Guar Gum is extracted from Guar Beans and has several invaluable properties including thickening and stabilizing. This has many applications in industries like food, textile, mining, etc. It is also known for its shear viscosity property.
India has the highest production of Guar-Gum and it tops on the export list as well. This article describes the applications of Guar Gum Powder, the extent of its use and how several countries like Mexico & South Africa benefit from it.
What is Guar-Gum-Powder?
The source of Guar-Gum Powder is Guar. These are annual plants that grow in almost all-weather conditions (Seasons). Guar grows in many parts of the world, including India, Pakistan, Australia, USA, South Africa, etc. However, India accounts for over 80% production of Guar. South Africa also benefits from exports of Guar-Gum.
It has several useful properties like excellent thickening property, it is an emulsifier, binding agent, gelling agent and stabilizer as well. It has several applications, for example, it has applications in the food industry, textile, paper, pharmaceutical industry, etc.
Some Exciting Culinary Uses of the Guar Gum
Main Applications of Guar Gum Powder
Guar-gum powder has several applications in many different industries like food, pharmaceutical, paper, mining, tobacco, textile, printing, oil industries. It has a numerable valuable property that has made it so popular. It has properties like high viscosity, binding & thickening, stabilizing & suspension, improves shelf life as a preservative.
Guar-Gum is vital to the oil industry in more ways than one. Here is a short list of oil field applications to explain this better:
- It is useful for oil well fracturing, oil well stimulation, mud drilling.
- There are several applications as it is a natural, fast hydrating dispersible.
- It is also useful as a surfactant, synthetic polymer and deformer.
- Comes handy for use as a water-based and brine-based drilling fluid.
- An important drilling aid in oil well drilling, geological drilling and water drilling.
- Useful to maintain drilling mud viscosities, which in turn enable drilling fluids to remove drill waste from deep holes.
- Reduces friction in the drilling holes, hence minimising power requirements.
- It is useful to minimise water loss in case where there is a broken geological formation.
Here is a short list of popular applications:
- Bakery products, meat products, beverages, dressings, etc.
- Water retention agent.
- Flocculant in the mining industry
- Binder
- Printing processes and finishing agents.
- Water treatment
- Cosmetics industry
- Oil well drilling
- Explosives
Important statistics and facts
It is in high demand worldwide and its importance is expected to rise further. Here are some important statistics of this market:
- In a period 2016 to 2017, India exported 4,23,285 MT of Guar-Gum Powder which had a net worth of $467.9 Million.
- Size of this global market was $525.3 Million in 2017.
- Size of this global market expected to rise to $1,115.8 Million by 2022.
- Major consumption is the Oil & Gas industry with over 70%, followed second by food industry at 20%.
- The oil and gas industry are a driving force behind the increasing demand for Guar-Gum Powder.
Mexico is one of the largest oils produces in the world. In fact, the oil industry is vital for its economy since it is a major contributor. There is also a high demand for this in the oil industries in Mexico and it benefits from exports of other countries.
Thus, since the demand of Guar Gum powder is on the rise and countries like South Africa, where special small-scale projects are now benefiting from it. This has increased the income of the farmers, employed many people and improved the spirit of the farmers there.