Beeswax is made from empty combs.
This is process entails melting the combs, sieving and cooling the molten wax using suitable equipments.
There are four methods of wax preparation:
- Squeezing method (Cotton bag press method)
- Immersion method (Sisal sack press method)
- Solar wax method
- Steam extraction method
Squeezing method:
Requirements:
- Empty combs
- Cotton straining bag
- 2 wooden rods or wax press
- Soap
- Water
- Source of heat
- Wooden stirrer
- Mould (any heat resistant containers to hold and shape wax as one desires)
How to process
- Rinse the combs in cool water to remove unwanted materials like grass, sand, pollen or dead bees.
- Put some water in a saucepan, add the combs and bring to boil while stirring.
- Meanwhile smear the soap lather on the inside of the mould to allow easy removal of wax cake.
- The molten wax with water is poured into the cotton straining bag which is then wrung between two rods into the mould.
- Alternatively a wax press can be used to squeeze out the molten wax.
- Cover the sieved mixture and allow it to cool and solidify undisturbed for 6-12 hours. Remove the wax cake from the water and scrap off the impurities underneath.
Molten wax is being squeezed into a mould
Wax Press
Immersion method:
(For large amounts of comb)
Requirements:
- Empty combs
- Sisal sack
- Half cut open drum or large saucepan
- Large basin or pan
- Water
- Piece of rope
- Piece of timber
- Source of heat
- Heavy object e.g. stone or metal
Procedure
- Clean the combs in the basin as in method 1 above. Fill the bag with the clean combs and tightly tie it with the rope.
- Fill the half drum or pan with enough water to cover the bag full of combs.
- Position the timber in the drum to protect the bag from touching bottom. Immerse the bag full of combs in the water so as to rest on the timber.
- Put some weight to keep the bag pressed to the timber. Bring the water to boil to completely melt the combs.
- Remove the heat source and cover the mixture to cool for 24-36 hours. Gather the wax from the cool water and mould it using containers of your choice. Release the bag containing waste material from the drum.
NB: For the methods described above, the beeswax cake can further be purified by re-melting the wax using double boiler then pour the molten wax through a clean and dry straining cloth to a mould of choice.
Solar Wax Melter Method:
Requirements:
- Clean new empty combs
- Solar heat
- Bar soap
Procedure
- Place the combs on the holding tray and close the double glass cover.
- Place the melter in an open space well exposed to the sun’s rays.
- The melted wax moves along the slanted tray through a screen into a container (which has been smeared with soap lather) placed inside the extractor.
A solar wax melter with empty combs
Steam wax extractor method:
This method uses steam to melt combs. It is suitable for small-scale production of wax.
Requirements:
- Empty combs
- Water
- Source of heat
- Moulds
- Bar soap
Procedure
Fill the extractor with the clean empty combs. Spread soap on the inside of the moulds for ease of wax removal.
Steam Wax Extractor
- Boil the water to produce steam which melts the combs. The molten wax flows into the moulds. Allow it to cool for 6-12 hours. Remove the wax cake from the moulds.
NB: New or unused combs result into more beeswax than old combs.
