The Soybean and Soy Wax FAQ

Everything you've ever wanted to know about soybeans and soy wax... but were afraid to ask! And if we don't know the answer, we'll gladly point you to the Iowa Soybean Association where they have a passion for everything soybean and soybean-use related.

On-line Soybean Resources

The humble soybean is fast becoming a source of product innovations that touches all our lives in many, many ways. Soy... it's not just for tofu anymore! ;-)

In this section of our Soy FAQ, you'll find our favorite soybean or soy-based industry resources on the web.

Iowa Soybean Association Champions Bio-based Soy Wax Candles

The Iowa Soybean Association and Iowa Soybean Promotion Board love soy candles! It's not too surprising when you think about it. Iowa soy wax chandlers collectively bought over 800,000 pounds of soybean-based candle wax. That represents about 10,000 bushels of additional Iowa soybeans going to a new and growing market. [ Read more at the Iowa Soybean Assoc. web site ]

The Soy Daily

The Soy Daily web site is a treasure trove of soy information. Sure, there are more soy recipes than you can shake a bean at, but there is so much more. You'll find sections that monitor news feeds for the latest information about Biodiesel and Biobased Ag News; Food, Beverage and Diet News; soy-related Farm, Market and Financial News; Soy Research News; to name a few. In addition to the news feed monitors, you'll find sections on soy books, soy history, soy-related conventions, a soy glossary, and a Soyfood Center! Co-Founders, Owners and Editors Paul and Gail King have made a life's mission of promoting soybeans and the myriad of products spawned from our favorite bean. When you want Soy information, head on over to The Daily Soy (www.thesoydailyclub.com).

The History of Soy Wax and Soy Wax Candles

The History of Soy Candles
1991		In 1991 Michael Richards founded Candleworks to manufacture beeswax candles. As he entered the candle industry with beeswax products he realized there was a growing demand for natural wax candles. However, there was a huge economic barrier. Namely, the cost of beeswax was 10 times the cost of petroleum candle wax (paraffin). In July, Michael Richards started experimenting with a wide range of plant waxes and vegetable oils to find a natural wax that could be cost-competitive with petroleum wax. He completed thousands of hours of tests with tropical plant waxes such as carnauba and candelilla waxes, plus domestic oils such as corn and soybean oil.
1992-1994		In 1992, this testing resulted in the first vegetable wax candle, made from a blend of vegetable oils and natural waxes. At that stage of development, the vegetable wax was hard and brittle. To obtain a softer, more pliable wax, Michael started to acquire and test a wider range of tropical and domestic plant oils. This included partially hydrogenated coconut, palm, and soybean oils. Michael Richards continued working on two parallel tracks:
		•	Manufacturing beeswax candles
		•	Research and development for other vegetable wax candles. In 1994 Michael started blending beeswax with soybean oil to achieve an economical natural wax candle.
1995		The Body Shop, a national chain of stores that was Candleworks’ main beeswax candle customer, issued the first purchase orders for a line of natural wax aromatherapy candles from Candleworks. For the first three months, the content of the Body Shop candle wax was a blend of beeswax and almond oil. Because of the increasingly high cost of almond oil, Michael then started blending soybean oil with the beeswax. He completely replaced almond oil with soybean oil in all commercial production of candles in May of 1995.
1996		Michael then experimented with various ranges of hydrogenated soybean oil to eliminate the costly beeswax in his natural wax formula. In the fall of 1996, beeswax was no longer used. Instead, the candle wax developed and utilized by Candleworks featured hydrogenated soybean oil as the majority percentage of the candle formula. Other vegetable oils were then added in minority portions to achieve specific cosmetic characteristics, such as a smooth even surface and scent projection. Michael created low-melt soy wax for container candles and a high-melt point wax for freestanding pillar candles in 1996.
1996		With the goal of creating an edible birthday cake candle, Purdue University students developed their own candle formula using soybean oil. The candles won first place in a competition sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Development Council and Purdue's Department of Agronomy.
1997		Candleworks negotiated with the University of Iowa to provide a chemical engineering intern to test and document the new soy waxes developed by Michael Richards. This resulted in a report prepared for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship titled: "Increasing the Use of Soybeans in the Manufacturing of Candles".
1998		The Indiana Soybean Board unveiled a brand of candles called Harvest Lights made from soybeans at the Farm Progress Show. The development of these candles was completely farmer-funded through the Soybean Checkoff program. This formula has since been patented.
1999-2000		Documentation of Michael’s research process on the development of natural plant-based waxes from 1991 through 1999 was submitted to a patent law firm in Des Moines, Iowa (Mc Kee, Vorhees and Sease). Formal application for patent pending status was presented to the U.S. patent office the following year.
2001		Cargill purchased intellectual property rights in Michael's soy wax innovation. Cargill now manufactures soybean wax formulas developed by Michael. MIchael continues to market the soy wax in the industry and provide technical training for other candle manufacturers in the use of soy wax.
2002		Michael Richards launched a nationwide guild of candle manufacturers called “Village Chandler”. This guild is committed to the use of soy wax in candle production. (At present there are more than 62 Village Chandlers in 17 states and Canada).
2003		This soy wax innovation is fast-becoming a new national industry. Today, soy candles manufacturers range from numerous entrepreneurs to major manufacturers like Hanna's Candle Company (one of the five largest candle companies in the U.S.).

Role of Soy in Preventing and Treating Chronic Disease

The American Oil Chemists' Society is proud to announce the 5th International Symposium on the Role of Soy in Preventing and Treating Chronic Disease. This is the fifth in a series of symposia designed to discuss the continuing research and understanding of the health effects of soybeans, soyfoods, and soybean constituents. Three-and-a-half days of oral presentations and dedicated poster sessions will focus on the areas of cardiovascular disease, renal disease, osteoporosis, cancer, cognitive function, hypertension, women’s health, diabetes, obesity, inflammatory disorders, and skin health. Hey, did they forget about the treatment modality of aroma therapy? Some folks consider this a medical application, many more consider it at least a potentially beneficial therapeutic adjunct. Either way, soy wax, with its clean and cool burn, is a great choice for aroma therapy and/or scented candles. Don't beleive us? Perhaps SoyaWax Mike will regale us with the anecdotal evidence he and Lynette saw when they were running the Candleworks factory in New York and Iowa City. Or perhaps other Guildmembers have stories to tell us about the power of soy wax candles for aroma therapy?

The Source of Soybean Wax

Many people ask us... "How do you get candle wax from a soybean?" When a sixty pound bushel of soybeans is harvested from a farm field it is then processed at a grain milling company. At the mill the sixty pound bushel of soybeans is crushed to separate the soybean meal from the soybean oil. There are 49 pounds of meal and 11 pounds of oil produced from an average 60 pound bushel of beans. The meal is where the protein content is, so the 49 pounds of meal will be used for animal nutrition products, and soy foods such as soy milk, tofu and texturized soy protein. At Phytowax, we use the soybean oil to make our clean burning candle waxes. We convert the soybean oil into a wax through a process of partial hydrogenation. At Phytowax, we have researched and improved this wax making process for 10 years to produce quality candle waxes that burn clean, burn longer and are very easy to use in a Village Chandler candle making enterprise. 100% soybean wax burns just fine but often has a somewhat rough surface texture. We add in minority portions of other vegetable oils to achieve such performance characteristics as a smooth surface and ease of mold release. Soybean wax is a way to convert a major industry that is presently based on consumption of non-renewable petroleum resources to agricultural based sustainable resources. Soywax is part of the larger bio-based industrial revolution that will transform the global economy from nonrewable goods to environmentally preferable renewable goods. Welcome to the revolution. The future is here today at The Chandler Guild.