Natural wax formulations with improved release properties

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a natural wax formulation and a candle having improved release characteristics from a container, produced from the natural wax formulation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 353,656, filed on June 20, 2022, and European Patent Application No. 22187085.0, filed on June 26, 2022. The entire contents of these specifications are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Field of Disclosure The present disclosure relates to wax formulations, typically natural wax formulations, and candles containing said wax formulations having improved release characteristics from a container.

[0003] Background of the Disclosure In modern times, candles are popular for their aesthetic value and the ability to release a pleasant fragrance into the air when burning. Candles can create a pleasant atmosphere, such as a soft, warm, and / or romantic atmosphere, or can be used to typically illuminate a dark space during a power outage.

[0004] At the same time, sustainability and environmental conservation are becoming important in many industries, including the candle industry. The shift from petroleum - derived carbon to natural - source carbon is always of interest to consumers because the use of natural materials enables the reduction of carbon emissions. Candles made from renewable resources and biodegradable can perpetuate the industry's and consumers' culture of environmental conservation. In some cases, certain natural waxes offer additional advantages. For example, if a consumer chooses to purchase a candle using a renewable soybean resource, the use of soybean wax can boost the agricultural industry. In other examples, the use of beeswax is one way to support the environment by promoting an increase in the number of honeybees necessary for the pollination of food crops.

[0005] Upcycling or diverting the containers used in candles is another way to promote sustainability and environmental conservation by minimizing the disposal of the used containers, typically glass, as waste. However, there are concerns about removing the burn residues from used candles. The burn residues after combustion of wax formulations configured for use in containers, such as formulations for votive candles (devotional candles), are often difficult to remove from the containers, and it may be impossible to remove the burn residues or it may cause damage to the user.

[0006] The National Candle Association states that the main safety hazard is damage when consumers remove the "remaining used wax" from containers containing burned wax formulations. Consumers are using sharp objects to peel off the burn residues after combustion, which can cause damage or breakage of the containers.

[0007] Therefore, there is a continuing need for wax formulations that promote sustainability and environmental conservation and / or that can easily remove burn residues from containers.

[0008] Summary of the Disclosure The following aspects of the present disclosure are aimed at solving one or more of the problems described above.

[0009] In a first aspect, the present disclosure relates to a) stearic acid, b) natural wax, and c) volatile active substances comprising a wax formulation.

[0010] In a second aspect, the present disclosure relates to a candle comprising the wax formulation described herein.

[0011] In a third aspect, the present disclosure i) Mixing stearic acid, natural wax, and a volatile active substance to thereby form a wax formulation, and ii) Forming a candle from the wax formulation A method comprising: the natural wax being present in the wax formulation in an amount sufficient for the wax formulation to peel off from the inner surface of the container when the candle cools below the melting point of the wax formulation after combustion has stopped.

[0012] Detailed Description of the Invention As used herein, "a", "an", or "the" means "one or more" or "at least one" unless otherwise specified.

[0013] Compositions and methods are described in terms of "comprising", "containing", or "including" various components or steps, but the compositions and methods may also "consist essentially of" or "consist of" various components, substances, and steps. As used herein, "consisting essentially of" is construed to mean including the recited components, substances, or steps, and additional components, substances, or steps that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the composition or method. In some embodiments, a composition "consisting essentially of" the recited components or substances according to embodiments of the present disclosure does not include additional components or substances that change the basic and novel characteristics of the composition.

[0014] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this specification pertains.

[0015] It should be understood that the numerical ranges described in this specification are intended to include all sub-ranges subsumed within those ranges. For example, a range of "1 to 10" is intended to include all sub-ranges between and including the recited minimum value of 1 and maximum value of 10, that is, the minimum value is 1 or more and the maximum value is 10 or less. Since the disclosed numerical ranges are continuous, they include all values between the minimum and maximum values. Unless otherwise specified, the various numerical ranges specified in this application are approximate values.

[0016] As used in this specification, unless otherwise specified, the terms "about" or "approximately" mean an acceptable error with respect to a particular value determined by one of ordinary skill in the art, which depends in part on how the value is measured or determined. In certain embodiments, the term "about" or "approximately" means within 1, 2, 3, or 4 standard deviations. In certain embodiments, the term "about" or "approximately" means within 50%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, or 0.05% of a given value or range.

[0017] Throughout this disclosure, various publications may be incorporated by reference. If the meaning of any language in the incorporated publications conflicts with the meaning of the language of this disclosure, then the meaning of the language of this disclosure prevails, unless otherwise specified.

[0018] In a first aspect, the present disclosure relates to a) stearic acid, b) natural wax, and c) a volatile active substance comprising a wax formulation.

[0019] In one embodiment, stearic acid is obtained from natural sources, typically plant sources, animal sources, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, stearic acid is extracted from crude palm oil. In one embodiment, the crude palm oil is fractionated into stearin / palm oil. In other embodiments, the stearin / palm oil may be distilled into a fatty acid mixture of fatty acids referred to as triple-pressed stearic acid and C 16-18 The ratio of palmitic acid to stearic acid may be 60 / 40 in other embodiments.

[0020] The amount of stearic acid is not particularly limited. However, in one embodiment, stearic acid is present in an amount of 5% to 60% by mass of the preparation. In one embodiment, stearic acid is present in an amount of 20% to 50% by mass of the preparation.

[0021] Natural wax may be any naturally occurring substance that is a plastic to brittle solid at ambient temperature. Such natural waxes are generally mixtures containing hydrocarbons, fatty acid esters of fatty alcohols (also referred to as aliphatic esters), fatty acid esters of glycerol (also referred to as glycerol esters), fatty acids, and / or fatty alcohols.

[0022] The ability to peel the wax formulation from the inner surface of the surface of the container can be affected by factors such as, for example, the recrystallization time of the wax preparation during the phase change from liquid to solid, the specific gravity of the wax formulation, the composition of the wax formulation, the density of the wax formulation, and the nature and extent of the intermolecular interactions between the wax formulation and the inner surface of the container.

[0023] In some cases, natural waxes containing fatty acid esters of hydrocarbons and / or fatty alcohols (also referred to as aliphatic esters) have properties particularly suitable for the expansion and contraction mechanisms necessary for the ability to peel the wax formulation from the inner surface of the container. They are more likely to maintain good tensile strength and retain elasticity throughout the heating and cooling processes. The volume change of the wax formulation during the heating and cooling stages of the wax formulation is altered such that when the wax formulation cools below the melting point of the preparation after combustion cessation, it becomes fully possible to peel the wax formulation from the inner surface of the container. Thus, in one embodiment, the natural wax contains fatty acid esters of hydrocarbons and / or fatty alcohols. In other embodiments, the natural wax does not contain fatty acid esters of glycerol (also referred to as glycerol esters).

[0024] Suitable natural waxes include, but are not limited to, waxes selected from the group consisting of plant-based waxes (typically carnauba wax, soybean wax, jojoba wax, candelilla wax, rice bran wax, rapeseed wax, coconut wax, laurel wax, castor oil, palm wax, sumac wax, sunflower wax, and bayberry wax), animal-based waxes (typically beeswax), and any combination thereof.

[0025] The wax formulation according to the present disclosure may include one natural wax or a mixture of two or more natural waxes. In one embodiment, the wax formulation includes two or more natural waxes.

[0026] In one embodiment, the wax formulation includes two or more natural waxes, and at least one of the natural waxes is carnauba wax. In one embodiment, the wax formulation includes carnauba wax and a natural wax selected from the group consisting of soybean wax, jojoba wax, candelilla wax, rice bran wax, rapeseed wax, coconut wax, bayberry wax, castor oil, palm wax, sumac wax, sunflower wax, and beewax, an animal wax, typically beeswax, and any combination thereof.

[0027] The amount of the natural wax is not particularly limited. However, in one embodiment, the natural wax is present in an amount of 50% to 95% by mass of the wax formulation. In one embodiment, the natural wax is present in an amount of 50% to 90% by mass, typically 50% to 85% by mass, more typically 50% to 80% by mass of the wax formulation. In one embodiment, the natural wax is present in an amount of 50% to 75% by mass, typically 50% to 70% by mass, more typically 50% to 65% by mass, even more typically 50% to 60% by mass of the wax formulation. In one embodiment, the natural wax is present in an amount of 50% to 55% by mass of the wax formulation.

[0028] In one embodiment, when the wax formulation includes two or more natural waxes and at least one of the natural waxes is carnauba wax, the carnauba wax is present in an amount of 1% to 20%, typically 2% to 15%, more typically 2% to 10%.

[0029] Although not bound by theory, when carnauba wax is combined with natural waxes selected from the group consisting of soybean wax, jojoba wax, candelilla wax, rice bran wax, rapeseed wax, coconut wax, laurel wax, castor oil, palm wax, sumac wax, sunflower wax, and bayberry wax, animal-based waxes, typically beeswax, and any combination thereof, it is thought to improve the crystallinity of the natural wax and result in an improvement in the ability of the wax formulation to peel from the inner surface of the container.

[0030] The wax formulation according to the present disclosure may optionally include one or more synthetic waxes. Suitable synthetic waxes include, but are not limited to, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, and the like.

[0031] The wax formulation according to the present disclosure may optionally include polyethylene. Polyethylene may be used to enhance the ability of the wax formulation to peel from the inner surface of the container when the wax formulation cools below the melting point of the formulation after combustion cessation. In one embodiment, the molecular weight of the polyethylene is 300 to 2500. In one embodiment, the melting point of the polyethylene is 80 to 160 °C. An exemplary polyethylene is a fully saturated homopolymer of ethylene having a melting point of 88 °C and is sold under the trade name POLYWAX 500. In one embodiment, the polyethylene is present in an amount of 0.05 wt% to 5 wt% of the formulation.

[0032] The wax formulations according to the present disclosure may optionally contain linear alcohols. The linear alcohols may improve the dispersion of volatile active substances by creating interstitial spaces between wax crystals and crushing the crystal packing of the wax formulation, thereby allowing the volatile active substances to uniformly penetrate between the wax crystals. Exemplary linear alcohols include, but are not limited to, high molecular weight linear primary alcohols sold under the trade name UNILIN®, such as UNILIN® 550, UNILIN® 700, and UNILIN® 1000. In one embodiment, the linear alcohol is present in an amount of 0.1% to 0.6% (w / w) of the wax formulation.

[0033] The wax formulation may further contain additional optional components to provide enhanced or additional aesthetic and / or functional improvements. In particular, additional materials that may be included in the wax formulation include colorants, decorative materials, solvents, stabilizers, antioxidants, and UV blockers. Such optional components are not guaranteed to be described in more detail herein and are not exhaustive in all cases. One of ordinary skill in the art can select them based on the general knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art and the desired characteristics of the candle. In particular, the type and amount of additional components are selected from those that do not change the structure or combustion characteristics of the wax formulation.

[0034] The volatile active substance may be any type of volatile active substance. In some embodiments, it is a fragrance, a malodor neutralizer, a bactericide, an insect repellent, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the volatile active substance is a fragrance.

[0035] As used herein, the term "perfume" refers to any fragrance ingredient or mixtures thereof. As used herein, "fragrance ingredient" refers to compounds currently used in the perfume industry, i.e., compounds used as active ingredients in a scented candle to impart a pleasant effect to its surroundings. In other words, such ingredients or mixtures that should be considered fragrance ingredients need to be recognized by those skilled in the art as being able to impart or modify the odor of a candle in a positive or favorable manner and not simply having one odor. Further, this definition also means including compounds that do not necessarily have an odor but can adjust the odor of a fragrance composition and as a result can modify the perception by the user of the odor of such composition.

[0036] In any case, the nature and type of these fragrance ingredients, which will not be exhaustive here, do not warrant a more detailed description herein, and those skilled in the art can select a base based on general knowledge, any use or application, and the desired sensory stimulating effect. In general terms, these fragrance ingredients belong to diverse chemical species such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, ethers, acetates, nitriles, terpene hydrocarbons, nitrogen or sulfur heterocyclic compounds, and essential oils, and the fragrance ingredients may be of natural or synthetic origin. Many of these ingredients are listed in any case in references such as Perfume and Flavor Chemicals by S. Arctander, 1969, Montclair, N.J., USA, or its latest edition, or in other works of the same kind, as well as in the extensive patent literature in the field of perfumes. It is also understood that the components may be compounds known to release various types of fragrance ingredients in a controlled manner.

[0037] The term "odor neutralizer" or "odor neutralizing component" refers to a compound that can reduce an odor, i.e., the perception of an unpleasant or disagreeable smell to the human nose, by neutralizing and / or masking the odor. In some cases, the odor neutralizer has the ability to react with the key compounds that cause known odors. The reaction results in a decrease in the airborne levels of the odor-causing substances, and as a result, a decrease in the perception of the odor. Such odor neutralizers are known to those skilled in the art.

[0038] Suitable insect repellents include, but are not limited to, citronella, dimethyl phthalate, and n,n-dimethyl-m-toluamide.

[0039] The amount of the volatile active substance is not particularly limited. However, in one embodiment, the volatile active substance is typically present in the candle at 10 to 25% by mass based on the total mass of the composition.

[0040] In a second aspect, the present disclosure relates to a candle comprising the wax formulation described herein.

[0041] In one embodiment, the candle further comprises a container, and the candle is disposed within the container.

[0042] As described herein, the amount of the natural wax in the wax formulation is not particularly limited. However, in the candle according to the present disclosure, the amount of the natural wax sufficient to peel the wax formulation from the inner surface of the container is in the amount of 50% to 95% by mass of the wax formulation.

[0043] The wax formulation of the candle is solid at room temperature, and a portion of the wax formulation undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid when at least one candle is burned, and the temperature of at least one candle rises above the melting point of the wax formulation, whereupon a portion of the wax formulation that is liquid undergoes a phase change from liquid to solid when at least one candle cools below the melting point of the wax formulation after combustion ceases, and natural wax is present in the wax formulation in an amount sufficient to be able to sufficiently peel the wax formulation from the inner surface of the container when the candle cools below the melting point of the wax formulation after combustion ceases.

[0044] In a third aspect, the present disclosure relates to i) mixing stearic acid, natural wax, and a volatile active substance thereby forming a wax formulation, and ii) forming a candle from the wax formulation A method comprising, wherein the natural wax is present in the wax formulation in an amount sufficient for the wax formulation to peel from the inner surface of the container when the candle cools below the melting point of the wax formulation after combustion has ceased.

[0045] Generally, the candles disclosed herein are provided using known methods for manufacturing candles. In some cases, a wick coated with a high melting point wax is cut to a desired length and crimped to a small metal wick stand. The wick stand is attached to the bottom of the container. At the top of the container, a metal wick guide is installed to keep the wick vertical. A wax formulation formed by mixing stearic acid, natural wax, and a volatile active substance is poured into the container to a desired level. The candle is cooled to room temperature, followed by removal of the metal wick guide. Optionally, an accelerated cooling process may be used. The wick is trimmed to an appropriate length to obtain the finished candle. Other approaches may be used, including those common in the industry.

[0046] The formulations, products, uses, and methods according to the present disclosure are further illustrated by the following non-limiting examples.

[0047] Example 1. Wax formulation of the present invention [Table 1]

[0048] [Table 2]

[0049] [Table 3]

[0050] [Table 4]

[0051] The disclosed subject matter is described with reference to specific details of its particular embodiments. Such details are not intended to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosed subject matter except as included in the scope of the appended claims.

[0052] Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments described herein are well adapted to attain the recited objects and advantages, as well as those inherent herein. The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only since the exemplary embodiments described herein may be modified and implemented in different but equivalent manners obvious to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, except as otherwise recited in the following claims, there is no intention to limit the details of construction or design shown herein. Accordingly, it is manifest that the particular exemplary embodiments disclosed above may be altered, combined, or modified and all such variations are considered to be within the scope and spirit of the exemplary embodiments described herein. The exemplary embodiments described herein disclosed by way of example may be suitably practiced in the absence of any element(s) not specifically disclosed herein and / or in the presence of any element(s) disclosed herein but not specifically claimed herein.

Claims

1. A wax-containing product, a) Stearic acid, b) Natural waxes, and c) Volatile active substances A wax-based product containing wax.

2. The wax formulation according to claim 1, wherein the stearic acid is present in an amount of 5% to 60% by mass, typically 20% to 50% by mass, of the wax formulation.

3. The wax formulation according to claim 1, wherein the stearic acid is obtained from a natural source.

4. The wax formulation according to claim 1, wherein the natural wax is selected from the group consisting of plant-based waxes, typically carnauba wax, soy wax, jojoba wax, candelilla wax, rice bran wax, rapeseed wax, coconut wax, laurel wax, castor wax, palm wax, lacquer wax, sunflower wax, and bayberry wax, animal-based waxes, typically beeswax, and any combination thereof.

5. The wax formulation according to claim 1, wherein the wax formulation contains two or more natural waxes.

6. The wax formulation according to claim 1, wherein the natural wax comprises a fatty acid ester of a hydrocarbon and / or a fatty alcohol.

7. The wax formulation according to claim 1, wherein the natural wax is present in an amount of 50% to 95% by mass of the wax formulation.

8. Furthermore, the wax formulation according to claim 1, comprising a synthetic wax, a synthetic wax selected from the group consisting of synthetic waxes, typically paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, or a combination thereof.

9. Furthermore, the wax formulation according to claim 1, comprising polyethylene, which is typically present in an amount of 0.05% to 5% by mass of the wax formulation.

10. Furthermore, the wax formulation according to claim 1, comprising a linear alcohol, which is typically present in the wax formulation in an amount of 0.1% to 0.6% (w / w).

11. A candle comprising the wax formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The candle according to claim 11, further comprising a container, wherein the candle is placed inside the container.

13. The candle according to claim 11, wherein the wax compound is solid at room temperature, and a portion of the wax compound undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid when at least one candle is burned, and the temperature of at least one candle rises above the melting point of the wax compound, at which point a portion of the liquid wax compound undergoes a phase change from liquid to solid when at least one candle cools to below the melting point of the wax compound after it has stopped burning, and natural wax is present in the wax compound in an amount sufficient to peel the wax compound from the inner surface of the container when the candle cools to below the melting point of the wax compound after it has stopped burning.

14. The candle according to claim 11, wherein the amount of natural wax sufficient to peel the wax mixture from the inner surface of the container is 50% to 95% by mass of the wax mixture.

15. below, i) Mixing stearic acid, natural wax, and volatile active substances to form a wax compound, and ii) Forming candles from wax formulations A method including, The method wherein the natural wax is present in the wax mixture in an amount sufficient to detach the wax mixture from the inside of the container when the candle cools below the melting point of the wax mixture after burning has stopped.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the amount of natural wax sufficient to peel the wax compound from the inner surface of the container is 50% to 95% by mass of the wax compound.