Investigation of Mixing and Cooling Properties of Beeswax and Table Sugar Through Microstructural Analysis

1. Investigation of Mixing and Cooling Properties of Beeswax and Table Sugar Through Microstructural Analysis Nozomi Ando Dan Steingart Nick Svencer Tufts University Medford, MA 02155

2. Overview • To study wax-sugar phase boundaries • To determine whether a mixture or reaction occurs. • To investigate the resulting physical properties • To analyze the products viability for sale as a candy.

3. Introduction • Cooling Properties of a Beeswax/Sugar Mixture Based on Composition and Cooling Rate • Homogeneity of the Mixture • Physical Properties of the Mixture • Optical Properties of the Mixture Areas of Interest are:

4. Experimental Design • Spherical Mold chosen • Creates even cooling • Aids in cast removal • Thermocouples placed to create cooling comparison • Made Wax the Major Component • To create diversity among the experiments • Water-Sugar-Wax Ratio 25/20/50

5. Experimental Procedure • Made Mold • Determined Wax-Sugar-Water ratio • Heated Sugar-Water mixture to 180 Celcius • Added 50 grams wax • Using LabVIEW program, measured and graphed temperature until change leveled off. • Waited for mixture to solidify, then studied microstructure under microscope.

6. Results - Cooling Curve • Since the mixture was supersaturated, the precipitate wax fell out of solution quickly. • Two distinct cooling curves resulted, one for each section of the mixture.

7. Results - Mixture Properties • Separation occurred rapidly, a low solubility assumed. • Compared to graduate student sample; less of a saturation gradient.

8. Results - Microstructure Properties • Wax Region • Dark, amorphous region • No visible pattern • Sugar Region • Bright, globular region • No apparent structure, bright spots may allude to diffraction, a crystal property

9. Discussion - Cooling Theory • Wax observed to solidify quickly; assumed to have a lower specific heat. • If wax has a lower specific heat, then the wax which remained in suspension must have increased the cooling rate of the sugar.

10. Discussion - Mechanical Properties • Wax • soft • malleable • Sugar - Wax Mixture • hard • brittle

11. Discussion - Mixture vs. Reaction • Separation indicative of a mixture. • Microstructure shows a disorderly combination of wax and sugar properties. • If mixture is so obvious, why consider a reaction?

12. Discussion - Optical Properties • Although the mixture is mostly wax, the sugar’s optical properties are predominant. • Translucent • Diffracts light when cracked

13. Conclusion • Wax cools faster than sugar, thus sugar has a high heat capacity • The creation is a mixture, not a reaction • While sugar was only a fraction of the mixture, its physical properties were predominant in the mixture

14. Future Modifications • Control and compare different wax to sugar composition • Better mixing tools • Use an electron scanning microscope for more precise crystal analysis • Uniform molds between all experiments