Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMC) Characteristics, Applications, and Prospects Introduction

Shijiazhuang Qingquan Cellulose Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise that integrates research, production, sales, and technical services. It possesses advanced production equipment, employs advanced production technology from Germany, has strong technical capabilities, and follows strict manufacturing and testing processes. The company’s production base, with advanced facilities and a rational layout, has an annual capacity of 36,000 tons. The company’s products not only hold a significant share in the domestic market but are also exported to Europe, America, Japan, North Korea, Southeast Asia, and other regions. The company has invested over 100 million RMB, the factory covers an area of 120 acres, and it has more than 220 employees, including 50 research personnel. The company has complete analysis and testing equipment to ensure that incoming and outgoing materials meet process requirements. With a production range of over 18 categories, the company can produce and provide cellulose products in different models and specifications according to customer’s special requirements. The company’s cellulose products are widely used in the chemical, building materials, and architectural coatings industries.

Cellulose ethers are a general term for a variety of derivatives produced from natural cellulose (refined cotton and wood pulp, etc.) through a series of etherification reactions. They are mainly categorized as ionic, non-ionic, and mixed types. Due to their water solubility, solubility in dilute alkali solutions, organic solvents, and thermoplastic characteristics after etherification, they are praised as the “industrial MSG.” Cellulose ethers find wide applications in agriculture, coatings, ceramics, construction, cement, pharmaceuticals, petroleum drilling, and personal care, among other fields.

Cellulose ethers, known as the “industrial MSG,” are renowned for their solution thickening, good water solubility, suspension or latex stability, colloid protection, film-forming ability, water retention, adhesive performance, non-toxicity, odorlessness, biocompatibility, rheological properties, thermoreversible gelation, surface activity, foam stability, ion activity, and gel-forming capabilities. They are extensively used in building materials, pharmaceuticals, food, textiles, petrochemicals, mining, papermaking, aerospace, and various other industries.

Increased investments in fixed asset construction and energy development by the government, along with the rise in consumer spending on housing and health in the context of urbanization, indirectly drive the growth of the cellulose ether industry through industries such as construction materials, petroleum drilling, and pharmaceuticals. HPMC products are mainly applied in various sectors of the national economy as additives, leading to widespread consumption and decentralized purchasing by end-users.

Due to the dispersed nature of the end-user market, the sales of HPMC products often follow a distributor model. The promotion of national policies and the continuous expansion of application areas in rural urbanization in China will create enormous development space for related industries such as construction. Additionally, significant government investments in infrastructure and fixed assets, along with large-scale construction of affordable housing nationwide, will provide ample impetus for the growth of the construction industry. In recent years, increasing environmental awareness and stricter environmental policies have raised demands for environmentally friendly building materials, favoring water-based coatings and driving the market demand for cellulose ethers.


Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose, abbreviated as HPMC, is a non-ionic cellulose ether alkyl hydroxyalkyl mixed ether produced from cotton crushed materials through simplified neutralization and washing processes. As a high-performance non-ionic cellulose mixed ether, HPMC shares similar characteristics with other celluloses like CMC and HEC, exhibiting excellent dispersion, emulsification, thickening, and water-retaining gel properties. It is soluble in water and finds wide applications in industries such as construction materials, petrochemicals, ceramics, textiles, food, daily chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and coatings.

The stability of Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose is influenced by the susceptibility of cellulose chains to cellulase erosion. Cellulase tends to attack the unetherified glucose units in cellulose ethers during erosion. As a linear compound, once a glucose unit is damaged, the entire molecular chain breaks, leading to a rapid decrease in product viscosity. When glucose units are etherified, the enzyme has a harder time eroding the molecular chain. Therefore, the stability of cellulose ethers increases with higher degrees of substitution (DS) values.

The effective ingredient content of Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose is crucial, as a higher content of effective ingredients in HPMC results in a better cost-performance ratio. The effective ingredient in cellulose is the cellulose molecule, which is an organic substance. When assessing the content of effective substances, it can be indirectly reflected through the ash content after combustion, with higher ash values indicating relatively lower effective substance content.

Shijiazhuang Qingquan Cellulose Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise that integrates research, production, sales, and technical services. It possesses advanced production equipment, employs advanced production technology from Germany, has strong technical capabilities, and follows strict manufacturing and testing processes. The company’s production base, with advanced facilities and a rational layout, has an annual capacity of 36,000 tons. The company’s products not only hold a significant share in the domestic market but are also exported to Europe, America, Japan, North Korea, Southeast Asia, and other regions. The company has invested over 100 million RMB, the factory covers an area of 120 acres, and it has more than 220 employees, including 50 research personnel. The company has complete analysis and testing equipment to ensure that incoming and outgoing materials meet process requirements. With a production range of over 18 categories, the company can produce and provide cellulose products in different models and specifications according to customer’s special requirements. The company’s cellulose products are widely used in the chemical, building materials, and architectural coatings industries.

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