Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose

Food Industry  

HPMC in the food industry is used as a thickening agent, stabilizer, and emulsifier for toppings, sauces, frozen fruits, ketchup, and various bakery items. HPMC usage in the food industry is currently driven by the demand of low-fat food products.

Cosmetics and Personal Care Industry  

HPMC is used as binder, excipient, bio adhesive, solubility enhancer, and dispersing agent in personal care products such as lotions, ointments, creams, and pastes due to its inert, semisynthetic, and viscoelastic properties. 

Construction Industry  

In construction industry, HPMC is used to help extend mortar working time and increase the mechanical strength of mortar while solidifying due to its high water retention property. 

Pharmaceutical Industry  

HPMC is used in the pharmaceutical industry as a substitute for animal derived gelatine for capsules. It is also used as a coating agent for tablets. 

Brief Overview

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) or known as Hypromellose refers to methylcellulose ethers. This compound is used as a binder, film former, and thickening agent in food. It is a popular type of binder because its rapid formation of a uniform, strong, and viscous gel layer. The physical appearance of this substance is white granular, odorless, and tasteless. Furthermore, HPMC has been approved by FDA as both direct and an indirect food additive, and is approved for use as a food additive by the EU.

Manufacturing Process

The manufacturing started from reacting the toluene with isopropyl alcohol in a reactor. The next step was to add the purified cotton and the mixture was added to the mixture of methyl chloride and the propylene oxide. Esterification reaction was also occurred to yield the final product. The last step was to centrifuge the mixture to separate the product form by product and dried the final product, which was the Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose.