The effect of zinc stearate on thermal degradation of paraffin wax

Abstract

In this research, the effects of zinc stearate addition on paraffin wax degradation were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). The apparent activation energies of wax decomposition in nitrogen and air atmospheres were determined as 76 and 37 kJ mol-1, respectively applying Kissinger method to TG data. The degradation rate constants of paraffin containing zinc stearate (0.1-0.5%) were found to be almost two times greater than that of paraffin only in air atmosphere. However, zinc stearate did not affect the rate constants in nitrogen significantly.