Sodium Alginate

Sodium Alginate’s form is a flavorless gum that is used as an emulsifier or to increase viscosity in the food industry. It can also be use in preparing dental impressions or in indigestion tablets. Some of its major applications is in textile screen-printing, carpet jet-printing, reactive dye-printing and as thickener for reactive dyes. When it comes to food additives, sodium alginate is best used in producing gel-like foods.

Sodium Alginate is mainly used in:

I.  Medical Industry
A. Dental Impression Material
-the mixture of rubber and plaster which is used as the primary material for dental impressions was replaced by sodium alginate.
B. Hemostatic
-sodium alginate can be used into all kinds of hemostatic, such as hemostic gauze, hemostic cotton, scald gauze, spraying hemostatic, ect.
C. Peventing and Exclusion from radioactive harmful metals
-sodium alginate has a special function of exchanging for some elements. It not only prevents from absorbing strontium but also have a certain treatment against them. Taking some Sodium Alginate before or after absorbing strontium, then the radioactive element will be absorbed quickly and be drained away.
D. Salve, Tablet and Drugs
- sodium alginate can be made into all kinds of additive of medicines, such as sulphur paste mixed by sodium alginate and wool oil which can treat skin disease.
II. Printing and textile Industry
A. Printing Agent
-sodium alginate has long been used in starching, printing and packing. It has a special property as a reactive printing agent. Using sodium alginate as a printing agent does not only affect dyeing reaction but also makes the color bright, feeling smooth and product outline clear.
B. Synthetic Fiber
-mixing sodium alginate and asbestos on fiber and solidifying it with calcium acetate solution will help in avoiding asbestos fibers to fly around.
III. Food Industry
A. Stabilizer
-when used as a stabilizer in ice cream, sodium alginate can avoid forming of ice crystals and will make the product tastier.
B. Thickeners and Emulsion
-can raise stabilization and decrease liquid when used in cold dishes, sweet pastry and canned products.
C. Hydration
- can make noodle, vermicelli or ice powder have strong cohesiveness, pulling , bending and reduce breaking, specially suitable in the less gluten content of wheat flour.
D. Coacervation
-can be used to keep gel-like products in a fine state. Can also be used as covering for fruit, meat and seaweed products to keep air out and longer storage.
IV. Other Industry
A. Papermaking/Starching
- it can make paper gloss and smooth, raise the absorption of printing ink, wax, soil and paper’s pliability and tough.
B. Coating of the Welding Electrode
- coating powder and sodium alginate can stick and humidify the coating of welding and make it easy to burn into ash and lighten flying during welding operation.