[donald hu]

Hi
I make soy candles up here in Canada. Soy wax here is expensive ($4-$5/kg) and sometimes not available or delayed.
I can get soybean oil for $1.09/kg.
My question is should I hydrogenate soybean oil to make my own soy wax?
I'm new to chemistry and am concerned I might be underestimating the cost and difficulty of this process.
Any help much appreciated.

[Dan]

I very much doubt you will save money by performing the hydrogenation yourself, the relatively high material cost on small scale compared to industrial scale will probably make it more expensive to do it yourself (even with markup).

Also, hydrogenation can be quite hazardous and requires special equipment, especially if hydrogen gas, high pressure and temperature are used.

[Enthalpy]

On Alibaba, I see soy wax at 1.5usd/kg in ton quantity
https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/soy-wax.html
and 3usd/kg in >20kg amount, shipping not included
https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/soy-wax-flakes.html
https://wholesaler.alibaba.com/product-detail/Flakes-soybean-wax-soy-wax-flake_60553475603.html
so 5usd/kg seems a good price for limited amounts, and home production (if it were reasonable) won't be cheaper.

eBay has it around 4usd/kg in 10kg amounts, free shipping:
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/soy-wax
and Amazon is but more expensive to deliver smaller amounts.

[donald hu]

Enthalpy

I am in Canada. $4-$5CAD/kg. The shipping from US is what kills me. Shipping cost is 1-2x the actual wax. I guess buying here in canada isn't so bad.