Candle combustion starts when liquid wax diffuses into the wick and rises by capillary action. The flame’s heat vaporizes that fuel, and combustion happens along the outer edge of the flame, where oxygen and heat are highest. When fuel does not burn completely, soot collects on the wick as mushrooming or carbon capping.
Diffusion:
Liquid wax diffuses into the wick saturating the cotton fibers.
Capillary Action:
The fuel moves up the wick as it is consumed through the process of capillary action.
Vaporization of Fuel:
The flame’s heat vaporizes the liquid fuel to begin the combustion process.
Incomplete Combustion:
All candle flames have varying degrees of complete and incomplete combustion.
Fuel Reduction:
Mushrooming, carbon capping, or carbon deposits are the result of unburned fuel and soot accumulating on the end of the wick.
Ideal Complete Combustion:
All combustion takes place on the outside edge of the flame where oxygen and heat are at their maximum.
Understanding combustion is the starting point. Wicks Unlimited helps manufacturers put it into practice with confidential preliminary wick optimization and combustion troubleshooting, and supplies the waxed wick on reels and metal wick sustainers production lines run on.
