Industrial applications of alginates

The UK was the only producer of alginate fiber until 1971. The fiber was made into soluble yam, which would dissolve in the scouring process. It was also used to make fabric for supporting fine lace during manufacture, as a draw thread in krtitting and a small proportion of alginate fiber was utilized in the medical field.  

Pharmaceutical and cosmetics Suspensions, jellies, ointments, emulsions and encapsulation, tablet disintegrating agent, tablet binder, tooth paste, shaving cream, hand cream and lotions, liquid shampoos, dental impression materials, moulding compounds, active compound in antibody formation, etc. 

Rubber products Latex creaming, latex thickening. 

Other industrial uses Fixation of °Sr and other divalent radioactive compounds in the bloodstream of mammals and seawater, paints, ceramics and refractory linings and moulds, insecticides, flocculants, liquid fertilizers, packaging, electrical insulating paper, anti-corrosion, etc. 

The type of use, the method of manufacture, the form and ways of disposal govern the choice of fibers used in the medical field. The fiber properties influence the final product through to the ultimate applications where the requirements may be absorbency, tenacity, flexibility and biodegradability. 

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