Thermal Analysis of Four Insect Waxes Based on Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

Abstract

For more wide development of natural wax applied in food additives industry, thermal characteristics of four insect waxes were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), compared with paraffin (an abiological wax) and canauba wax (a vegetal wax). It was indicated that melting point of the four insect waxes were varied at 90.42°C of coccerin as the highest, 70.34°C of beeswax as the lowest, and 86.56°C of insect white wax, 83.82°C of shellac wax. All of the four waxes were higher with the melting point than paraffin (63.32°C), and the coccerin's melting point was even higher than that of canauba wax (87.85°C). The melting enthalpy of insect waxes ranged at 168.1 to 203.2J/g, so did the crystallization enthalpy at 166.9 to 198.8J/g. Both melting and crystallization enthalpies were near to other waxes such as paraffin and canauba wax. It was showed that DSC was qualitatively and quantitatively available for thermal analysis of insect wax, and insect wax was good in thermal stability.