Paraffin wax was first created by Carl Reichenbach in Germany in 1830 and marked a major advancement in candlemaking technology, as it burned more cleanly and reliably than tallow candles and was cheaper to produce.

[5] Paraffin wax is mostly found as a white, odorless, flavourless, waxy solid, with a typical melting point between about 46 and 68 °C (115 and 154 °F),[6] and a density of around 900 kg/m3.

[15][16] If pure paraffin wax melted to the approximate flash point in a half open glass vessel which is then suddenly cooled down, then its vapors may autoignite as result of reaching boiling liquid pressure.

[17] Paraffin wax was first created in 1830 by German chemist Karl von Reichenbach when he attempted to develop a method to efficiently separate and refine waxy substances naturally occurring in petroleum.

Paraffin represented a major advance in the candle-making industry because it burned cleanly and was cheaper to manufacture than other candle fuels such as beeswax and tallow.

The wax may finally be blended together to give certain desired properties such as melt point and penetration.

[19][20][21] In industrial applications, it is often useful to modify the crystal properties of the paraffin wax, typically by adding branching to the existing carbon backbone chain.

Pure paraffin wax is rarely used for carving original models for casting metal and other materials in the lost wax process, as it is relatively brittle at room temperature and presents the risks of chipping and breakage when worked.

In a histology or pathology laboratory, paraffin wax is used to impregnate tissue prior to sectioning thin samples.