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Cement-based tile adhesives are bonding agents used to bond tiles to various substrates. Cellulose ethers are an essential ingredient in the formulation of tile adhesives. Whether it is a basic tile adhesive or a high-quality tile adhesive, cellulose ethers play a vital role.
Functional characteristics.

1. Water addition

The amount of water added to a tile adhesive is the amount of water that is added to the dry tile adhesive in order to achieve the defined application requirements. In laboratory tests, the amount of water added is adjusted by testing the viscosity of the freshly mixed mortar. Different cellulose ethers give different water requirements for the mortar.
Slip resistance
All modified cellulose ethers provide some basic slip resistance to tile adhesives and highly modified cellulose ethers can significantly improve the slip resistance of tile adhesives.

2. Drying time

Water evaporation and hardening of the fresh mortar leads to crusting, which results in a lack of effective wet adhesion of the tiles. The time between the application of fresh mortar and crusting is defined as the drying time. Modified cellulose ethers can significantly delay crusting and thus increase the effective wet adhesion area of the tiles.

3. Adjusting time and water retention

Tile adhesives usually already have a water retention rate of more than 98%, so the water retention rate cannot be used to characterise the quality of the tile adhesive. Adjustment time has been introduced as an alternative method of characterising water retention. Cellulose ethers have a very high water shrinkage capacity. As long as water is present in the mortar system, the cement in the tile adhesive continues to hydrate to produce mineral crystals. This is the basis for the bond strength produced by cement-based tile adhesives. Secondly, the water retention capacity also greatly reduces the formation of cracks and makes the mortar easy to work with. Water retention is positively related to the viscosity of the cellulose ether and the amount added.

4. High temperature resistance

The viscosity of cellulose ether is temperature dependent, when the cellulose ether solution is heated. Its viscosity will gradually decrease until it reaches a certain temperature when it suddenly loses its viscosity. This process is reversible, and when the temperature drops, the solution will regain its viscosity. The high temperature resistance is characterised by the amount of viscosity loss during the heating process, which means that the water retention of the cellulose ether is reduced and the adjustment time is shortened.
Landcel has many years of experience in the development of dosing and viscosity ratios for cellulose ethers used in tile adhesives. We produce cellulose ethers with good water retention and high slip resistance. Our products are sold worldwide and we welcome your enquiries!

Click here: Landcel cellulose ether products