News
Exploring the Types of Glycol Ether and Their Uses
Glycol ethers have a variety of uses across industries due to their far-reaching role as solvents. Industrial chemical supplier Bell Chem explains a few of their uses under the categories of “e-series” (ethylene oxide) and “p-series” (propylene oxide) formulations.
Ethylene Oxide Uses
Personal Care
In a process called ethoxylation, ethylene oxide creates more water soluble shampoos, conditioners, and body washes.
Textiles
For printing, leather, and other textiles, e-series glycol ether acts as a solvent or co-solvent for industrial and waterborne coating. It can be found in dyes, enamels, water-based paints, lacquers and inks.
Medical Industry
The addition of ethylene oxide during the manufacture of medicines strengthens the delivery of those medications to patients. The ability to sterilize medical equipment is foremost in hospital care. Approximately 50% of all ethylene oxide produced is specified for sterilization of medical devices.
Chemistry
Ethylene oxide functions as a chemical intermediate in synthesizing ethanolamines, glycol ethers, and surfactants. The end results are products such as antifreeze, de-icers, gas drying agents, lubricants, and polyester resins. Using ethylene oxide as a raw material also produces polyester, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – the building block for plastic bottles.
Automotive
Antifreeze and de-icers in vehicles are formulated to work in temperature extremes. Adding ethylene oxide counters these temperature fluctuations so well it is used not only in land vehicles but in commercial airliners as a de-icing agent.
Propylene Oxide Uses
Cleaners
Coupling solvents increase the reaction of a chemical, and propylene oxide is one of those components helping hard surface cleaners and many other soap/hydrocarbon formulations work through the toughest grime.
Degreasers
Industrial settings find p-series glycol ether a proven solvent. Many specialty formulae rely on p-series glycol ether as an ingredient. Studies have proven propylene glycol is less irritating and cleans better than ethylene glycol; for this reason many manufacturers are choosing p-series formulations over e-series.
Polyurethane
As the main component of polyether polyols, propylene oxide’s foremost role is the manufacture of polyurethane.
Tree Nuts
Fumigating almond and pistachio orchards with propylene oxide prevents Salmonella contamination.
Bell Chem is an industrial chemical supplier in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including glycol ether. 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.
Benefits of Working with an Experienced Chemical Supplier
Shopping for a chemical supplier involves more than comparing prices. In today’s economy, it is vital to choose a supplier that will be able to overcome business issues that not all chemical suppliers can withstand. Bell Chem’s longevity proves that our status as the best chemical supplier in Longwood will not fade over time. Read more about the benefits of working with an experienced chemical supplier.
Relationships with Chemical Processors
Because Bell Chem has been in business for over 30 years, we have developed strong working relationships with a number of chemical processors and manufacturers to ensure a smooth supply chain for every one of your orders.
You can expect specialized pharmaceutical-grade nutritional and personal use ingredients to meet your customers’ needs, as well as technical-grade chemicals for the most heavily used areas in your manufacturing process. If you cannot find the specific chemical or ingredient you require, ask us; we customize compounds to guarantee the level of cleanliness you deserve.
Strategic Partnerships
We partner with Safe Chem to offer a broad range of CSANTM sanitation blends specifically formulated for the citrus industry, as well as the food and beverage industries. These partnerships and specialties require years of patient experimentation, which you only find with an experienced supplier.
Plenty of Inventory
Our extensive, amply stocked warehouse ensures your supplies are delivered quickly. Bell Chem’s fleet of trucks deliver daily to our local Florida businesses, and if your business requires out-of-state freight shipments, our location allows close proximity to shipping hubs by train, air, or cargo ship. Our partnerships with affiliate terminals expedite shipping to your location, no matter the distance. Studies have proven that consolidating suppliers allows corporations to streamline supply chain efficiency, reduce internal workloads, and decrease costs through lower shipping costs and better volume pricing.
Quality Assured
Time has also allowed us to perfect our quality assurance practices, and Bell Chem is registered with many regulatory authorities, which demonstrates the stringent standards we are able to meet or exceed in all our processing, from start to finish. This quality assurance guarantees the product you receive is the correct standard you requested. We meet the demands of the DEA, EPA, FDA, OSHA, and other regulatory giants. Bell Chem is regularly audited and verified compliant under the supervision of D. L. Newslow and Associates.
Bell Chem is your chemical supplier in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. 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.
Understanding the Uses of Acids in Food Processing
For industries rooted in food preservation, the importance of acids cannot be overstated. However, acids easily find uses across food processing as well. Bell Chem, your food ingredient supplier, shares many of those functions along with why they are important to your processing operation.
Add Tartness
Acidic flavor enhancers and adjuvants are designed to add a “tang” or “tartness” to flavors without overpowering or changing the intended flavor. For this reason, a larger amount of citric acid or malic acid are regularly added to lemon-flavored candies and beverages while a much lower amount is necessary for strawberry flavoring.
Balance Powdered Mixes
While fumaric acid is utilized less frequently because of its extreme flavor, its inexpensive cost gives it a seat at the acid table. Fumaric acid is much less soluble than other acids, but is often found in powdered mixes.
Enhance Soda
While the preceding acids are easily transferred from one food or beverage to another, some acids are specific as ingredients. For instance, phosphoric acid is on the nutrition label of dark colas and tartaric acid is regularly added to grape-flavored foods and beverages.
Pickle Foods
Lactic acid finds uses in boiled sweet foods and in pickling. For baking, lactic acid acts as a feedstock for emulsifiers. In contrast, acetic acid’s uses focus on pickling. Many pressurized canned goods, such as jams, jellies, and gelatins necessitate specific pH ranges to ensure the proper viscosity and mouthfeel. In dairy products, the creation of curds relies on stringent pH ranges.
Sterilize and Stabilize
Acids are canning powerhouses, decreasing the energy needed to sterilize since low pH zones are unfriendly for microbial growth. This same function also inactivates enzymes that negatively affect canning sterilization. Salt and vinegar chips derive their flavor not from vinegar, but from acetic acid, which is more stable and offers the same flavor chip after chip.
Along with adding acids to foods and beverages, acids are ideal during aseptic processing and packaging, when both foods and containers are sterilized with acids, often in different formulations depending on the food and type of packaging.
Mask Other Flavors
Acids have another important role: masking the flavor of existing ingredients, specifically saccharine, where malic and citric acid remove saccharine’s unsatisfactory aftertaste.
Make Raw Foods Safe
Raw meats destined to be sushi may be marinated in diluted acetic acid, which defers bacteria infiltration as it denatures the proteins making up the meat, helping to change the mouthfeel without affecting the flavor.
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 CSANTM sanitation products. 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.
Sodium Benzoate as a Food Additive
Sodium benzoate, or benzoate of soda, is a common food preservative not found in nature. While benzoic acid naturally occurs in cranberries, cloves, cinnamon, apples, and tomatoes, for instance, the combination of sodium hydroxide and benzoic acid form sodium benzoate. The addition of this ingredient to foods and beverages enhances solvency. As a food ingredient supplier, Bell Chem recognizes the importance of sodium benzoate in the food and beverage industry and offers the following information on why you should invest in sodium benzoate as a food additive.
Inhibiting Growth
Sodium benzoate is both a bactericide and a fungicide, inhibiting growth of both classifications of microbes. Because it does not kill existing microbes, it is generally added after products have been sterilized or pasteurized. When added to processed foods, sodium benzoate extends shelf life.
Lowering Acidity
Acidic (low pH) environments benefit most from the addition of sodium benzoate as an additive. For this reason, it is often added to “tangy” products, such as lemon sodas, jarred pickles, soy sauce, and salad dressings.
Other Uses of Sodium Benzoate
While other food additives perform many of the above functions, sodium benzoate has other properties not common in almost any other product. It has been found to do the following:
Increase memory and mental cognition by enhancing the plasticity of synapses between areas of the brain;
Treat schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety, ALS, and Parkinson’s disease by curtailing D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) effects on NMDA receptors, which are responsible for maintaining memory function in the brain; and
Lower cholesterol levels by decreasing inflammation. The decrease in inflammation is also responsible for sodium benzoate’s role in countering the effects of autoimmune disorders.
An ingredient that enhances not only food quality and shelf life, but potentially overall health, you can have it all by adding sodium benzoate to your products.
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 sodium benzoate. 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.
Propylene Glycol in the Medical Industry
When the body’s integumentary system is in such poor shape it necessitates medical attention, chances are high the medication prescribed by a physician contains propylene glycol as an ingredient. This mild, quickly absorbed water-soluble viscous alcohol rapidly soothes and protects skin to enhance healing. USP ingredient supplier Bell Chem ensures its inventory contains propylene glycol (CH3CH[OH]CH3OH) for its suppliers to manufacture the proper formulation of medications for their customers. Learn about its most prominent medical uses.
Radiation Therapy
Patients undergoing radiation therapy often develop topical partial thickness burns due to the intensity of treatment. Applying propylene glycol moisturizes the skin to ease the pain of the burns while its antibacterial properties stimulate healing.
Diaper Rash
Infants with diaper rash require a fast-acting ingredient to prevent chafing and further skin damage. Propylene glycol creates a barrier between the skin and bacteria as it expedites healing. Because it is considered biocompatible, discomfort is alleviated.
Intensive Care
Patients in intensive care may require intravenous doses of lorazepam, phenobarbital, nitroglycerine, diazepam or other strong medications. Propylene glycol as a diluent maintains a steady, proper dosage of these powerful medications.
How it Works
Propylene glycol is a versatile USP ingredient that works in a few different ways, serving several different purposes in the medical field. Here are some of the main roles it plays:
Topical silver sulfadiazine uses propylene glycol as an inactive ingredient to increase its overall coverage. Other gels and creams contain propylene glycol for this same function.
As an inactive ingredient, propylene glycol is also the go-to ingredient for many tablets and capsules to ensure proper dosage of medication over a specific time period.
As a solvent, propylene glycol dissolves solids into structures containing the same properties as the original product, only in small enough portions for the body’s cells and tissues to readily utilize.
Bell Chem is a USP ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including propylene glycol. 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.
How Gums are Used in Personal Care Products
Gum in a personal care product? It seems contradictory – wouldn’t that solidify a free-flowing powder? However, a variety of gums are regularly added into personal care products. Learn how gums are valuable assets to skin care manufacturers and how you can benefit from one from the vast inventory of the personal care chemical supplier, Bell Chem.
Xanthan gum
In personal care products, xanthan gum reigns supreme as a multi-purpose tool. It improves the consistency of gels and serums and stabilizes oil and water combinations as an emulsifier. Because xanthan gum is extremely affordable and easy to source, many manufacturers turn to it before all other gums. Xanthan gum can be used in a wide pH range and is stable in cold- or hot-processed products. Xanthan gum works well with anionic and nonionic ingredients.
Locust bean gum
As the name describes, locust bean gum is harvested from plants and is therefore considered vegan. Added to creams, gels, and lotions for hair and skin, locust bean gum has a very good gelling capacity.
Guar gum
A thickener derived from the Cyamopsis tetragonolobus legume, guar gum hydrates in warm or cold water to produce a thick gel. Its consistency changes to stringy when used alone, but in conjunction with xanthan gum, the product becomes highly viscous. Since it does not carry a charge, guar gum can be used with ingredients of any ionic charge.
Arabic (acacia) gum
While arabic gum is not ideal as a thickener, it is an excellent stabilizer and emulsifier, interacting primarily with lipids. Its other positive attribute is the silky feel it imparts to skin products. For any products that change the skin’s color, arabic gum acts as a film that allows pigments within the foundation to adhere to the skin.
Tragacanth (trag) gum
Traditionally manufactured from the sap of plants, vegan tragacanth gum is used in shampoo, where it may promote hair growth. As an emulsifier, you often see tragacanth gum added to lotions and creams. When compared to arabic gum, only half the amount of tragacanth gum is necessary for similar results.
Bell Chem is a personal care chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including triethanolamine. 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.
Triethanolamine Uses in Skin Care Products
In case you have not noted the ingredient “triethanolamine” on labels of skin care products in the past, Bell Chem, your trusted personal care chemical supplier, wishes to give you a little background information on this fantastic ingredient and how it can positively impact many of your skin care products. As a liquid, triethanolamine is clear, colorless, and viscous. It is considered a “non-active” ingredient since it does not impact the human body; however, it significantly changes the chemistry of the other chemicals it comes into contact with.
Emulsifier
Adding triethanolamine as an ingredient allows chemical bonds to change, which means fluids not easily mixed can be thoroughly processed into one main product. Thinking of an oil and water salad dressing, adding triethanolamine causes the immiscible ingredients to mix thoroughly and homogeneously without the need for shaking the container before every use.
pH adjuster
Triethanolamine has been found to work well with acidic compounds, bringing their pH down to a level safe for sensitive skin. However, it works in the opposite direction as well, stabilizing higher pH levels to more acceptable skin care levels.
Stabilizer
Creating a creamy texture for a shaving cream or gel that lasts every time it is used is difficult unless triethanolamine is present to stabilize the mixture to ensure its shelf life is extended.
Surfactant
Triethanolamine decreases a liquid’s surface tension, giving it the ability to blend more easily with another liquid, or even a solid or gas.
Thickener
When viscous triethanolamine is added to a product, it adds body and density to the formula’s feel. This factor solidifies triethanolamine’s inclusion in hand sanitizer, sunscreen, lotions, and ear drops to provide a better consistency.
Bell Chem is a personal care chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including triethanolamine. 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.
How Creatine Monohydrate Can Up Your Supplement Game
After undertaking more than 2000 studies, creatine monohydrate has proven to be the top performance supplement for muscle endurance and body building training. Nutritional ingredient supplier Bell Chem has several facts about how creatine monohydrate can increase customer demand for your products.
Effectiveness
Creatine began almost in secret as a supplement for bodybuilders, but its effects reach far beyond muscle bulk. Athletes working on anaerobic as well as strength activities find creatine monohydrate improves their performance both on the field and at rest since it stimulates a faster recovery between workouts.
Safety
Compared to other supplements, creatine monohydrate has been shown to be harmless even after taking far more than the recommended daily dose of 3-5 grams for more than half a decade.
Non-steroidal
Creatine monohydrate is composed of amino acids: glycine, methionine, and arginine. Together these are a component of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the ultimate form of explosive muscular energy. No steroids or stimulants are added.
Vegan-friendly
Because creatine is created within the human body from animal proteins, vegetarians may not have access to this important dietary component without the aid of a supplement. Creatine monohydrate answers this need to propel these athletes to greater heights.
Hydration
The “monohydrate” portion of its name gives every molecule of amino acids a molecule of water. This small dose of hydration stimulates protein synthesis, which builds muscles. Since 95% of creatine is stored in muscle tissue, the effects of added energy to those tissues are continuous.
Overall improvements
Athletes using creatine monohydrate note increases in muscle mass, power, and fatigue resistance. As muscles increase in size, they are able to take on more challenges, such as sprinting faster, hitting harder, or lifting heavier. Creatine monohydrate allows athletes to store more glycogen for use during an event, then reduce inflammation and cellular damage after the stress of competition.
Bell Chem is a nutritional ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including creatine monohydrate. 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.
What to Look for in a Chemical Supply Company in 2023
When you look online for a chemical supply company, you will undoubtedly find hundreds – if not thousands – of companies. However, how do you know which companies are trustworthy and have stellar reputations to back their products? Bell Chem meets all your needs with exceptional products, outstanding customer service, and a solid reputation.
A Long History of Great Service
Founded over 30 years ago, Bell Chem has expanded its original inventory to encompass highly specialized ingredients, even offering custom compounds specific to your needs. Whether your growing business requires food ingredients, botanical or nutritional ingredients, personal care raw materials and compounds, industrial chemicals, water treatment chemicals, or sanitation blends perfect for citrus and food processing, Bell Chem delivers.
Top Quality Sanitation Supplies
We have partnered with Safe Chem to bring you C-sanTM custom products. With a long list of cleaners, degreasers, detergents, and chlorinators, C-san delivers the products you need with the least amount of labor necessary. Your food prep areas, factories, and citrus processing areas need this level of sanitation.
Quick Delivery Times
Headquartered in Central Florida, Bell Chem has ready access to any form of ground or air transportation to ship your order from our 50,000+ square foot warehouse as quickly as possible. Ground shipments arrive in record time in our own fleet of trucks delivering our products daily. We also partner with our suppliers to ship from their terminals, saving you valuable time and money. Our outbound freight rates are exceptionally low for ground shipments across the United States, and we can package your overseas shipment and have it to a world-class seaport within a few hours. This “just-in-time” ability to meet our customers’ needs places Bell Chem above any other supplier.
Outstanding Customer Service
Customer service drives our company, and Bell Chem assures unrivaled personalized customer service for our clients. We want to ensure you know our representatives by name, and they know you. This is more than a business transaction for us; it’s a relationship.
Effective Quality Control
Quality control is not an option for Bell Chem, it’s a way of business. With regulation by the FDA, DEA, EPA, and OSHA, you can be sure your chemicals are manufactured, packaged, and shipped correctly. D. L. Newslow and Associates, Inc.’s Food Safety Audit is conducted frequently to ensure our practices are compliant by meeting or exceeding Good Manufacturing Practices as set forth by the FDA, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point), and PRP (Prerequisite Programs).
Our mission to you: the highest quality products expedited for maximum efficiency with unrivaled personalized customer service. Because you deserve it. Give chemical supply company Bell Chem a call today at 407 339-BELL (2355) and join the family.
Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade for Humans and Other Animals
Diatomaceous earth, or DE, is an organic compound composed not of earth, but of tiny, microscopic algae plankton known as diatoms. Food ingredient supplier Bell Chem wishes to inform you about the many uses of food grade diatomaceous earth.
Diatom exoskeletons are composed of biogenic silica, and, if you are not aware, silica is a huge contributor to the earth’s exterior (approximately 26%) and is a component of clay, quartz, feldspar, and sand, to name a few. Diatom deposits are used for both food grade and industrial businesses.
The differences between industrial grade and food grade silica are quite distinct: industrial silica contains more calcined silica with impurities while food grade is uncalcined and contains less than 1% crystalline silica. In other words, it is more finely ground and much purer. Food grade also relates to any products manufactured for consumption either as a food, beverage, medicine, or cosmetic. But why would you want to consume the skeletal remains of a one-celled marine or freshwater creature?
For Humans
Studies on the effects of DE on skin are ongoing, but appear promising. As a dietary supplement, DE has been noted to purge impurities from the digestive tract (a detoxifier), and lower LDL and triglyceride cholesterol levels.
Osteoporosis causes large areas of hard bone tissue to weaken by forming large, porous areas within the bone. This seriously weakens bones, leading to fractures, pain, and, eventually, loss of mobility and even morbidity. In 30 years of studies, dietary silica such as that found in food grade DE has been deemed beneficial and possibly quite important for bone formation and ongoing rigidity.
Hair and nails rely on silicon as well. According to many ongoing studies, when silicon is ingested, it appears to reduce hair loss and increase hair’s sheen. The mineral composition of human nails is primarily silicon, and an imbalance causes brittle, broken nails. Dietary DE seems to mitigate those effects.
For Other Animals
In animal kennels and stalls, dusting with DE keeps fleas, ticks, mites, and other tiny insects from infiltrating. Insects and arachnids who ingest DE quickly die because the sharp silica edges tear through their digestive systems. However, larger animals such as chickens, dogs, and guinea pigs are unaffected once DE settles into the animals’ habitats.
For Humans and Other Animals
As an insecticide, DE is exceptional. Every insect has a hard outer casing called an exoskeleton. When DE touches insect exoskeletons, it erodes the wax covering. While this seems a minor problem, it is a huge circumstance for insects since they retain water through that hard shell. Eroding the wax causes water to easily escape, and the insect quickly dehydrates.
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 diatomaceous earth. 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.