CMC (carboxymethylcellulose)  

*Millions of pounds per year carboxymethylcellulose, 100 percent basis. Manufacture is from cellulose fiber (wood pulp, cotton linters) by reaction with caustic soda. This produces alkali cellulose, which then reacts with sodium monochloroacetate to yield crude CMC. CMC products are supplied in three grades: high-purity, also known as cellulose gum, 99.5 percent minimum; semipurified, 96.0 percent minimum; and technical grade or crude, 65-85 percent purity.

In 2001, Huber Chemical, Edison, N.J., acquired Noviant, the Finnish manufacturer of CMC from Industri Kapital, the Swedish investment firm that had bought Noviant four years earlier from the Finnish papermaker Metsä-Serla. Noviant’s CMC capacity is approximately 220 million pounds, distributed over three plants in Finland, Sweeden, and the Netherlands. This represents about 30 percent of world capacity.

Profile last published 8/30/99; this revision, 6/03/02.

DEMAND
2000: 71.1 million pounds; 2001: 72.8 million pounds; 2005: 77.9 million pounds, projected. Demand equals production plus imports (2000: 55.4 million pounds; 2001: 53.9 million pounds) less exports (2000: 12.1 million pounds; 2001: 12.5 million pounds).

GROWTH
Historical (1996 - 2001): 2.6 percent per year; future: 1.7 percent per year through 2005.

PRICE
Historical (1996 - 2001): High, $0.75 list, tech. grade, t.l. bgs., f.o.b. works; low, $0.65, same basis. Current: $0.75, same basis. Purified grade, $2.60, same basis.

USES
Foods and beverages, 23 percent; oil field drilling fluids, 22 percent; personal care products, including drugs and cosmetics, 11 percent, paper processing aids, 11 percent; detergents (soil anti-redeposition agent), 6 percent; textile warp-sizing aid, 3 percent; miscellaneous, including thickener and binder uses in adhesives, latex paints and polishes, 24 percent.

STRENGTH
Approximately 16.0 million pounds of purified CMC were used in foods and beverages last year. The major uses here were in frozen dairy foods, dry pet foods, dough products (particularly tortillas) and diet soft drinks. CMC performs as a moisture retention aid and viscosifier in dry products, increases shelf life in frozen products by retarding ice crystallization, and thickens liquid or semi-solid foods. The use of CMC will continue to grow with new "engineered" food products and with the increasing demand for healthier and lower-fat products and for microwave-compatible additives. CMC in this sector is forecasted to grow at 3.5 percent annually.

WEAKNESS
Approximately 16.7 million pounds of CMC were used last year as a viscosifier in drilling muds. These fluids cool and lubricate the rotary drill bit, suspend and carry the cuttings to the surface, and act as a sealant on the walls of the borehole. CMC consumption in oil field applications has generally followed drilling rig activity, which rises as oil and natural gas prices increase. CMC’s use in drilling fluids, however, is limited by temperature - CMC can become ineffective at the high temperatures that occur in deep drilling. Since the mid 1990s, U.S. drilling activity has shifted from the more shallow oil and gas formations that have largely been exploited to significantly deeper formations. This deeper drilling occurs in hotter formations, reducing the opportunities for CMC to be used at the lower depths. Products competing with CMC in drilling fluid formulations include polyacrylamides and sulfonated maleic anhydride, as high-temperature fluid-loss control agents. There have also been advances in the development of synthetic oil-based drilling fluids. Consequently, zero growth in this segment for CMC is projected through 2005.

OUTLOOK
In year 2000, imports increased 40 percent over the previous several years’ average, and held at this level for 2001. About half of this product originated in Finland and the Netherlands, indicating that Noviant (Huber Chemical) has acquired a significant share of the US market and will continue to be a major player. Growth of CMC demand has slowed from 2.6 percent over the past five years, to a projected 1.7 percent annual growth through 2005. This primarily due to softened demand in oil field uses, detergents and textiles. CMC is consumed in many smaller diverse applications (adhesives, paints, polishes, welding rods, ceramics, and water treatment) which provide a degree of stability on the demand side of the market.