Petroleum waxes are soft colorless solids obtained from petroleum. They are of three types, such as petroleum jelly, microcrystalline wax, and paraffin wax. Petroleum waxes are odorless, colorless, and tasteless, and are insoluble in water. They are sparingly soluble in solvents (such as hexane and diethyl ether) and slightly soluble in ethanol. Petrolatum wax consists of a natural mixture of microcrystalline wax and oil. However, the purity or grade of petroleum wax is based on the amount of oil content present in the wax. The growth of the petroleum waxes market is mainly driven by the increasing demand for petroleum wax products in several end-use industries.
The European Union (EU) produced candles worth € 1,638 million (US$ 1974.41 million) in 2018. This represents an 11% increase in the value of the EU’s candle production compared with 2013. Moreover, € 1,470 million of candles were exported by the EU Member States, while, the EU Member States imported candles worth € 1,572 million in 2018, Petroleum waxes are widely used to manufacture industrial coatings, defoaming agents, cosmetics, candles, surface finishing agents, pharmaceuticals, electrical insulations, and plastic/rubber processing aids. This in turn is expected to augment the petroleum waxes market growth.
Petroleum waxes are also used in lubricants, solid-propellant for hybrid rocket motors, friction reducers on surfaces, and preservatives for histology samples. Furthermore, it has a wide range of applications in various end-use industries, such as construction, chemicals, and automotive. In 2019, the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) launched premium quality food-grade wax which can be used in food packaging, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. The NRL aims to bridge the demand-supply gap with this product and become a market leader in this segment. This in turn is also expected to propel the petroleum waxes market growth.
In North America and the Asia Pacific, the petroleum waxes market is witnessing robust growth due to the increasing demand for petroleum wax products and increasing demand for consumer goods using petroleum waxes. According to the International Trade Statistics (2020), India exported about US$ 71 million worth of petroleum wax products in 2020. Moreover, China is one of the leading exporters of paraffin wax owing to the presence of large-scale companies. Furthermore, the increasing demand for food packaging, fragrance products, and cosmetics is expected to increase product demand in the Middle East and Africa.
However, volatile prices of crude oil and harmful emissions are some major factors expected to hinder the growth the petroleum waxes market.