However to fully research into candles, scented or not, I think it is important just to know as much about candles in general.
CANDLES
Candles really are such an interesting lighting system - the fuel itself is the package. A candle is a solid block of fuel (commonly wax) and an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.
Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy and other plant waxes, and tallow (a by-product of beef-fat rendering). Gel candles are made from a mixture of paraffin and plastic.
Someone who makes, or sells candles is known traditionally as a chandler. Various devices have been invented to hold candles, from simple tabletop candle holders, to elaborate chandeliers.
HOW THEY WORK
The heat of the match used to light the candle melts and vaporizes a small amount of fuel. Once vaporized, the fuel combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to form a flame. This flame provides sufficient heat to keep the candle burning via a self-sustaining chain of events: the heat of the flame melts the top of the mass of solid fuel.
The burning of the fuel takes place in several distinct regions (as evidenced by the various colors that can be seen within the candle's flame). Within the bluer regions, hydrogen is being separated from the fuel and burned to form water vapor. The brighter, yellower part of the flame is the remaining carbon being oxidized to form carbon dioxide.
The wick needs to be naturally absorbent, like a towel, or it needs to have a strong capillary action (as in glass fibre wicks used in oil lamps). If you buy a length of un-waxed wick at a craft store and play with it, you will find that it feels like soft string and absorbs water very well.
This absorbency is important in a candle because the wick needs to absorb liquid wax and move it upward while the candle is burning.
As the mass of solid fuel is melted and consumed, the candle grows shorter. Portions of the wick that are not emitting vaporized fuel are consumed in the flame. The incineration of the wick limits the exposed length of the wick, thus maintaining a constant burning temperature and rate of fuel consumption. Some wicks require regular trimming with scissors (or a specialized wick trimmer), to promote slower, steady burning, and also to prevent smoking.
In early times, the wick needed to be trimmed quite frequently, and special candle-scissors, referred to as "snuffers" until the 20th century, were produced for this purpose, often combined with an extinguisher.
Nowadays, however, the wick is constructed so that it curves over as it burns, so that the end of the wick protrudes into the hot zone of the flame and is then consumed by fire—a self-trimming wick.
FUEL
The candle can either be made by one of the following
Paraffin (a byproduct of petroleum refining)
Stearin (now produced almost exclusively from palm waxes)
Beeswax (a byproduct of honey collection)
Gel (a mixture of resin and mineral oil)
Some plant waxes (generally palm, carnauba, bayberry, or soy)
or
Tallow (rarely used since the introduction of affordable and cheap wax alternatives).
The candle is produced in various colors, shapes, sizes and scents. The size of the flame and corresponding rate of burning is controlled largely by the candle wick.
A candle typically produces about 13 lumens of visible light and 40 watts of heat, although this can vary depending primarily on the characteristics of the candle wick. In comparison, a 40-watt incandescent light bulb (the emission of light from a hot body due to its temperature) produces approximately 500 lumens for the same amount of power.
SMOKE
Smoke can be produced when a candle does not burn the wax fuel completely. A scented candle can be a source of candle smoke deposits. Trimming candle wicks to about 6 millimeters (¼ in) or shorter will keep smoking to a minimum. A flickering flame will produce more smoke, therefore a candle should be burned in an area free from drafts.
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