Overview of the Market Development of China's Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) Industry in 2022

April 11, 2023

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Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC) is a type of cellulose mixed ether that has rapidly increased in yield, dosage, and quality in recent years. It is a non-ionic cellulose mixed ether made from cotton and wood through processes such as alkalization, epoxypropane, and chloromethane etherification.

HPMC has good dispersion, emulsification, thickening, bonding, water retention, and adhesive retention properties. It is soluble in water and can also be dissolved in less than 70% ethanol and acetone. Special structured HPMC can also be directly soluble in ethanol. HPMC can be widely used as a film coating, sustained-release agent, and adhesive for pharmaceutical preparations, as well as its thickening, dispersion, and emulsification properties. It is widely used in various fields such as petrochemical, building materials, ceramics, textiles, food, daily chemicals, synthetic resins, pharmaceuticals, coatings, and electronics.

The production process of HPMC can be divided into two categories: gas-phase method and liquid-phase method. At present, developed countries such as Europe, America, and Japan are more adopting the gas phase process, using wood pulp as the raw material (cotton pulp is used for producing high viscosity products), and the alkalization and etherification are carried out in the same reaction equipment. The main reaction is a horizontal reactor, with a center horizontal stirring shaft and a side rotating flying knife specially designed for Cellulose Ether production inside, which can achieve good mixing effect.

The global HPMC production capacity accounts for 70% of the non ionic cellulose ether production capacity. Multinational enterprises such as Dow Chemical in the United States, Shinyue in Japan, Hercules/Ashland in the United States, and Samsung in South Korea are currently the main suppliers in the world's largest HPMC high-end market.

The main application fields of HPMC in China also involve architecture, coatings, food, medicine, ceramics, daily chemical products, polymer polymerization, etc. However, the overall quality of HPMC products for pharmaceutical grade and polymer polymerization cannot compare with foreign countries, and many key technologies are still in the hands of developed countries such as Europe, America, and Japan. However, through application research comparison and process equipment transformation, the gap between domestic products and them has gradually narrowed, and some product indicators have exceeded.

Author:

Ms. Yolanda

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info@jinhetec.com

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