Paraffin is a byproduct of this process.	Our soy flakes are a byproduct of this process.

One source for that statement in green above:

Combustion Characteristics of Candles Made from Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
(Karamatollah Rezaei, Tong Wang, and Lawrence A. Johnson
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, and the Center for Crops Utilization Research, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011)

Although widely quoted online, I haven't seen this work published in full on the Internet for the general public. I have contacted the journal that owns its copyright, and am trying to get permission to post my copy for you.

The researchers investigated following aspects of soy wax: production of soot, production of potential harmful volatile components (acrolein, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde) and burning time. The candles were made by melting 200 g of wax and poring it in glass containers in several steps to avoid cracking of the wax. To determine the soot formation the candles were burned under a funnel and the air with sooth was then collected on a membrane filter. Disturbance of candles flame was artificially created running a fan at small speed. The amount of soot was estimated by measuring the darkness of the filter. The volatile components were captured in a trichlorophenylhydrazine solution.

They found that paraffin candles produced significant amounts of soot as opposed to soy candles, which produced little or no soot. All paraffin candles visually produced soot while burning, whereas practically no visual soot formation was observed with beeswax and soy candles. The membrane filters which collected the soot from paraffin candles showed an average L-value of 32 (rather dark) as opposed to a L-value of about 95 (very light) for both beeswax and soybean candles. Soy candles also burned slower, resulting in longer burning time. However, this effect was only observed with trimmed soy wax candles. These soy candles had a smaller flames size, which logically translates into longer burning times. The larger molecules of soy wax may explain the longer burning time: they migrate more slowly through the candlewick. The smaller flame size and lower heat production maybe advantageous in rooms where higher temperatures are not desirable. The combustion of soy wax and beeswax candles did not produce measurable quantities of formaldehyde whereas paraffin candles produced 3.2 mg formaldehyde per g paraffin. No acrolein production was observed in any of tested candles.

The study concluded that soy wax shows promise as use for production of candles. This study did not test the affect of scents on soot formation. Other studies have shown that the addition of scents to paraffin candles increases soot formation. Scented soy candles may probably also produce more soot than unscented soy candles.

Welcome to the "politics of soy." What appears in yellow below are statements I wrote recently. I was challenged to cite my statements, and so here are those citations.


Common, petroleum-based (paraffin) candle products can emit soot - which studies show may contain carcinogenic toxins...

A common citation on the Web is from writer “Stephanie Davies.” She writes that “...soot is in fact not harmful to you...” She cites no one for that claim. Her current Web site offers Tarot card readings for $9.95, and there are no studies on her site to document any of her candle-related statements.

But on June 21, 2007 at the Atmospheric Science Progress Review Meeting in Research Triangle Park, researchers from the Center for Aerosol and Cloud Chemistry - Aerodyne Research -and- from the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT gave their presentation, “Particle Sampler for On-Line Chemical and Physical Characterization of Particulate Organics.”

Reprinted below here is Page 14 of their report,indicating that they detected these five chemicals in paraffin candle soot...

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