Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) was first industrially produced by Union Carbide in 1932, and has a history of more than 70 years. At present, cellulose ether and its derivative thickeners are mainly hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), methyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (MHEC), ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (EHEC), methyl hydroxypropyl Cellulose (MHPC), methylcellulose (MC), xanthan gum, etc. These are non-ionic thickeners and belong to non-associative aqueous phase thickeners. Among them, the most commonly used in latex paint is HEC, such as Aquatro's Natrosol 250 and Union Carbide's Cellusize QP.
Hydrophobic Modified Cellulose (HMHEC) is the introduction of a small amount of long-chain hydrophobic alkyl groups on the hydrophilic backbone of cellulose, thus becoming associative thickeners, such as Natrosol Plus Grade 330, 331, Cellosize SG-100, Bermocoll EHM-100 . Its thickening effect can be comparable to that of cellulose ether thickeners with much larger molecular weight. It improves the viscosity and leveling of ICI and reduces the surface tension. For example, the surface tension of HEC is about 67mN / m, and the surface tension of HMHEC is 55-65mN / m.