These days, using gum as a stabilizing, suspending, and thickening agent in fluids has become extremely popular. Essentially, gums are natural polymers derived from various bacteria through fermentation using sugar and essential nutrients.
Guar gum and Xanthan gum are the two main ingredients used as thickeners and emulsifiers in lubricants and textiles, concrete admixes, and oil well drilling fluids, among other things. But what is the difference between these gums? Read on to learn more.
What is Guar Gum?
Guar gum is a gel-forming fiber that’s obtained from guar beans. It is a type of long-bonded carbohydrate molecule that has stabilizing and thickening properties beneficial in feed, food products, and industrial applications. The gum is typically composed of the complex carbohydrate polymer of mannose and galactose sugars in varying proportions.
Guar gum is widely used in powder form as an additive in food manufacturing, oil well drilling, explosives, concrete admixes, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. Guar gum is also used in industrial applications due to its ability to create hydrogen bonding with water molecules. It has also been claimed that this gum has properties that might be beneficial in some fishing operations, printing pastes, and warp sizing.
What is Xanthan Gum?
Xanthan gum is a series of sugar building blocks produced by fermenting a carbohydrate with Xanthomonas campestris bacteria. This gum has many industrial applications, including as a food additive, an excellent stabilizer, an emulsifier, and a thickening agent that bonds ingredients and stops them from separating.
It’s also largely utilized as a fluid loss additive in drilling mud as well as a set retarder in cementitious applications. Xanthan gum has many uses in the cosmetics industry and is a popular ingredient in processed foods.
It helps create a fluffy texture for baked products, and those who avoid gluten use xanthan gum to achieve the gluten effect. Sometimes, Xanthan gum is used in adhesives, paints, shampoos, toothpaste, and creams.
Xanthan gum can provide a massive increase in the viscosity of a liquid. Increasing the amount of xanthan gum added to a liquid can provide a thicker and more stable emulsion.
Guar Gum Vs Xanthan Gum – Which Is Better
Both guar and xanthan gums are natural polymers made from specific bacteria through a fermentation process using sugar and nutrients. They are effective thickening, suspending, and stabilizing agents used in fluids. The type of gum you choose will depend on your application needs.
Buy Stabilizing Gums from Bisley International
At Bisley International, we supply a variety of gums and gum derivatives, including guar, xanthan, and welan. As natural polymers, these gums are used as set retarders in oil and gas well cement systems. They can also be used to change the viscosity of the cement.
These gums are available in biodegradable and renewable options. Contact us today to learn more and place your order.