Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) has a wide range of applications and market concentration is increasing.
Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is a high polymer fiber ether produced by chemical modification of natural cellulose. Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose is the most important ionic cellulose glue. It appears as white fibrous or granular powder, odorless, tasteless, and insoluble in organic solvents such as ethanol, ether, isopropyl alcohol and other organic solvents. Sodium carboxymethylcellulose has the properties of emulsifying, thickening, bonding, water-holding, and suspending. It is currently the most widely used type of cellulose with the largest dosage.
Sodium carboxymethylcellulose is widely used in food, medicine, petroleum, coatings, papermaking, cosmetics, lithium-ion batteries and other fields. In the food field, sodium carboxymethylcellulose can be used as an emulsion stabilizer and thickener, which can enhance product flavor and extend product storage time; in the pharmaceutical field, sodium carboxymethylcellulose can be used to relieve dry eyes, Symptoms such as eye burning and stinging.
According to different application fields, carboxymethyl cellulose sodium can be divided into food grade carboxymethyl cellulose sodium, industrial grade carboxymethyl cellulose sodium, petroleum grade carboxymethyl cellulose sodium and others; according to the length of the product molecular chain, Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose can be divided into three categories: low viscosity CMC products, medium viscosity CMC products and high viscosity CMC products.
According to the “2022-2026 China Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center 》shows that in recent years, with the release of market demand, my country’s supply capacity of sodium carboxymethylcellulose has gradually increased. At this stage, my country has become a major producer of sodium carboxymethylcellulose. At present, the largest domestic manufacturers of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose include Shandong Yulong Cellulose, Yangzi Chemical Technology, Zibo Lianji Chemical, Changshu Weiyi Technology, Huaihua Aosheng Technology, Nantong Telida New Materials, etc.
The production process of sodium carboxymethylcellulose includes coal-water method, solvent method, slurry method, solution method, etc. With the improvement of technical level, the trend of large-scale and green development of sodium carboxymethylcellulose industry is obvious. From the perspective of enterprise distribution, my country’s carboxymethylcellulose sodium production enterprises are currently mainly concentrated in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and other regions. In recent years, as environmental protection supervision has become increasingly strict, manufacturing companies with backward production capacity and technology have increased operational pressure and gradually withdrawn from the market. The market concentration of sodium carboxymethylcellulose has increased. Compared with European and American countries, my country’s sodium carboxymethylcellulose industry started late. At present, there are still certain gaps in the industry in terms of technical level, product quality, mechanical equipment level, etc.
Industry analysts said that in recent years, with the development of our country’s economy and the improvement of related technical levels, my country’s carboxymethylcellulose sodium The scale of production is gradually expanding, and at the same time, the market concentration of sodium carboxymethylcellulose has also increased. Sodium carboxymethylcellulose has a wide range of applications, involving food, medicine, petroleum and other fields. Under the general trend of upgrading market demand, the sodium carboxymethylcellulose industry will continue to transform into large-scale and green directions.