my mind) does not contribute to the scenting of a room. The only other point I'd mention is does FO move through the wax, such that it is drawn up from the bottom leaving the last portion of the candle with less FO than the original top. That is a hard one to answer, especially if the FO can settle as the candle cools. I will guess that for the most part it is fairly close as to when it was new but you will still have losses as the heat gets closer to it.

[wakeylad]

Hi:

Thanks for both responses. I did find the following excerpt which seems to justify that the elements can burn at different rates:

The wick forms the heart of the candle, drawing the liquid wax up through its core. It is vital to the performance of a candle, which contains such a high percentage of fragrance. Even more so if amber, woods or citrus essences are incorporated, these elements being harder to burn. In such cases, a wick with a different core – perhaps one that includes paper – might be selected.

The flame must also consume the components of the wax at the same rate as the fragrance. If, for example, the wax was burning off faster, the amount of botanicals left in the remaining wax would increase. And the candle would go out.

Me again:

I guess it could be tested based on the mass of the wax, the mass of the fragrance oil and then the mass of the two combined (calculated at a certain temperature). Let's then say that after a 90% burn, if the mass of the wax remaining in the container has changed, it should tell you which of the components is being emitted from the candle at a faster rate.

Of course, having the right equipment to detect any variances might be the biggest problem.

Thanks

Neil

[wakeylad]

P.S. My main interest would be to found out if the percentage of FO significantly decreased. For example, a candle containing 6% FO at the beginning or its life, ended up having wax containing 4% FO at the end of its life.

Whether or not I can use that information is a different matter but I'd still be interested in finding out.

Thanks again for the replies.

Neil