News
How Inulin Makes Food Better
Inulin is a soluble fiber found in thousands of plants. Its main source is the chicory plant, where the large, carrot-like taproot stores inulin at a whopping 48% of its volume. This accounts for its marketing as “chicory root fiber” or “chicory root extract.” This important additive is more than a New Orleans staple. Bell Chem, your food ingredient supplier, inventories dried inulin for its customers to add to foods and beverages due to its glowing benefits.
Inulin is available in two forms: long chain and short chain. The addition of long-chain inulin in products increases viscosity to low-fat or zero fat foods, such as yogurt or sauces. Short-chain inulin, on the other hand, is simply the longer chain carbohydrate broken into a simple sugar. Therefore, short-chain inulin adds a sweet flavor to foods and beverages without adding excess sugar.
As we age, it becomes more and more important to be aware of our diets. Healthy eating includes fiber, but not all fibers are created equal. Inulin’s natural solubility aids the digestive system due to its reaction with digestive juices. As it is broken down, inulin becomes a feedstock (a prebiotic) for Bifidobacterium, a helpful probiotic bacteria, which aids in overall digestion.
Inulin’s remarkable benefits also include the following:
Slowing digestion: Through several research studies, it has been proven that inulin slows digestion. In today’s modern world where food is almost always within arm’s reach, the tendency to overeat predominates. Slower digestion helps people feel fuller longer, and that leads to weight loss.
Glucose regulation for diabetics: Diabetics find high-performance (HP) inulin stabilizes carbohydrate digestion to regulate the release of sugar into the bloodstream, decreases fat in the liver for individuals diagnosed with prediabetes, reduces fasting blood sugar by an average of 8.5%, and decreases hemoglobin A1c an average of 10.4%. These statistics have led many physicians to believe inulin can help prevent or possibly reverse type II diabetes in some patients.
Removal of bile acids: Any foods with excess soluble fiber – including inulin – remove cholesterol-containing bile acids from the digestive system.
Sugar replacement: With its slightly sweet flavor, inulin adds a touch of sweetness without unwanted calories and carbohydrates. Inulin is often added to cereals and cereal bars to fortify them with fiber while lowering sugar and fat content.
Pharmaceutical aid: Pharmaceutical products with metallic aftertastes often add inulin to mask that offensive flavor.
Fat replacement: Our bodies are predisposed to craving fat. Thousands of years ago, fat was the ultimate form of energy storage. Today, the overabundance of food leads to obesity. Inulin replaces fat in many foods, fooling our brains into believing we have digested fat when it was instead a flavorful fiber.
Bone remineralization: One of the body’s major losses with age is bone strength. Studies suggest that inulin stimulates remineralization through calcium absorption in the bones.
Stabilizer/bulk additive: Inulin is fiber. Adding inulin to any bakery or dairy product, cosmetic, or beverage will increase bulk and add body.
Baby formula supplement: The World Health Organization claims a mother’s milk is ideally suited for her child’s growing body, with her antibodies and prebiotics keeping her baby healthy. Inulin added to formula simulates a mother’s milk by enhancing prebiotics in the baby’s digestive system.
Animal feed additive: Humans are not the only animals benefiting from inulin. Added to animal feed and pet food, inulin increases the amount of good bacteria in your pet’s digestive system and those of farm animals.
Bell Chem is a food ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including inulin. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Industrial Uses of Hydrated Lime
Industrial ingredient supplier Bell Chem’s hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) is used across industries in myriad functions. Many customers wonder about the difference between quicklime and hydrated lime: hydrated lime and quicklime differ in reactivity, with quicklime (calcium oxide) being more reactive. Hydrated lime is simply quicklime with water added to convert oxides to hydroxides before the product is baked and pulverized (a process known as “slaking”). It is considered calcium hydroxide, or hydrated lime, at that time, although it is also known as slack lime, builders’ lime, or pickling lime.
Hydrated lime is available in several strengths. The specific hydrated lime depends on the catalysts utilized and the type of quicklime. High calcium hydrated lime contains 72%-74% calcium oxide; dolomitic hydrated lime contains 46%-48% calcium oxide and 33%-34% magnesium oxide; and dolomitic hydrated lime (pressurized) combines 40%-42% calcium oxide with 29%-30% magnesium oxide. The remaining percentages are all water.
Uses of hydrated lime are many and varied, including:
Steel manufacturing: The largest scale use of lime is in the steel industry, where hydrated lime neutralizes impurities in plants where coke is a by-product. Steel plates are often sheathed in hydrated lime since it acts as an effective short-term barrier to oxygen corrosion.
Chemical manufacturing: A variety of chemicals are manufactured with hydrated lime as a basic component. Included are bromide, caustic soda, fluoride, magnesia, lactate, nitrate, oleate, and stearate. Many organic and inorganic calcium salts, such as calcium carbide, calcium hypochlorite, calcium magnesium acetate, and calcium phosphate, begin production with hydrated lime. Hydrated lime also plays a role in citric acid purification.
Flue gas treatment: Hydrated lime catalyzes particles emanated after combustion in cement plants, coal fire plants, glass industries, and other incendiary plants. Acidic pollutants normally released into the environment, such as hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide, selenium, and fine particulate matter are captured by hydrated lime’s anions, eventually rendering them into calcium sulfate.
Sugar production: Both cane and beet sugar rely on hydrated lime to react with impurities and elevate pH. Hydrated lime also removes impurities in the manufacture of maple syrup, sorghum, or other viscous forms of sugar. Carbonation before the final product is packaged removes excess lime.
Acid reduction: As milk is separated into cream and skimmed milk, lime water is added to the cream portion prior to producing butter to reduce the acid content. Lime added to the remaining milk produces either lactic acid, when combined with a low pH chemical, or calcium lactate, a boon for medicinal supplements.
Baking powder creation: Baking powder (monocalcium phosphate) is a reaction of phosphoric acid with high calcium lime.
Masonry binding: Hydrated lime is used to bind with sand to form plaster and stucco. Adding 15% hydrated lime to cement significantly reduces shrinkage and cracking. Road and building foundations, earthen dams, and airfields all rely on hydrated lime.
Paint formation: Limewash painting is achieved when water and pigment are added to hydrated lime to form a paste-like consistency before it is applied.
Soil amending: Adding basic hydrated lime to acidic soil stabilizes the pH for superior plant growth.
Bell Chem is an industrial ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including hydrated lime. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Analysis Reagents and Reagents of the Electronics Industry
The purpose of a reagent is to catalyze a chemical reaction or to determine if a reaction will occur. The reaction may prove the presence or absence of a substance or chemical, or analyze a known chemical. Two separate fields – analysis reagents and electronic industry reagents – are among many specialty industries requiring the use of reagents. Industrial chemical supplier Bell Chem is proud to offer reagents for these industries and others.
Analysis (or analytic) reagents are utilized in analytical chemistry, using a change of color, precipitation, fluorescence or an alternate method of recognition to determine if another chemical or additive is present and, if so, at what concentration.
Reagents generally have 2 strong factors – sensitivity and selectivity – that set them apart from other chemicals and categorize them into a number of varied roles. Reagents may be specific, in which case their reaction occurs with only a scant number of chemicals to ascertain their presence within a substance. An example of a selective analytical reagent is silver nitrate, which reacts by precipitation when chloride or bromide are present. On the other side of the coin are group reagents, which are able to separate several ionic substances simultaneously. The majority of inorganic analytical reagents fall into the category of specific agents while organic analytical reagents are generally group reagents.
Bell Chem stocks a number of analysis reagents including glacial acetic acid, boric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, potassium hydroxide, and sulfuric acid, which will prove or disprove the presence of an analyte – a substance identified by its chemical components. These chemicals may be used in conjunction with varied forms of instrumental analysis, such as lasers, chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, titration, water quality control, mass spectrometry, or simple microscopy.
An important sub-field of analysis reagents is within the electronics industry. Electronics demand extremely precise reagents of ultra high purity (99.99% pure is often referred to as 4N while 99.999% pure is 5N) to detect slight infiltration of unwanted metallic debris (trace element analysis), often detecting metallic infiltrates ranging from parts per billion (ppb) to parts per trillion (ppt). These reagents are often categorized as ASTM level “O”. Electronic grade reagents are referred to as “wet” chemicals since they are primarily utilized in a liquid form. Among electronic grade reagents stocked by Bell Chem are acetic acid, acetone, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, and sulfuric acid.
Electronic-grade reagents are utilized in scientific research fields, in fiber-optic communications, in microelectronics and semiconductors, and chemical and physical trace analysis.
Bell Chem is your industrial chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including dozens of reagents. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Glycerin Use Across Industries
Glycerol has long been recognized as an important ingredient in health and beauty products. However, it has dozens of other roles across industries, and scientists are striving to discover even more functions for this amazing product. Industrial ingredient supplier Bell Chem stocks 99.5% glycerin for all industries.
Medication
To replicate the sweet flavor found in food and beverages, the pharmaceutical industry adds vegetable glycerin to cough syrup and throat lozenges. Medications with glycerin in their lists of ingredients include suppositories, cough medications, gel capsules, ear drops and eyewashes. Patients with glaucoma use ophthalmic drops containing glycerin to reduce dangerous intraocular pressure. During surgery, glycerin may be administered to reduce brain pressure. Physicians also prescribe glycerin products to patients undergoing colonoscopies or ocular surgery.
Biodiesel
Glycerin had a darker side for a few decades as the main waste component of biodiesel. Nearly 10% of manufactured biodiesel is crude glycerin. Unlike refined glycerin used in pharmaceuticals and foods, crude glycerin was simply waste. It was too time and labor intensive to refine it, and the sheer amount of biodiesel produced created an abundance of crude glycerin. This byproduct of a growing industry perplexed scientists, and has led to countless experiments to utilize this growing reserve. Now livestock producers are using glycerol, also known as glycerin, in animal feed, so cows and other cattle benefit from its energy when glycerol is used as a feedstock for biological chemical synthesis.
Other Products
Aside from the uses listed here, glycerin has proven useful in a variety of other products including the following:
Glycerin is renowned for its syrupy viscosity, which is why manufacturers use it in plumping bakery products. Glycerin’s high viscosity also leads to its inclusion in liqueurs, topical creams, oral care products, and toothpaste.
Smooth, slippery soap owes much of its texture to glycerin. Since it is also added to bubble-blowing solutions, it is safe to say glycerin helps create both large and small suds.
In textile manufacturing, glycerin may be used in dyeing fabric because of its viscosity, hygroscopic properties, and its ability to penetrate fabric and suspend dyes. Surprisingly, glycerin also finds a role in reducing static cling in textiles.
Future Uses
Glycerin has already proved itself in the health and beauty sector, the medical field, and more. We expect to see even more evolution of this versatile chemical as time goes on. Promising future industrial use includes the biosynthesis of citric acid from crude glycerin, possible hydrogen fuel production, and its use as an alternative to polymer petrochemicals.
The future is promising for glycerin, and Bell Chem wants to ensure its customers have the supply of glycerin they require. Bell Chem is your industrial ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including 99.5% glycerin. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Acid Cleaners vs. Alkaline Cleaners
Choosing the correct cleaner and disinfectant for your work surfaces is critical. Chemically, cleaners are generally divided into 2 categories: acidic cleaners and alkaline cleaners. Both perform exceptionally well, but a difference exists outside their being on opposite sides of the pH scale. What exactly is the difference between an acidic cleaner compared to a basic (alkaline) cleaner? Sanitation ingredient supplier Bell Chem wishes to shed light on this conundrum with information pertaining to both and how they can be utilized to the best of their functionality.
As a refresher, “pH” is parts hydrogen, or how many hydrogen ions are in a solution. The pH scale begins at 1 and continues to 14 with the center, 7, being neutral. We consider water to be the neutral pH of 7 with an equal number of hydrogen (H+) ions and hydroxide (OH-) ions. Add the hydrogen and hydroxide ions together and H2O is the result. Any solution with a pH less than 7 is considered acidic while solutions greater than pH 7 are alkaline. Weak acids and alkalis are closer to 7 with strong acids and bases skirting the perimeter of the pH scale.
Here are some examples of how different cleaners are used across industries:
Janitorial services: This industry turns to alkaline cleaners for removing grime and dirt from surfaces or waxed floors, and the
Restaurant and food and beverage: These industries rely heavily on alkaline cleaners to emulsify fat, grease, oil, and wax and keep surfaces clean.
Restaurant and food processing: Acids effectively eradicate biofilm from surfaces.
HVAC environments: Slightly alkaline cleaners are ideal here because they remove water-soluble coolants. This same power is harnessed to disrupt molecular bonds in oils to remove them from heavy machinery.
Public restrooms: Using weak acid cleaners to remove hard water, soap residue, rust, or other mineral deposits expedites the task.
Water treatment facilities: A strong acid applied to hard water deposits in sanitation stations or water treatment facilities removes rust and other corrosives.
Dairy farmers: These farmers find glycolic acid’s affinity to metals ideal in removing casein residue from stainless steel.
These cleaners have many industrial uses, and they all have unique abilities to clean especially difficult areas. Because they react favorably to metals, acids are employed to brighten aluminum and brass. Highly alkaline cleaners focus on emulsification as well as removing traces of carbon and paint. Glycolic acid is strong enough to dissolve concrete, but safe enough to use on a variety of metals. Knowing which cleaner is best utilized with your specific problem will ensure an easier method of removing unwanted dirt and corrosion. Look to Bell Chem for all your chemical cleaning needs.
Bell Chem is a sanitation ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including a strong line of acidic and alkaline cleaning products. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service from Bell Chem. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
How Crystalline Fructose is Made
While high fructose corn syrup is either loved or despised across the world, the facts concerning crystalline fructose are not as well known. Bell Chem, your food ingredient distributor, stocks crystalline fructose because of its many benefits in both baking and consumption of quality foods.
Crystalline fructose is a monosaccharide naturally derived from a number of sources: corn and other vegetables, fruits, and honey all contain crystalline fructose. When compared with standard table sugar, crystalline fructose is approximately 1.5 times sweeter — it rates as the highest form of sweetness in natural sugars — which means consumption of sugar is diminished while maintaining the same level of flavor. The reaction of crystalline fructose in specific temperature ranges increases its flavor: the lower the temperature, the sweeter the flavor.
The manufacture of crystalline fructose depends on many factors, including the raw ingredient. When derived from sugarcane, glucose and fructose are condensed as water is removed, which breaks the chemical bond between glucose and fructose to create a crystal: crystalline fructose. The opposite reaction occurs when water is added as glucose and sucrose form from crystalline fructose.
Cornstarch is the second base for crystalline fructose. Starch is a carbohydrate formed of many individual glucose molecules. When it is separated into its individual elements (in this case, corn kernels), the result is corn syrup. Additional enzymes then convert the glucose molecules into fructose. At this point the result is high fructose corn syrup, which usually contains 42% fructose/58% glucose or 55% fructose/45% glucose.
With both manufacturing processes, the final steps are basically identical: the end product is crystallized and dried, which greatly increases the purity of the sugar to at least 98% fructose. The final product is then milled to form different granulation sizes. By this stage, crystalline fructose is purified to its more familiar blindingly white form. These processes seem commonplace today, but have only been available for the past 35 years.
Bell Chem is a food ingredient distributor based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including crystalline fructose. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Common Food Preservatives and What They Do
When most people think of food preservation, their minds immediately focus on chemicals. While chemicals are a huge contributor to preserving the foods we would like to savor for more than two days, physical methods of preserving, such as refrigeration and canning, are also essential.
Today, most manufacturers rely on both types of preservation to keep foods as fresh as possible for the longest amount of time. Food ingredient distributor Bell Chem’s strong inventory of preservatives will ensure your company has the proper tools to keep consumer foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and other products on the shelves of local stores for as long as possible.
Food preservation is far from a new process. Ancient preservation techniques, such as rubbing salt into slabs of meat or drying fruits and vegetables, are still in use today. Modern methods of preservation include many of the pure ingredients from Bell Chem’s immense inventory, which are broadly categorized as either antioxidant or antimicrobial. Antioxidants are preservatives that prevent oxidation, which causes browning in fruit or odd flavors in packaged foods. Common antioxidants include the following:
Ascorbic acid: Bell Chem’s ascorbic acid reduces oxidation in cheeses and snack chips.
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT, the powdered form of BHA): Commonly added to personal care products, butter and oils, beer, nuts, and snack foods.
Chelating agents: Disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and citric acid bind to metal ions and prevent oxidation.
Sulfites: Added to wines and dried fruits, sulfites maintain the natural color of products.
Vitamin E and rosemary oil: Natural antioxidants found in cereals and oils.
Antimicrobial preservatives prevent the growth and proliferation of bacteria, mold, and yeast. Here are some examples of antimicrobial preservatives:
Benzoic acid and benzoates: Jams, jellies and juices, carbonated beverages, and fermented foods benefit from the addition of Bell Chem’s benzoic acid.
Lactic acid: Found primarily in dairy products, lactic acid keeps these products fresher longer.
Nitrites and nitrates: Bell Chem’s sodium nitrite is ideal for preservation of many varieties of meat.
Propionic acid and sodium propionate: As an ingredient, propionic acid repels bacterial growth in bakery items.
Sorbic acid and sorbates: Much like propionic acid, sorbic acid is often a preservative in baked goods. It can also be found in wine and cheese.
Bell Chem is a food ingredient distributor based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, dozens of high-quality preservatives. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
The Many Uses of Baking Soda
Sodium bicarbonate is a ubiquitous part of every food and beverage industry’s supply closet, but this versatile chemical from your industrial ingredient supplier Bell Chem has uses across industries. Known commonly as baking soda and chemically as NaHCO3, baking soda enables uses for stabilization of pH and neutralization of acids, and other aspects of its chemical makeup give it qualities that render it popular in factories and companies worldwide.
While many products boast the ability to mask odors with a flowery or less pungent odor, baking soda chemically neutralizes odors. For this reason you will find baking soda in kitty litter, bath salts, body powders, and deodorants. Many basic chemicals are neutralized when an acid is present, creating a more stable pH while compromising the base. In contrast, baking soda retains its pH of 8.1 as it raises the pH levels of acids within a solution.
Pharmaceutical products find uses for baking soda as an ingredient and curative. Combining baking soda’s easily compressible nature — it tabletizes into recognizable round discs — with its ability to neutralize acids, baking soda is a primary ingredient in chewable antacids.
Another nifty effect of using baking soda is the saponification of grease and fat into a by-product easily dissolved in water. Many cleaning products and grease eradicators list baking soda as an ingredient. As we know, baking soda and kitchens are inseparable. Refrigerators rely on an open box to absorb odors, and chefs use baking soda as a leavening agent for baked goods in everything from apple loaves to ziti. Add a simple acid such as lemon juice to baking soda along with other ingredients and the result is a carbon dioxide-infused food that will release CO2 as it bakes, creating a light, airy bakery item.
This release of carbon dioxide does more than make bread rise, though. The use of baking soda in fire extinguishers is well studied. Because CO2 is released from baking soda, it chemically impedes the existence of oxygen in an area. Without oxygen, fires are quickly smothered. This same release of carbon dioxide is used in the manufacture of rubbers and plastics, since it is ideal at the moment plastic and rubber are molded.
The slightly abrasive crystalline structure of baking soda is often added to cleaners for soft or sensitive industrial surfaces. This same quality in facial cleansers and toothpaste aid in removing grease, dirt, and plaque easily and painlessly. Baking soda added to a high-pressure hose cleans buildings, removes debris, and can strip coatings from most surfaces. Textiles such as wool, silk, and leather use baking soda as a pH balancer and catalyst for chemical reactions. While many of the reactions would occur naturally for these textiles, baking soda expedites the process.
Learn more about our chemicals by reading our blogs. Bell Chem is your industrial ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including baking soda. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Triple-Pressed Stearic Acid
Stearic acid, or octadecanoic acid, is a common saturated fatty acid with the chemical formula C₁₇H₃₅COOH. The addition of “triple-pressed” denotes a more refined stearic acid that, when compared to double-pressed stearic acid, has a significantly lower iodine content. Food ingredient supplier Bell Chem carries 3 types of stearic acid in its expansive inventory: powdered, flaked, and our featured product, triple-pressed stearic acid.
Stearic acid occurs naturally in both plants and animals as a glycerol bound to a fatty acid chain. It has abundant uses across industries. Up to 30% of animal fat is composed of stearic acid while less than 5% vegetable oil is stearic acid. Most vegetable-based stearic acids used industrially are from palm oil; plant-based triple-pressed stearic acid is a white, waxy solid. Animal-based stearic acid is readily recognized as tallow.
Here are some examples of how to use triple-pressed stearic acid:
Triple-pressed stearic acid has a distinct odor and is not generally added directly to foods as a flavor enhancer. The properties it possesses as a lubricant, emulsifier, and softener give it ideal uses for chewing gum. Because stearic acid is present in animal fats, most animal-based products from milk and cheese to raw chicken and chicken tenders contain stearic acid. It is also present in grains, so baked goods and nuts also contain a small amount of natural stearic acid.
It is a key ingredient in the creation of stearates, such as calcium stearate, magnesium stearate, potassium stearate, and sodium stearate. Along with stearates, triple-pressed stearic acid helps produce a long list of emulsifiers, including monoglycerides, polysorbates, and sucrose esters of fatty acids.
If you ever wondered how grocery store fruits maintain their fresh appearance after they have been cut and arranged on a party tray, you can thank stearic acid. When combined with other additives, stearic acid acts as a barrier to prevent the loss of water from the fruit to its environment. This coating process extends to candy and chocolate products.
Cosmetics find stearic acid a powerhouse for its varied functions. Along with acting as a barrier for the skin – much like with fruit – it prevents drying of damaged skin. Shampoo and conditioner with triple-pressed stearic acid as an ingredient leave hair feeling soft and fuller. By acting as an emulsifier, stearic acid stabilizes and thickens lotions and ointments. Customers enjoy the fresh, cool feel of stearic acid on their skin. In bar soap, stearic acid creates a creamy lather, which makes it perfect for another product – shaving cream.
The thickening action of stearic acid gives it a starring role in the manufacture of candles. A soft candle burns more rapidly, so adding triple-pressed stearic acid will solidify the candle while it stabilizes the candle’s aroma, giving a long-lasting candle that holds its fragrance from one use to the next.
The coating action of stearic acid on foods becomes a lubricating action when applied to pharmaceutical products, such as capsules and tablets.
Food ingredient supplier Bell Chem is based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including triple-pressed stearic acid. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Water Treatment Chemicals
Clean water is closely associated with good health. In the United States, our water is considered among the safest in the world due to the different processes used to clean and decontaminate it before it reaches the general public. Water treatment chemical supplier Bell Chem’s strong line of water treatment products will ensure the safe consumption of your water.
Before water is disinfected, any unwanted materials are removed. Generally speaking, the preferred method of clearing waterborne debris is coagulation and flocculation. Positively charged chemicals such as Bell Chem’s aluminum sulfate, ferric sulfate, or sodium aluminate are added to raw water. Unwanted dissolved particulate matter often carries a negative charge, so the ionic bonds formed between the opposing charges cause the debris to clump into much larger, heavier pieces. The weight of the waste material sinks to the bottom to be removed.
The water is then physically filtered through a variety of sand, gravel, and charcoal filters with varied pore sizes to collect any non flocculated material. As the water is filtered, it is often treated with a disinfectant, such as chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, or sodium hypochlorite, all part of Bell Chem’s water treatment chemical lineup. These disinfectants are strong enough to kill salmonella, norovirus, and other harmful microbes. Their power lasts beyond the initial addition, though, by protecting water from infestation until the time it reaches a home’s faucet.
Selecting chemicals to adjust wastewater pH requires considering the chemical makeup of the wastewater. Fresh water should be a neutral pH of 7, but within a water treatment plant the pH will vary from acidic to basic depending on the chemical composition of the water. Because microbes prefer a limited pH range, adding an acid or base to the water will significantly change the overall pH, creating an inhospitable environment for dangerous microbes. Good choices for pH adjusters include 93% sulfuric acid (diluted concentrations are corrosive), calcium oxide (lime), and magnesium hydroxide.
While different sources of water across the United States demand a variety of treatments – ground water is less polluted than water from a river, for instance – all potable water needs to be safe. How important is access to safe water? Statistics prove close to 3.5 million people a year perish due to a lack of clean drinking water.
Keep your water safe with quality products from water treatment chemical supplier Bell Chem. Bell Chem is based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including a vast selection of water treatment chemicals. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.