Many people have probably heard of beeswax, but how is it made? Let's take a look at the production process.

How to Make Beeswax

Beeswax is a natural secretion produced by worker bees using the wax glands on their thorax. This substance is mostly found in honeycombs. The beeswax we see today is extracted from old honeycombs. The process utilizes heat separation, which prevents the wax from dissolving in water. The honeycomb is then boiled in water and purified to produce the beeswax we see today.

Specific Beeswax Processing Steps

1. Melting Wax

Place the selected beeswax into a wax melting pot, add a small amount of water, and heat until it melts into a transparent liquid. Then, heat 5-10 kg of hot water in a heat preservation tank. Pour the melted wax into the tank and let it settle for 1.5-2 hours to allow impurities to settle to the bottom. Remove the wax and set aside.

2. Casting the Wax Plate

Maintain the temperature of the wax plate at 68-72°C. One method involves pouring liquid wax onto a wooden mold (also called a wax plate) 85cm long, 25cm wide, and 1-1.5cm high. After solidification, soak the wax plate in cold water to separate it from the wooden mold. Another method involves soaking a smooth wooden board 85cm long, 25cm wide, and 1.5-2cm high in 30°C warm water. Then, dip it into the wax solution two or three times, repeatedly, and place it in a washing tank at 15-35°C. Once solidified, remove it.

3. Calendering

Soak the wax plate in warm water around 40°C to soften it. At the same time, use a brush dipped in soapy water to clean the calender rollers. Then, feed the wax plate evenly into the rollers. Evenly crank the crank to gently pull out the thinned wax plate.

4. Pressing the honeycomb

Soak the thinned wax sheets in water at 25-30℃, then use a honeycomb press to press the honeycomb. While operating, add soapy water to the shaft surface to lubricate it to prevent sticking. Cut the honeycomb sheets into pieces of the same size according to the specified size.

5. Packaging

Place a piece of glossy paper between each honeycomb to prevent sticking. 30 pieces are packed in a box. Avoid squeezing when placing them.

Common separation methods for beeswax

(1) Squeezing extraction method

Chop the honeycomb into pieces, soak it in water for one day, remove it, put it in a bag, put it in a beeswax press, fill it with water, and pass high-pressure distillation from the bottom to make it slowly boil. Rotate the screw on the top of the press to indirectly apply pressure to the bag to squeeze out the beeswax. The wax liquid that flows out is cooled to form wax blocks. (2) Centrifugal separation method

Steam is passed through the centrifugal wax extractor to heat the wax, melting it. Under the action of centrifugal force, the beeswax is extracted. The disadvantage is that the extraction rate is low.

(3) Sunlight drying method

Put the honeycomb, broken wax, and scattered old honeycombs into the wax drying device. Use strong sunlight to melt the wax, filter it through the yarn disk, and flow it into the wax tank. It condenses to form wax blocks. This method is low-cost, simple and convenient, but the amount of wax residue in the wax residue is large and the extraction rate is low.

(4) Steaming method

Chop the honeycomb into pieces and put them into a pot. Add 3 to 4 times the amount of water. Boil for 20 to 30 minutes. Then put it into a sack or a coarse cloth bag, pressurize it, and let the wax liquid flow into the mold. Cool it to form wax blocks.