boiled with water in large coppers, when the pure wax rises to the surface. This is again melted without water, and the impurities are skimmed off, the material being then run into slightly conical cylindrical moulds, and thus made into blocks for the market. The crude ozokerite is refined by treatment first with sulfuric acid, and subsequently with charcoal, when the ceresine or cerasin of commerce is obtained. The refined ozokerite or ceresine, which usually has a melting-point of , is largely used as an adulterant of beeswax, and is frequently colored artificially to resemble that product in appearance. On distillation in a current of superheated steam, ozokerite yields a candle-making material resembling the paraffin obtained from petroleum and shale-oil but of higher melting-point, and therefore of greater value if the candles made from it are to be used in hot climates. There are also obtained in the distillation light oils and a product resembling vaseline. The residue in the stills consists of a hard, black, waxy substance, which in admixture with India-rubber was employed under the name of okonite as an electrical insulator. From the residue a form of the material known as heel-ball, used to impart a polished surface to the heels and soles of boots, was also manufactured. Mining of ozokerite diminished after 1940 due to competition from paraffins manufactured from petroleum. It has a higher melting point than most petroleum waxes, and is favored for some applications, such as electrical insulators and candles. See also Zietrisikite References Frank, Alison Fleig (2005). Oil Empire: Visions of Prosperity in Austrian Galicia (Harvard Historical Studies). Harvard University Press. p. 98. . Waxes Hydrocarbons