Natural cellulose fiber is one of the important additives in dry mortar products. It has been used since it was introduced into China in 1990s. At present, the largest one is the Arbocel cellulose fiber series produced by the German JRS company. Although some domestic manufacturers have begun to produce similar products, but due to the limitations of raw materials, as well as the accuracy of chemical treatment and technology is not mature, its dispersion and comprehensive performance are still a long way from foreign products.

Natural cellulose fiber and Methyl cellulose ether are two different products in practical application. Natural cellulose fiber is neutralized by acid pickling from beach and fir,then the products of different length and fineness are obtained by crushing, bleaching, rolling and sieving, it’s a kind of natural fiber which is insoluble in water. It is different from the methyl cellulose ether dissolved in water.

Although some functions of cellulose fiber such as thickening and water retention, are similar to those of methyl cellulose ether, the thickening and water retention effects of cellulose fibers are far lower than those of methyl cellulose ether, and they can not be used alone as thickeners and water retention agents. The biggest characteristics of natural cellulose fiber are its flexibility and unique three-dimensional network structure. These characteristics determine that natural cellulose fiber plays a role of strengthening, anti cracking and anti hanging in dry mortar system, rather than thickening and water retention. The raw materials of methyl cellulose ether is also wood fiber or short cotton fiber, but its production process is very different from that of natural cellulose ether. Therefore, the price of the two is also very different. In practical application, the main function of methyl cellulose ether is water retention and thickening. Therefore, users should pay attention to distinguish the difference between the two products.

The performance comparison between methyl cellulose ether and natural cellulose fiber