Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum is used as a thickener, stabiliser and suspending agent. It goes into water-based household and industrial cleaners, paints and pigment slurries, agrochemical suspension concentrates, textile and carpet printing pastes and water-based drilling fluids, and into food, personal care and pharmaceutical formulations where an FCC / E 415 grade is specified. Its solutions are pseudoplastic — viscosity falls under shear and recovers at rest — which is the mechanism formulators rely on to hold pigments, fillers and actives in suspension. Behaviour and use level depend on the formulation; set both against your own trials, not a published rule of thumb.

Xanthan gum carries CAS number 11138-66-2 and is classified under HSN code 3913 90 90. The grade on our published sheet is Xanthan Gum (200 Mesh) — food or industrial grade — and the technical data sheet for it is document SPC-TDS-PWD-036.

Yes. E 415 is the EU food-additive number for xanthan gum and INS 415 is the same code in the Codex international numbering system, so "additive 415" and "XG" both refer to the same material, CAS 11138-66-2. Buyers also search under mill trade names; those denote a producer's own grade of the same polysaccharide, not a different chemical. The additive number identifies the substance, not the grade of a given lot — where the application is a food one, state the FCC / E 415 requirement on enquiry so it can be confirmed against the producing mill's Certificate of Analysis.

Xanthan gum is sold by grind and by end use — 200 mesh fine grind, food grade to FCC / E 415 (INS 415), industrial or technical grade, and oil-drilling grade. Our published sheet covers the 200 mesh grade, food or industrial; any other grade has to be confirmed on enquiry. 200 mesh describes the grind — the powder passes a 200 mesh screen, a 75 micron aperture — and the specification also states 99% minimum through 80 mesh (180 µm). Published commercial 200 mesh grades guarantee 92% minimum through 200 mesh, so treat 95% minimum as an order-specific tightening that must be confirmed on the producing mill's Certificate of Analysis before order, not as the standard 200 mesh grade.

The practical difference is behaviour in solution. Xanthan gum hydrates completely in water, cold or hot, and gives a pseudoplastic, shear-thinning solution: viscosity drops while pumping or spraying and recovers at rest, which is what keeps solids suspended. Guar gum and CMC are the alternatives buyers usually compare it against, and each behaves differently with pH, salt and shear, so the choice is settled by trial in your own formulation rather than by a viscosity figure on a sheet. For comparison, the 200 mesh specification states 1200–1700 cps measured as a 1% solution in 1% KCl, with pH 6.0–8.0 determined separately on a 1% aqueous solution; the lot values come from the mill's Certificate of Analysis. A viscosity quoted in 1% KCl is not comparable with one measured in deionised water — state the basis on the enquiry and check it on the COA.

Disperse the powder before it hydrates. Xanthan gum is completely soluble in water cold or hot, and it hydrates fast enough that dumped powder skins over into lumps. It is insoluble but dispersible in alcohol, so wetting it in a non-solvent — or dry-blending it with other solids before adding water — is the standard way to avoid them. Store the balance sealed in a cool, dry, clean, well-ventilated area — the powder hydrates and cakes on exposure to moisture — and avoid raising dust clouds while charging, because suspended xanthan powder is a combustible dust (dust explosion class St1): control ignition sources and earth handling equipment. Read the SDS before handling.

We supply xanthan gum from our Redhills, Chennai warehouse with dispatch across South India. It is an imported item supplied against confirmed order — the producing mill is confirmed per consignment and each lot is supplied against that mill's Certificate of Analysis — so confirm the current stock position on enquiry. Standard packing is 25 kg multiwall kraft paper bags, palletised on request, with 25 kg fibre drums and lined cartons also listed; shelf life is 24 months from date of manufacture in intact original packaging. The material is not classified as hazardous under GHS and is not regulated for transport under ADR, IMDG or IATA — no UN number is assigned — though combustible dust precautions still apply in handling. Order sizes depend on packaging and current stock — call or WhatsApp +91 86087 80096 for a quote and the current stock position.