Guar Gum Powder

Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan. It is primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans. The guar seeds are dehusked, milled and screened to obtain guar gum. It is typically produced as a free-flowing, pale, off-white-colored, coarse to fine ground powder.

Pakistan, Sudan, USA and India contribute to 80% of total guar production in the world. Moreover,  Rajasthan contributes to over 65% of Guar production in India ,and is majorily exported to USA and European countries. Guar is grown in semi-arid climate and contains a protein and natural polymer. The protein along with the husk is used as animal feed and the natural polymer is used as a thickener to viscosify water.

This property of viscosifying water is used to modify products in various industries such as:

• Food products (Low viscosity increase) (Low quality guar)
• Mining Industry
• Agricultural Industry
• Industrial applications (Very high viscosity increase)( High quality guar)

ndia’s much neglected and little-known guar gum is now the biggest agricultural item of export, upstaging the much better known items  such as basmati and non-basmati rice. Guar’s major uses are in the area of textile, printing, thickeners, oil and gas well drilling and fracturing, water-based paints, building and construction, cosmetics, personal care and food ingredients.

Guar Gum is derived from endosperm of the guar plant (Cyamopsistetragonolobus). Guar is a legume crop which grows best in sandy soils and needs moderate, intermittent rainfall with a lot of sunshine.

Guar gum is a natural high molecular weight polysaccharide galactomannan, with a mannose to galactose ratio of 2:1, combined through glycosidic linkages.

KEY PROPERTIES:

• Easy solubility in both cold and hot water
• Stable in solutions over a wide range of pH values from 2 – 10
• Film forming property
• Resistance to oils, grease and solvent
• Better thickening agent
• Water binding capacity
• High viscosity
• Functions at low temperatures
• Compatible with many other hydrocolloids used in food formulations
• It is versatilite because of a number of free hydroxy groups that can make derivatives for different applications.

The traditional market for guar gum is as an additive in the food industry. In the US, differing percentages are set for its allowable concentration in various food applications. In Europe, guar gum has EU food additive code E412.

Today, the usage and Exports of Guar Gum are in majority cases in Industrial Applications.

Sri Ram Industries has witnessed a healthy growth in guar gum export. We have gained high momentum since 2011-12 due to the large increase of the crop in the various global industries

The primary destination of Indian guar gum has been USA, China and Germany followed by 11 other countries which include South Africa, UAE, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Hong Kong and Japan.

Guar splits of any quality can be chemically modified to increase its performance (also called valued addition). This derivatized Guar is normally used for industrial applications such as:

• Oilfield Applications
• Cosmetics & Personal Care
• Paint Industry
• Textile Industry
• Construction

In recent times, there has been a significant increase in demand for the guar (natural and derivatized) in the oilfield business. This is primarily due to an increase in Hydraulic Fracturing (HF) activity which has been growing year on year.

The export performance of guar gum over the years is highlighted in green in the chart below, along with the projection for 2012-13 and 2013-14 highlighted in orange: