What is hydroxyethyl cellulose?

Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), a white or pale yellow, odorless, non-toxic fibrous or powdery solid, prepared by etherification of alkaline cellulose and ethylene oxide (or chlorohydrin), belonging to the genus Nonionic soluble cellulose ethers. Because HEC has good properties such as thickening, suspending, dispersing, emulsifying, bonding, film-forming, protecting moisture and providing protective colloids, it has been widely used in oil exploration, coatings, construction, medicine and food, textiles, papermaking and polymers. Polymerization and other fields.

Hydroxyethyl cellulose is widely used in the coatings industry. Let’s take a look at how it works in coatings:

What happens when hydroxyethyl cellulose meets water-based coatings?

As a non-ionic surfactant, hydroxyethyl cellulose has the following properties in addition to thickening, suspending, binding, flotation, film-forming, dispersing, water retention and providing protective colloids:

HEC is soluble in hot or cold water, and does not precipitate at high temperature or boiling, making it have a wide range of solubility and viscosity characteristics, as well as non-thermal gelling;

The water retention capacity is twice that of methyl cellulose, and it has better flow regulation;

Non-ionic itself can coexist with a wide range of other water-soluble polymers, surfactants, and salts, and is an excellent colloidal thickener containing high-concentration electrolyte solutions;

Compared with the recognized methyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, the dispersing ability of HEC is the worst, but the protective colloid ability is the strongest.

Since surface-treated hydroxyethyl cellulose is a powdery or fibrous solid, Shandong Heda reminds you to pay attention to the following points when preparing hydroxyethyl cellulose mother liquor:

(1) Before and after adding hydroxyethyl cellulose, it must be kept stirring until the solution is completely transparent and clear.

(2) It must be slowly sieved into the mixing barrel, and do not directly connect the hydroxyethyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose into the mixing barrel in large quantities or in the form of lumps and balls.

(3) The water temperature and the pH value of the water have an obvious relationship to the dissolution of hydroxyethyl cellulose, so special attention should be paid to it.

(4) Never add some alkaline substances to the mixture before the hydroxyethyl cellulose powder is soaked with water. Raising the pH only after wetting will aid in dissolution.

(5) As far as possible, add antifungal agent in advance.

(6) When using high-viscosity hydroxyethyl cellulose, the concentration of the mother liquor should not be higher than 2.5-3% (by weight), otherwise the mother liquor is difficult to handle.