Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose is a nonionic cellulose ether with a white powder appearance, odorless and tasteless, soluble in water and most polar organic solvents, proper ratio of ethanol/water, propanol/water, dichloro Ethane and other insoluble in ether, acetone, anhydrous ethanol.
Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, methyl cellulose can be used in building materials, coatings industry, synthetic resin, ceramic industry, medicine, food, textile, agriculture, household chemicals, etc.
It’s outstanding functions:
Thermal gelation;
Effective binding;
Thickening and stabilizing;
Water retention and softness improving;
…
The production process of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC)
Reaction: Rcell – OH+ NaOH+ CH3Cl +CH2OCHCH3
→Rcell – O – CH2OHCHCH3 + NaCl + H2O

production process of HPMC
Raw materials: refined cotton, sodium hydroxide, chloromethane, and epoxypropane.
Approximate raw material consumption for 1mt HPMC
List | Spec | Consumption
|
Refined cotton | Water≤6% | 0.93MT |
Sodium hydroxide | ≥50 % | 1.15MT |
Methyl chloride | ≥99 % | 0.75MT |
Propylene oxide | ≥99 % | 0.25MT |
All factors affecting product cost
■Raw materials
The pricing of refining cotton, sodium hydroxide, methyl chloride, and propylene oxide will have a big influence on product cost.
Among these raw materials, the price of refined cotton is the key factor which determines the production cost of HPMC. From the following chart, we will find the cotton production by country worldwide in 2017/2018 (in 1,000 metric tons)
With around 100,000 farmers cultivating cotton, China is the second biggest cotton producing country. Therefore, Chinese HPMC has very big competitive advantages on production cost.
Here let’s overview the cotton price, AMS Cotton Market News (www.ams.usda.gov )

From the above chart, we’ll find the price of cotton is low level, and it is the right time for purchasing HPMC.
■The cost of labor in China
Chinese labor costs are rising steadily as the workforce shrink, It’s been clear over the past few years that labor costs are going up in China. That’s now rippling to other manufacturing economies in Asia
■The implicit tax cost of enterprises
■Other factors
HPMC Specs we can offer:

DOOLCELL Cellulose ether -HPMC types
We are China Hydroxypropyl MethylCellulose (HPMC) manufacturer and supplier, If you need more information about Doolchem or our products, or have any additional questions, pls contact :
Doolchem company limited
Address: Qingpu District 201613 Shanghai, China
Tel: 0086-21-39291508 Fax: 0086-21-39291508 E-mail: sales@icelluloseether.com
Website:www.icelluloseether.com