Although the exact composition is a secret, Plasticine is composed of calcium salts (principally calcium carbonate), petroleum jelly, and long-chain aliphatic acids (principally stearic acid).
The example given, paraffin wax, is a member of a family of hydrocarbon molecules of differing chain lengths, with high-density polyethylene at the long-chain end of the series.
The epicuticular waxes of plants are mixtures of substituted long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, containing alkanes, alkyl esters, fatty acids, primary and secondary alcohols, diols, ketones, aldehydes.
