With the enhancement of environmental awareness and the increasing requirements of the building materials market for functionality and environmental protection, environmentally friendly building materials have gradually become mainstream products in the construction field. Cellulose ether, as a multifunctional polymer material, plays an important role in environmentally friendly building materials with its excellent performance. There are many types of cellulose ethers, the most common of which are hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), methyl cellulose (MC), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), etc. They are mainly used in environmentally friendly building materials such as building adhesives, putty powder, dry-mixed mortar and coatings by regulating hydration, improving rheology and enhancing material properties.
1. Characteristics of cellulose ethers
Cellulose ether is a polymer compound extracted from natural plant fibers. It is made soluble, thickening, water-retaining and film-forming through etherification reaction. Its main characteristics include:
Water retention: Cellulose ether has excellent water retention capacity, which can effectively control the release of water in building materials, avoid excessive evaporation of water, and thus improve construction performance.
Thickening: Cellulose ether is often used as a thickener in building materials, which can enhance the viscosity of the material and improve its operability during construction.
Adhesion: In dry-mixed mortar and adhesives, cellulose ether can be used as a binder to enhance the adhesion between the material and the base.
Rheological adjustment: Cellulose ether can improve the rheological properties of building materials, so that they can maintain good fluidity and thixotropy under different construction conditions, which is convenient for construction and molding.
Anti-sagging: Cellulose ether can improve the anti-sagging property of the material, especially when constructing vertical walls, which can effectively prevent mortar or paint from sagging.
2. Application of cellulose ether in environmentally friendly building materials
Dry-mixed mortar
Dry-mixed mortar is a common environmentally friendly building material, mainly used in wall plastering, floor leveling, tile laying and other scenes. Cellulose ether is widely used in dry-mixed mortar, mainly playing the role of water retention, thickening and bonding. Cellulose ether can make the mortar release water evenly during the drying process, prevent cracks caused by excessive water loss, and enhance the bonding force of the mortar to ensure its strength and durability after construction.
Architectural coatings
Cellulose ether is used as a thickener and water-retaining agent in water-based architectural coatings to improve the construction performance and final coating effect of the coating. It has excellent film-forming and rheological adjustment properties, which can ensure that the coating has good spreadability under different construction tools. In addition, cellulose ether can also improve the anti-sagging property of the coating, making it less likely to sag when applied on vertical surfaces, thereby obtaining a uniform coating.
Tile adhesives
Tile adhesives are an important application in the field of environmentally friendly building materials. Cellulose ethers can effectively improve the water retention and anti-slip properties of adhesives and enhance the bonding strength between tiles and the base layer. During construction, the addition of cellulose ethers significantly improves the operability of tile adhesives, while also ensuring a longer open time, which is convenient for construction personnel to adjust.
Putty powder
Putty powder is used for wall leveling and repair. The water retention of cellulose ether can prevent the cracking or falling off caused by the putty drying too quickly after construction. At the same time, its thickening property helps to improve the coating and smoothness of the putty, making the construction smoother.
Self-leveling floor materials
The application of cellulose ether in self-leveling floor materials is mainly to improve its fluidity and water retention, ensure that the material can be quickly leveled and evenly distributed during ground construction, and prevent the floor from cracking or sanding caused by water loss.
3. Environmental advantages of cellulose ether
Natural source, environmentally friendly production
Cellulose ether is made of natural cellulose and is renewable. No harmful waste gas and waste liquid are basically generated during the production process, and the impact on the environment is small. In addition, compared with traditional chemical additives, cellulose ether is harmless to the human body and can be naturally degraded. It is a truly green and environmentally friendly material.
Reduce material energy consumption and improve construction efficiency
Cellulose ether can improve the construction performance of building materials, make their construction more convenient and fast, and reduce material waste and energy consumption. In addition, due to its good water retention, cellulose ether can reduce the demand for water in construction and further save resources.
Improve the durability of building materials
Cellulose ether can improve the durability of environmentally friendly building materials, make the service life of buildings longer, reduce the need for repair or replacement due to aging or damage of building materials, thereby reducing resource waste and the generation of construction waste.
As an environmentally friendly, safe and efficient building material additive, cellulose ether has been widely used in many environmentally friendly building materials fields such as dry-mixed mortar, tile adhesives, and architectural coatings. It can not only improve the construction performance of building materials and improve the quality of materials, but also has significant environmental advantages. In the future field of building materials, with the continuous improvement of environmental protection requirements, the application prospects of cellulose ether will be broader.
Post time: Sep-25-2024