Xanthan Gum Purpose and Processing

Written by Patrick Lakin, Director of Sales and Marketing, Admix, Inc.

Xanthan Gum is everywhere! If you are manufacturing products, in almost any industry, you may be working with it in your plant, and if you are a supplier to manufacturing plants, you may be asked to help your customers work with Xanthan Gum. But why is Xanthan Gum everywhere, and how could you better utilize it?

One of the most remarkable properties of Xanthan Gum is its ability to produce a large increase in the viscosity of a liquid by adding a very small quantity of gum.  Unlike other gums, Xanthan is very stable under a wide range of temperatures and pH levels.

Xanthan Gum is widely used as a food additive to add volume, texture, and viscosity.  It is often used as a thickening agent and stabilizer in salad dressings, sauces & dips, soups, ice creams, beverages, and other suspensions or liquid products that require an emulsifier. It’s a preferred ingredient for thickening liquids as it does not change the color or flavor of foods and beverages.  Xanthan Gum can also be found in recipes to replace gluten, fat, dairy, eggs, or soy.

Cosmetics and personal care processors, as well as agricultural chemical manufacturers, use Xanthan Gum for stabilization and binding when a gel-like quality is sought, industrial lubricants manufacturers use Xanthan Gum for rheological control and minimized friction, and Xanthan is also used in a number of applications for production of paints, adhesives, paper, textiles, etc.

Admix is very familiar with Xanthan Gum and has the experience and expertise it takes to offer solutions to the processing challenges you may face when working with this ingredient:

• Eliminate pre-hydration steps
• Decrease batch times
• Faster dispersion rates
• Eliminate agglomerates
• Increase production
• Stabilize emulsions
• Eliminate wasted ingredients
• Improve product quality & uniformity

Watch Video: Click here to see our Rotosolver high shear disperser hydrate Xanthan Gum in under 5 minutes!