GUAR GUM - A Versatile Water Soluble Polymer as a Stabiliser & Thickener

Guar Gum is extracted from Guar seeds or beans which grow mainly in the arid and semi-arid zones in Rajasthan, Haryana and parts of Gujarat in India. About 75% of India’s Guar seed crop is rain-dependent and about 25% has access to limited irrigation. Guar farming in these States is normally mixed cropping with other crops like Bajra in rain-dependent areas and Cotton, Sesame etc. in irrigated areas. Guar is an annual Kharif crop, sown in June/July and harvested in Oct/Nov.

Guar is a bush that grows to about 4 ~ 5 feet high and planted annually during June ~ July and harvested in October ~ November.

?Guar is a drought resistance crop and a soil nitrogen fixer. Therefore, for rain dependent farmers in the arid and semi-arid zones of India, it is an “insurance” crop against drought years and also a soil improver.

Briefly, the manufacturing process involves the first step of extracting the crude gum in the form of Guar Gum Splits from Guar Seeds or Beans and then the finishing stage of converting the Splits to finished Guar Gum Powder or Guar Derivatives having varying properties depending on the end application of the Guar Gum Powder.

?The by product from manufacturing Guar Gum is Guarmeal, which is rich in proteins and a very valuable cattle feed, sold to farmers, dairies, compound feed manufacturers and also exported from India.

India’s annual average requirement of Guar Seeds is about 1,250,000 metric tonnes. Average yield per hectare in India is 450 kgs. Therefore about 2,800,000 hectares come under Guar cultivation every year during the Kharif (Monsoon) season.

India annually supplies approximately 85% of the global demand (4,10,000 metric tonnes) for Guar Gum by way of about 3,50,000 metric tonnes. The balance 15% is fulfilled by Pakistan.

?Guar Gum is a natural water-soluble galactomannan polysaccharide under the hydrocolloids family and is used in several applications like Oil & Gas fracking, Food, Pet Food, Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, Paper, Textiles, Mining etc.