Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) is a non-ionic soluble cellulose ether derivatives that can coexist with many other water-soluble polymers, surfactants, and salts. HEC has the properties of thickening, suspension, adhesion, emulsification, stable film formation, dispersion, water retention, anti-microbial protection and colloidal protection. It can be widely used in coatings, cosmetics, oil drilling and other industries.
The main properties of Hydroxyethyl cellulose(HEC) are that it can be dissolved in cold water and hot water, and has no gel characteristics. It has a wide range of substitution, solubility and viscosity. It has good thermal stability (below 140°C) and does not produce under acidic conditions. precipitation. The hydroxyethyl cellulose solution can form a transparent film, which has non-ionic features that do not interact with ions and have good compatibility.
Chemcial Specification
| Appearance | White to off-white powder |
| Particle size | 98% pass 100 mesh |
| Molar substituting on degree (MS) | 1.8~2.5 |
| Residue on ignition (%) | ≤0.5 |
| pH value | 5.0~8.0 |
| Moisture (%) | ≤5.0 |
Products Grades
| HEC grade | Viscosity
(NDJ, mPa.s, 2%) |
Viscosity
(Brookfield, mPa.s, 1%) |
| HEC HS300 | 240-360 | 240-360 |
| HEC HS6000 | 4800-7200 | |
| HEC HS30000 | 24000-36000 | 1500-2500 |
| HEC HS60000 | 48000-72000 | 2400-3600 |
| HEC HS100000 | 80000-120000 | 4000-6000 |
| HEC HS150000 | 120000-180000 | 7000min |
Characteristics of HEC
1.Thickening
HEC is an ideal thickener for coatings and cosmetics. In practical applications, the combination of thickening and suspension, safety, dispersibility, and water retention will produce more ideal effects.
2.Pseudoplasticity
Pseudoplasticity refers to the property that the viscosity of the solution decreases with the increase in speed. Latex paint containing HEC is easy to apply with brushes or rollers and can increase the smoothness of the surface, which can also increase work efficiency; shampoos containing HEC have good fluidity and are very viscous, easy to dilute, and easy to disperse.
3.Salt tolerance
HEC is very stable in high-concentration salt solutions and will not decompose into ionic state. Applied in electroplating, the surface of the plated parts can be more complete and brighter. What’s more noteworthy is that it still has good viscosity when used in latex paint containing borate, silicate and carbonate.
4.Film forming
The film-forming properties of HEC can be used in many industries. In papermaking operations, coating with HEC-containing glazing agent can prevent the penetration of grease, and can be used to prepare solutions for other aspects of paper manufacturing; in the spinning process, HEC can increase the elasticity of fibers and reduce mechanical damage to them . In the sizing, dyeing and finishing process of the fabric, HEC can act as a temporary protective film. When its protection is not needed, it can be washed away from the fiber with water.
5.Water retention
HEC helps to keep the moisture of the system in an ideal state. Because a small amount of HEC in the aqueous solution can get a good water retention effect, so that the system reduces the water demand during the batching. Without water retention and adhesion, cement mortar will reduce its strength and cohesiveness, and clay will also reduce its plasticity under certain pressure.
Applications
1.Latex paint
Hydroxyethyl cellulose is the most commonly used thickener in latex coatings. In addition to thickening latex coatings, it can also emulsify, disperse, stabilize and retain water. It is characterized by significant thickening effect, good color development, film-forming properties and storage stability. Hydroxyethyl cellulose is a non-ionic cellulose derivative and can be used in a wide pH range. It has good compatibility with other materials in the component (such as pigments, additives, fillers and salts). Coatings thickened with hydroxyethyl cellulose have good rheology and pseudoplasticity at various shear rates. The construction methods such as brushing, roller coating and spraying can be adopted. The construction is good, not easy to drip, sag and splash, and the leveling property is also good.
2.Polymerization
Hydroxyethyl cellulose has the functions of dispersing, emulsifying, suspending and stabilizing in the polymerization or copolymerization component of synthetic resin, and can be used as a protective colloid. It is characterized by strong dispersing ability, the resulting product has a thinner particle “film”, fine particle size, uniform particle shape, loose shape, good fluidity, high product transparency, and easy processing. Since hydroxyethyl cellulose can be dissolved in cold water and hot water and has no gelation temperature point, it is more suitable for various polymerization reactions.
The important physical properties of the dispersant are the surface (or interfacial) tension, interfacial strength and gelation temperature of its aqueous solution. These properties of hydroxyethyl cellulose are suitable for the polymerization or copolymerization of synthetic resins.
Hydroxyethyl cellulose has good compatibility with other water-soluble cellulose ethers and PVA. The composite system constituted by this can obtain the comprehensive effect of complementing each other’s weaknesses. The resin product made after compounding has not only good quality, but also reduced material loss.
3.Oil drilling
In oil drilling and production, high-viscosity hydroxyethyl cellulose is mainly used as a viscosifier for completion fluids and finishing fluids. Low-viscosity hydroxyethyl cellulose is used as a fluid loss agent. Among the various muds required for drilling, completion, cementing and fracturing operations, hydroxyethyl cellulose is used as a thickener to obtain good fluidity and stability of the mud. During drilling, the mud carrying capacity can be improved, and the service life of the drill bit can be prolonged. In low-solid completion fluids and cementing fluids, the excellent fluid loss reduction performance of hydroxyethyl cellulose can prevent a large amount of water from entering the oil layer from the mud and improve the production capacity of the oil layer.
4.Daily chemical industry
Hydroxyethyl cellulose is an effective film former, binder, thickener, stabilizer and dispersant in shampoos, hair sprays, neutralizers, hair conditioners and cosmetics; in detergent powders Medium is a dirt redepositing agent. Hydroxyethyl cellulose dissolves quickly at high temperatures, which can speed up the production process and improve production efficiency. The obvious feature of detergents containing hydroxyethyl cellulose is that it can improve the smoothness and mercerization of fabrics.
5 Building
Hydroxyethyl cellulose can be used in construction products such as concrete mixtures, freshly mixed mortar, gypsum plaster or other mortars, etc., to retain water during the construction process before they set and harden. In addition to improving the water retention of building products, hydroxyethyl cellulose can also extend the correction and open time of plaster or cement. It can reduce skinning, slippage and sagging. This can improve construction performance, increase work efficiency, save time, and at the same time increase the capacity increase rate of mortar, thereby saving raw materials.
6 Agriculture
Hydroxyethyl cellulose is used in pesticide emulsion and suspension formulations, as a thickener for spray emulsions or suspensions. It can reduce the drift of the medicament and make it firmly attached to the leaf surface of the plant, thereby increasing the use effect of foliar spraying. Hydroxyethyl cellulose can also be used as a film-forming agent for seed coating coatings; as a binder and film-forming agent for tobacco leaf recycling.
7 Paper and ink
Hydroxyethyl cellulose can be used as a sizing agent on paper and cardboard, as well as a thickening and suspending agent for water-based inks. In the papermaking process, the superior properties of hydroxyethyl cellulose include compatibility with most gums, resins and inorganic salts, low foam, low oxygen consumption and the ability to form a smooth surface film. The film has low surface permeability and strong gloss, and can also reduce costs. Paper glued with hydroxyethyl cellulose can be used for printing high-quality pictures. In the manufacture of water-based ink, the water-based ink thickened with hydroxyethyl cellulose dries quickly, has good color diffusibility, and does not cause adhesion.
8 fabric
It can be used as binder and sizing agent in fabric printing and dyeing sizing agent and latex coating; thickening agent for sizing material on the back of carpet. In glass fiber, it can be used as forming agent and adhesive; in leather slurry, it can be used as modifier and adhesive. Provide a wide range of viscosity for these coatings or adhesives, make the coating more uniform and fast adherence, and can improve the clarity of printing and dyeing.
9 Ceramics
It can be used to formulate high-strength adhesives for ceramics.
10. toothpaste
It can be used as a thickener in toothpaste manufacturing.
Packaging:
25kg paper bags inner with PE bags.
20’FCL load 12ton with pallet
40’FCL load 24ton with pallet