Paraffin

A white waxy substance resembling spermaceti tasteless and odorless and obtained from coal tar wood tar petroleum etc by distillation It is used in candles as a sealing agent such as in canning of preserves as a waterproofing agent as an illuminant and as a lubricant It is very inert not being acted upon by most of the strong chemical reagents It was formerly regarded as a definite compound but is now known to be a complex mixture of several higher hydrocarbons of the methane or marsh gas series hence by extension any substance whether solid liquid or gaseous of the same chemical series thus gasoline coal gas and kerosene consist largely of paraffins