Hydroxyethyl Cellulose

Product description:

Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (HEC) is nonionic cellulose ether derived from natural fibre.It is widely used in Cosmetic,Personnel care products, Paint & coating, oilfield, construction, etc., having functions of thickening, bonding, stabilizing, water retaining, film forming, and protective colloids,etc. HEC is soluble in either hot or cold water,have broad range viscosity designed for customer different needs.

Properties of HEC

*Excellent thickening agent

*Unique Pseudoplasticity: Reversible high viscosity in standstill and thin out under

shear force

*Salt tolerance,stable and resistance in high concentration of salts

*Film forming agent,protective colloid action.

*Water retention,maintain water content at formulation

Product specification

(Viscosity designation as per customer request and application needs.)

HEC Applications&Functionality:

*Paint&Coating

HEC is excellent thickener in polymer latexes,Paint&coatings. It also has the functions of emulsifying, dispersing, stabilizing and water-retaining besides thickening in latex paints. It is characterized by obvious thickening effect, good properties of color-extending, film-forming and stabilizing in storage. The solution of HEC, as a nonionic cellulose derivative, can be used within a wide pH range, and compatible with other compositions, such as pigments, aids, fillers and salts, etc. The paints thickened with HEC, having good rheological propertied under different shear-rates and psudoplasticity, can be used by some application methods of brushing, rolling, and spraying coating, etc. The paints have good application and leveling properties without dropping, sagging and spattering.

*Oilfield drilling,workover and completion

Our High-viscosity HEC is mainly used as viscosifier for completion fluid and workover fluid in oilfield, and low-viscosity HEC as water-loss control agent. In the different mud required for well drilling, completing, cementing and fracturing operation, HEC, as a viscosifier, impart mud good flowability and stability. It can increase the mud’s carrying ability in well drilling and extend the borer’s service life. In the low solid completing and cementing fluids, the excellent water-loss controlling property of HEC will prevent large amount of water from mud into oil reservoirs to improve production ability from oil reservoirs.  

*Building /Construction material

HEC can be used in building products, such as concrete mixes, newly mixed mortar, gypsum, plaster, or other cements, etc. for its water-retaining action. It can also be used in plaster or other cement to prolong their curing and opening time, reduce skinning, slipping and sagging, for improving application property, increase production rate, saving time, and increasing plaster’s volume so as to save the raw materials.

*Cosmetics,Personnel care and detergent,etc.

HEC is an effective film-former, binder, thickener, stabilizer and dispersing agent in shampoo, hair spraying agent, neutralizer, hair conditioner and cosmetics. In the washing powder it is a dirt redeposit agent. HEC can be dissolved into water quickly under high temperature to speed up the production process and raise the production efficiency. The detergents containing HEC has distinguishing characteristics of improving flatness and silkiness of textile.

HEC can be used in manufacture of toothpaste as thickener,bonding agent.

*Agricultural Products

HEC can be used in agrochemicals emulsion and suspension formulations as thickener for reducing the chemicals running away and it adhering to the plant leaf surface hard to raise the application effect of spraying leaf surface.

HEC is also useful in seed coatings and tobacco recovery as film-former and binder.

*Polymerization

In the polymer and copolymer compositions of the synthetic resins, HEC has actions of dispersing, emulsifying, suspending and stabilizing, and is often used as protective colloid. It has characteristics of strong dispersing ability, thinner“membrane”of the product granules which are fine, uniform and porous, good flowability, high product transparency, and easy processing. Since HEC is readily soluble in hot or cold water and has no“cloud”point, it is suitable for different polymerization reactions. The dispersing agents also have some important physical natures like surface tension, interfacial strength, and gelling temperature and these natures of HEC are suitable for polymerization and copolymerization of synthetic resins.  

HEC has good compatibility with other cellulose ethers and PVA, etc. and the compound system from them can be attained to better resultant effects. So the compound resin product has not only good quality but also less material loss.

*Paper and Printing Ink

HEC can be used for surface sizing on paper and paper board and water-based printing ink as thickener and suspending agent.

During the process of paper-making, HEC has excellent properties including compatibility with most gums, resins and inorganic salts, low foam, less oxygen consumption, and forming smooth surface film. It will impart the film lower surface permeability and improved gloss, and reduce in price. The paper sized with HEC can be used for printing high quality picture.

In manufacturing water-based printing ink, the ink thickened with HEC is characterized by drying quickly, good color dispersion and no sticking.

*Textile

HEC can be used as binder and sizing agent in textile dye printing paste and latex paint, thickener in rug back sizing material, shape-forming agent and adhesive in glass fiber, finishing agent and binder in leather paste. It provides wide range of viscosity for these coatings and adhesives to stick the coating film uniformly and quickly, and can improve definition for printing and dyeing.

*Ceramics

HEC can be used for preparing high strength binder for ceramics.