Amerchol Expands Methyl Glucoside Capacity to Meet Wordwide Market Demand

Amerchol Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation, has completed several capacity and process improvement projects at its methyl glucoside (MG) derivative production facilities. Capacity initiatives include the installation of new state-of-the-art process technology at the Edison, NJ plant and expanding use of Union Carbide's alkoxylation facilities at Institute, W.Va.

"The demand for functional, naturally based additives for the skin and hair-care markets has been growing globally in response to consumer trends for mildness and multi-functionality imparted by methyl glucoside products," said Frank Freiler, Amerchol vice president-marketing. "Our production improvement projects have significantly increased capacity, enabling us to supply the demand on existing products plus supporting the development of 'soon-to-be- introduced' new technology

MG derivatives, such as Glucamate DOE-120, an associative thickener for use in surfactant-based systems, meet the mildness and multi-functionality challenges of providing excellent rheology properties plus the ability to reduce the irritation that can be caused by surfactant systems. MG-based emulsifiers- Glucate SS and Glucamate SSE-20 are also growing in use because of their mildness and low concentration of formula ingredients needed to create and stabilize the emulsion.

Amerchol is a supplier of functional ingredients to the personal care industry. The product line includes cationic polymers based on hydroxyethyl cellulose, natural lanolin derivatives, synthetic functional polymers, milk glycerides, chitosan polymers, hyaluronic acid complexes and chemical specialties.

For more information: Greg Weingardt, Amerchol. 203-794-2533.