Alginic acid

Alginic acid (CAS 9005-32-7), also known commercially as Kelacid and approved as E400, is a natural polysaccharide extracted from brown seaweed.

Where is Alginic acid used?

• Food: thickener and stabilizer in salad dressings, desserts and bakery fillings, controlling viscosity and water retention
• Pharmaceuticals: binder and disintegrant in tablet formulations
• Topical preparations and antacids: viscosity modifier
• Textile printing: print paste thickener for reactive dyes, resisting dye interaction for clean color definition
• Paper manufacturing: improves surface sizing and coating uniformity, affecting print quality and sheet strength
• It functions as a thickener, gelling agent and stabilizer in industrial manufacturing processes.

Good to know: Food-grade (FCC compliant) and pharmaceutical-grade (USP/BP) specifications are standard; technical grade is for textile and industrial applications where pharmaceutical compliance is not required.

Commercial specifications

• Varying particle size distributions