Technical Information
TI/EVD 1159 e
January 2006
Page 1 of 8
Supersedes edition dated March 1993
® = R
egistered trademark of
BASF Aktiengesellschaft
Luwax® AH 6 Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
ery hard, high-density polyethylene waxes.
V
For use in printing inks, wax coatings, solvent-based polishes and in
PVC processing
Luwax® AH 6 Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
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Chemical nature
High-density polyethylene wax
Properties
Test methods
DIN
ASTM
Melting point (DSC)
51007
D-3418
108 – 116 °C
Dropping point (Ubbelohde) 51801
D-3954
110 – 120 °C
Melt viscosity (DSC)
51562
D-2162
950 – 1550 mm2/s
Density 23 °C
53479
D-792
0.930 – 0.950 g/cm3
Molar Mass
he above information is correct at the time of going to press. It does not
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necessarily form part of the product specification.
detailed product specification is available from your local BASF
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­representative.
Storage
uwax® AH 6 Granules and Luwax® AH 6 Powder has an unlimited shelf life
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in its original packaging, provided it is stored correctly in a dry place. The
packaging needs to be inspected occasionally to ensure that it is still intact.
Solubility
uwax® AH 6 Granules and Luwax® AH 6 Powder are insoluble or, at most,
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very sparingly soluble in organic solvents at room temperature. They are
soluble at elevated temperatures in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and
most other solvents that are not too polar.
he following table shows the temperatures at which Luwax® AH 6 Granules
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and Luwax® AH 6 Powder form a clear 10 % solution in selected solvents.
There is also a “cloud point” at which the wax just begins to crystallize out of
solution on cooling.
Solvent
(all figures are approximation)
Boiling point
of solvent, [°C] Mineral spirits 140 – 200 Petroleum oil Flash point (Spindle oil) 140
Paraffin wax Fusion point 50 – 52
162 – 180 Shellsol® A (Shell) Toluene 111 Turpentine oil 140 – 180 Xylene 137.5 – 141 Xylene/n-butanol 60 :40 approx. 7000 g/mol
Clear
point, [°C] Cloud
point, [°C]
90 104 82
90
108 99
87 83
94 84 93 78
74
78
75
89
Luwax® AH 6 Granules and Luwax® AH 6 Powder are less than 0.5 % soluble in polar solvents such as methyl ethyl ketone (b. p. 80 °C), n-butanol
(b. p. 118 °C), ethylene glycol (b. p. 198 °C) and ethylene glycol monoethyl
ester (b. p. 135 °C) at the solvent’s boiling point.
Luwax® AH 6 Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
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Compatibility and miscibility
uwax® AH 6 Granules and Luwax® AH 6 Powder can be blended with
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many different waxes, resins and polymers, simply by melting them and stirring them together. Their miscibility with the substances listed below was
determined by melting them and mixing them together in the ratios 9 : 1 and 1 : 9.
ith only one exception, a homogeneous
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liquid form in all cases.
Block paraffin wax Candelilla wax Carnauba wax Crude montan wax Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers Fischer-Tropsch wax Hydrocarbon resins Laropal® K 80 (Ketone resin) Luwax® E Powder/Flakes Luwax® LG Flakes Luwax® OP Powder/Flakes Luwax® V Flakes Microcrystalline wax Oxidized microcrystalline wax Oxidized polyethylene wax (e. g. Luwax® OA Pastilles)
Polyethylene (Lupolen®) Polyisobutylene (Oppanol® B types) Rosin and its derivatives mixture was formed in solid and
9 : 1
1 : 9
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
– +
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ = Forms homogeneous mixture
– = Does not form homogeneous mixture
Applications
General properties and possible uses
Properties
Applications/possible uses
Hardness, toughness – Gives very high rub resistance to printing inks
– Can be used to upgrade lower-quality waxes in wax coatings
Good buffability – Can be used for floor polishes, shoe polishes, car polishes and similar
­products that are required to form highgloss films
Pronounced lubricant effect – External lubricant for PVC processing
– Useful in non-blocking printing inks for
packaging
Compatible with PVC – Can be used as external lubricant for
transparent and crystal-clear PVC,
­especially unplasticized PVC
High solvent retention – Can be made into high-quality pastes with
solvents for use in polishes
High mechanical strength – Important in candles and wax coatings
Good electrical insulator – Insulating compounds for switchgear and
electrical components
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Luwax® AH 6 Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
Printing inks
uwax® AH 6 Granules can be added to lithographic and gravure inks to
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improve their performance in the printing process and to upgrade the quality of the printed image. Luwax® AH 6 Granules are very hard, with the
result that the rub resistance and scratch resistance of printed matter can
be improved to a very great extent. The wax also reduces sliding friction
by increasing the blocking point of the ink, which is very important in highspeed offset printing presses.
Luwax® AH 6 Granules are added to lithographic inks by stirring 20 – 30 %
wax into mineral oil or bodied linseed oil heated to 110 – 130 °C. A finely
divided crystalline paste is formed on cooling, which can then be added to
the ink. Luwax® AH 6 Granules can be added to gravure inks by dispersing
them in toluene. It is usually advisable to add wax dispersions before the
pigments are dispersed, but they can be added to the made-up ink if it is
subsequently homogenized with a high-speed mixer.
he amount of wax required to obtain high rub resistance depends on the
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substrate and the type of pigments that the ink contains. The required wax
concentration is usually between 1 % and 2.5 %, expressed as a proportion
of the made-up ink.
Paper and packaging
he hardness, rub resistance, toughness and gloss of paraffin wax and
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microcrystalline wax can be improved by adding small amounts of Luwax® AH 6 Granules or Luwax® AH 6 Powder. This also causes an
increase in their melting point, blocking point and dropping point. They are
less permeable to oils, fats and water vapour.
uwax® AH 6 Granules and Luwax® AH 6 Powder can be added to wax
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coatings for all types of paper products, including deep-freeze packaging. They can also be added to hot-melt adhesives in order to adjust their
viscosity. Wax coatings consist of paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax and
ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers. Hydrocarbon resins can also be added to
make them heat-sealable. Hot-melt adhesives are similar in composition, but
they have a higher resin content than wax coatings. Luwax® AH 6 Granules
and Luwax® AH 6 Powder are compatible with all these substances, and
they are easily miscible in their molten state. Adding Luwax® AH 6 Granules
or Luwax® AH 6 Powder to wax coatings of this type also has the advantage of increasing their melt viscosity. This prevents them from penetrating
too far into the paper, which makes them more economical. It also enables
them to be used on simple coating equipment, in spite of fact that their melt
viscosity is still relatively low.
Luwax® AH 6 Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
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he following bar charts show the effects of adding Luwax® AH 6 Granules
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or Luwax® AH 6 Powder to paraffin wax.
120
Congealing point
°C
Dropping point
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
10
20
30
100
Proportion of Luwax® AH 6 Granules/Powder in blend (%)
Upgrading paraffin wax with Luwax® AH 6 Powder/Granules
200
200
Hardness
bar
mm2/s
Melt viscosity
150
150
100
100
50
50
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
10
20
30
100
0
Proportion of Luwax AH 6 Granules/Powder in blend (%)
®
Upgrading paraffin wax with Luwax® AH 6 Powder/Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
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PVC
uwax® AH 6 Powder is a very effective external lubricant for rigid PVC. It
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has a highly crystalline, linear structure, which means that it is much easier
to dissolve or disperse in rigid PVC than polyethylene waxes with a lower
density, such as Luwax® A Powder. Luwax® AH 6 Powder has less of a tendency to cause PVC compounds to become turbid than other waxes, and
so it can be used for transparent and crystal-clear PVC mouldings. One of
the most important applications for Luwax® AH 6 Powder is as an external
lubricant in compounds for blow-moulded containers and bottles. It prevents
the melt from adhering to the hot metal surfaces of processing machinery
and decomposing. Luwax® AH 6 Powder’s compatibility with stabilizers,
plasticizers and other lubricants is good. It is a free-flowing powder, it is
easy to handle, and its low melt viscosity means that it can be mixed easily
and homogeneously with the other ingredients. It is usually added at rates of
between 0.1 phr and 0.5 phr.
Blow-moulded containers and bottles (All figures are quoted in phr)
100
10
1 – 1.5
0.2 – 0.4
0.1 – 0.3
Polishes
uwax® AH 6 Granules have a very high solvent-retention capacity. In solL
vents such as mineral spirits, they crystallize out of solution to form fairly
coarse, very firm pastes with a gel-like structure. Other solvents and waxes
can be added as required. After buffing, pastes of this type form very
hard, flexible films with high abrasion resistance and high water repellancy.
Luwax® AH 6 Granules are used in combination with other waxes in solventbased products such as floor polishes, shoe polishes, automotive polishes
and furniture polishes.
Polishes formulated with Luwax® AH 6 Granules can be prepared by melting the various solid ingredients together at 115 – 130 °C. The hot solvent
is then added, after which a clear solution should form. The solution is then
stirred and allowed to cool until it begins to become cloudy, at which point it
is cast into tins or plastic tubes.
ore solvent is retained by the wax if the hot solvent is added in such a way
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that a cloudy dispersion is formed initially. The dispersion is then heated until
it is virtually clear, and cooled to its casting temperature.
e would not recommend Luwax® AH 6 Granules for liquid polishes,
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because the crystals they form on cooling are too coarse.
Electrical industry
uwax® AH 6 Granules and Luwax® AH 6 Powder can be used, alone or
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in combination with paraffin wax, as insulating compounds for electrical
switchgear and components. Typical figures for their dielectric properties are
given below.
Vinoflex® 5715
Vinuran® KR 3813
Organic tin stabilizer
Luwax® OP Powder
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
Dielectric properties of Luwax® AH 6 Granules
ielectric constant D
DIN 53483
23 °C, 103 – 106 Hertz
 = 2.4
issipation factor D
DIN 53483
23 °C, 103 – 106 Hertz
tan  = 0.0002 – 0.0003
Specific resistance
DIN 53482
23 °C
1 x 1016  cm
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Food-contact legislation
Safety
Luwax® AH 6 Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
Luwax® AH 6 Powder/Granules meets the requirements of FDA regulation 21 CFR 177.1520 “Olefin polymers”.
The composition meets the requirements of FDA regulation 21 CFR 176.170
(b) “Components of paper and papaerboard in contact with aquepous and fatty foods”.
The composition meets the requirements of FDA regualtion 21 CFR 175.300
“Resinous and polymeric coatings”.
We know of no ill effects that could have resulted from using Luwax® AH 6.
ranules or Luwax® AH 6 Powder for the purposes for which they are
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intended and from processing them in accordance with current practice.
ccording to the experience we have gained over many years and the other
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information at our disposal, Luwax® AH 6 Granules and Luwax® AH 6 Powder do not exert any harmful effects on health, provided
they are used properly, due attention is given to the precautions necessary
for handling chemicals, and the information and advice given in our Safety
Data Sheet is observed.
Handling oggles and a respirator should be worn when handling large quantities of
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these products if no air extractor is available. Earth against static electricity.
The wax is very slippery, and spills must be swept up immediately.
Note
The data contained in this publication are based on our current knowledge and experience. In view of the many factors that may affect processing and application of our product, these data do not relieve processors from carrying out their own investigations and tests; neither do these data imply any guarantee of certain properties, nor the suitability of the product for a specific purpose. Any descriptions, drawings, photographs, data, pro-
portions, weights etc. given herein may change without prior information and do not constitute the agreed contractual quality of the product. It is the responsibility of the recipient of our products to ensure that any proprietary rights and existing laws and legislation are observed.
January 2006
BASF Aktiengesellschaft
Performance Chemicals for Detergents and Formulators
67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
www.basf.com/detergents-formulators
Luwax® AH 6 Granules
Luwax® AH 6 Powder
Printed in Germany
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