carnauba wax

[ABM Nazmul Islam]

The leaves of the carnauba palm, Copernicia cerifera that grows in Brazil, have a
thick coating of wax, which can be harvested from the dried leaves. It contains mainly wax esters
(85%), accompanied by small amounts of free acids and alcohols, hydrocarbons and resins. The
wax esters constitute C16 to C20 fatty acids linked to C30 to C34 alcohols, giving C46 to C54 molecular species.