Removal of Paraffin Wax from Ceramic Injection Mold Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Removal of paraffin wax from a ceramic injection mold using supercritical has been studied. The paraffin wax is used as a binder in the ceramic injection molding process. The effects of pressure, temperature and flow rate of supercritical on the removal of the paraffin wax were investigated. The removal rates were measured with various flow rates of in the range of 328.15 - 348.15 K and 15 - 30 MPa. The removal rate of paraffin wax increased as the pressure increased. In the effect of temperature, the paraffin wax was effectively removed over 329.15K (melting point of paraffin wax), however, the efffct of temperature was not significant when the temperature was further increased. The increase of flow rate also affected the removal of paraffin wax. However, the effect of flow rate was not observed when the flow rate reached a certain value. Propane was used as a co solvent in order to remove the paraffin wax effectively. When the propane was added to the , the removal efficiency was improved. The paraffin wax was completely removed from the ceramic injection mold without any change in their shape and the structure.