Wax

Montan wax, also known as lignite wax or OP wax, is a hard wax obtained by solvent extraction of certain types of lignite or brown coal. Commercially viable deposits exist in only a few locations, including Amsdorf, Germany, and in the Ione Basin near Ione, California.

A petroleum wax containing small, indistinct crystals, and having a higher molecular weight, melting point, and viscosity than paraffin wax; used in laminated paper and electrical coil coating.

Microcrystalline waxes are a type of wax produced by de-oiling petrolatum, as part of the petroleum refining process. In contrast to the more familiar paraffin wax which contains mostly unbranched alkanes, microcrystalline wax contains a higher percentage of isoparaffinic (branched) hydrocarbons and naphthenic hydrocarbons. It is characterized by the fineness of its crystals in contrast to the larger crystal of paraffin wax. It consists of high molecular weight saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons.

In chemistry, paraffin is the common name for the alkane hydrocarbons with the general formula C_nH_2n+2 Paraffin wax refers to the solids with 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 .The simplest paraffin molecule is that of methane, CH4, a gas at room temperature. Heavier members of the series, such as that of octane, C8H18, and mineral oil appear as liquids at room temperature.