HPMC is an essential water retaining agent for good gypsum mortar performance

Shijiazhuang Qingquan Cellulose Co., Ltd. is a Chinese manufacturer of HPMC/PVA/CMC/MHEC/HEC. HPMC is a key product of ours, offering superior quality and reasonable pricing. It serves as a thickener and water-retaining agent for mortar in construction, effectively retaining moisture in gypsum slurry for extended periods, achieving optimal hydration and hardening. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) is a popular choice worldwide.

Gypsum dry-mix building materials require water-retaining agents. Improving the water retention of gypsum slurry ensures that water remains within the slurry for a prolonged period, thereby achieving optimal hydration and hardening. Water-retaining agents are essential for improving the workability of gypsum powder building materials, reducing and preventing segregation and bleeding, enhancing slurry flowability, extending open time, and resolving project quality issues such as cracking and hollowing.

The ideal water-retaining agent depends primarily on its dispersibility, solubility, moldability, thermal stability, and thickening properties, with water retention being the most important indicator. Water-retaining agents are classified into four categories: ① Cellulose-based water-retaining agents. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose is the most widely used in the market, followed by methylcellulose, and then carboxymethylcellulose. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose offers superior overall performance to methylcellulose, with both boasting significantly higher water retention than carboxymethylcellulose. However, its thickening and bonding properties are inferior to those of carboxymethylcellulose. In gypsum dry-mix building materials, the dosage of hydroxypropyl and methylcellulose is generally 0.1% to 0.3%, while carboxymethylcellulose is used at 0.5% to 1.0%. Numerous applications have demonstrated that the combined use of these two offers superior results.