Buying Xanthan Gum: What Matters Xanthan gum (CAS 11138-66-2) is a commodity hydrocolloid, but two suppliers’ materials can behave very differently in the same formulation. The name on the bag tells you little; what matters is the grade, the specification, the mesh size and the consistency of supply. This guide explains what to look for
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Why Xanthan Gum Is Used in Drilling Fluids Water-based drilling fluids must do several jobs at once: lift drill cuttings to the surface, suspend them whenever circulation stops, seal and stabilise the wellbore, cool and lubricate the bit, and do all of this while remaining pumpable. The additive that most often provides the viscosity and
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Xanthan Gum vs Guar Gum vs CMC: An Overview Choosing a thickener for an aqueous formulation usually comes down to a short list: xanthan gum, guar gum and its derivatives, and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). All three build viscosity in water, but they behave very differently under shear, heat, pH and salt. Picking the wrong one
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Polyaspartic Acid: A Biodegradable Chelant from Aspartic Acid Polyaspartic acid (PASP) is a bio-based, water-soluble polymer built from repeating aspartic acid units. Because it binds metal ions and inhibits scale, it is increasingly used as a biodegradable alternative to non-degradable chelators and scale inhibitors such as EDTA and polyacrylates. Its starting material is aspartic acid
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Polyglutamic Acid in Agriculture and Water Treatment Polyglutamic acid (gamma-PGA; CAS 25513-46-6) is best known as a skincare humectant, but its properties – strong water retention, anionic character, biodegradability and biocompatibility – make it valuable in two very different industrial fields: agriculture and water treatment. This article looks at those uses. For the chemistry and
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Dicyandiamide as a Nitrification Inhibitor Nitrogen is the nutrient that most often limits crop yield, but a large share of the nitrogen applied as fertiliser can be lost before the crop uses it – leached as nitrate, volatilised as ammonia, or lost as nitrous oxide. Dicyandiamide (DCD; CAS 461-58-5) is one of the best-known nitrification
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Phosphorus Removal: Why Ferric Sulphate Is Widely Used Eutrophication – the over-enrichment of water with nutrients – is driven largely by phosphorus, and tightening discharge limits have made chemical phosphorus removal a standard step in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. Ferric sulphate (Fe2(SO4)3, CAS 10028-22-5) is one of the most effective and widely used reagents
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DL-Aspartic Acid vs L-Aspartic Acid: Choosing the Right Form Aspartic acid is one of the twenty standard amino acids, but “aspartic acid” on a label or an order can mean three different products: L-aspartic acid (the natural form), D-aspartic acid (its mirror image) and DL-aspartic acid (the 50:50 racemic mixture). They have the same formula
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Polyglutamic Acid in Skincare and Cosmetics Polyglutamic acid (gamma-PGA; CAS 25513-46-6) has become one of the most talked-about humectants in skincare. It is a bio-based, biodegradable polymer produced by fermentation, and it is valued for holding a large amount of water per unit weight while leaving a light, non-tacky feel – which is why it
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Dicyandiamide as a Latent Epoxy Curing Agent Dicyandiamide (DCD; CAS 461-58-5) is the workhorse latent curing agent for epoxy resins. Its defining property is latency: a mixture of epoxy resin and dicyandiamide is stable at room temperature, often for months, but cures rapidly when heated. That behaviour is the basis of one-part epoxy adhesives, coatings,
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