Scented Soy Candle Chemistry

Way back when, candles were vital for life, delivering a source of lighting after sunset. These days, scented candles are an opulence - using scents to generate different moods, while their dancing flame relaxes the mind.

Candles are composed of two simple elements: 1) a fuel source i.e. soy wax and 2) a wick. The wick is a vital part of the candle. A naked flame is used to ignite the wick, which then melts some of the soy wax at the candle exterior. The liquefied soy wax is drawn up through the wick fibres by capillary action - this occurs because of the way soy wax molecules stick to the wick strands.

When the soy wax reaches the top of the wick, it turns to vapour upon contact with the ignited flame. Combustion occurs as hot soy wax vapour combines with oxygen, producing the candle flame. Heat and light are delivered in this exothermic reaction.

Only the end of the wick really burns. The rest of the wick is involved in capillary action, and is protected from burning by the vaporisation of the fuel. This has to do with a chemical property named the heat of vaporisation, in which the fuel takes up much of the neighboring heat in order to change states from liquid to gas. This vaporisation, in turn, keeps the wick cooler than it would normally be.

The flame keeps burning, generating more liquid soy wax, which is consumed as a fuel and vaporised. This creates the highly scented essential oils into the surrounding atmosphere.

Soy wax candles - How good are they?

Soy is a native East Asian vegetable that is both a renewable material and biodegradable - therefore it is an eco-friendly alternative for the responsible consumer. The soy plant can be continually made without damaging our planet.

To generate soy wax, the soy beans are harvested from the plant and refined into oil, which is then purified and hydrogenated. Converting unsaturated fatty acids into saturated fat - generating a firm creamy white wax.

The benefit of soy wax is that it is gradual burning due to its low melting temperature, this results in drastically longer burn times for soy candles. It is also a very environmentally friendly burning wax, and does not emit poisonous chemicals such as toluene and benzene as paraffin based candles can.

The regularity of soy wax allows for candles with a much better scent and a clearer scent throw.

Mood Alchemy (www.moodalchemy.com) Mood Altering Candles are made from 100% natural soy wax with a centrally embedded wick and fragranced with pure essential oils - for your ultimate enjoyment. So if you would like to see our range of 100% soy candles please drop by.