News
Disinfecting Your Commercial Kitchen
Most businesses are familiar with cleaning products and utilize specialized cleaners for ovens, silverware, and linens. However, COVID-19 has placed emphasis on products not specifically found in every cleaner: namely, sanitizers and disinfectants. Bell Chem, your sanitation ingredient supplier, wants to share this important information with you so you can ensure your business – large or small – operates with the ultimate level of disinfection.
It is first vitally important to recognize the distinct difference between a sanitizer and a disinfectant. Many people use these terms interchangeably, but they are significantly different, especially in the wake of COVID-19. Take a look at any sanitizer’s label and you will note it claims to “reduce the number of germs/pathogens/bacteria.” The claims will vary depending on the product’s use. A disinfectant is a whole new level of health safety because it actually kills bacteria/pathogens/germs when used properly. Although the cost is greater for a disinfectant, the level of safety is vitally important.
When considering disinfectants, you will find three disinfectant classifications containing seven total categories.
General disinfectant: This nonspecific disinfectant is great for all surfaces and does not target a specific pathogen. Most businesses and industries rely on general disinfectants.
Chlorine compounds remove all traces of body fluids, and are ideal for bathrooms, kitchens, or dining areas.
Alcohols dry rapidly and are often used on electronic equipment, such as touch screens or keyboards.
Phenolic compounds often destroy more than pathogens, as they mar surfaces and equipment upon application. They are excellent at controlling mycobacterium tuberculosis, viruses, and fungi when used properly.
Hydrogen peroxide is often paired with peracetic acid, which is an effective disinfectant, but highly reactive.
Limited disinfectant: Some industries find their disinfecting needs focus solely on one group of microorganisms.
Aldehydes are often used to stop the spread of bacteria that cause tuberculosis.
Hospital-grade disinfectant: Healthcare-acquired bacterial pathogens require a disinfectant to keep patients, healthcare workers, and staff as healthy as possible.
Quaternary ammonium compounds are highly effective and can be combined with detergents to clean and disinfect simultaneously.
Chlorine compounds such as Bell Chem’s sodium hypochlorite 10-12%, are broad-spectrum disinfectants that remove dried microorganisms and biofilms from surfaces.
Iodophors are not commonly used any longer because they stain, but they are highly effective.
Always ensure the disinfectant you choose is the correct product for the task. Disinfectant labels will give information on the pathogens they target, known as the “kill claim,” as well as proper usage and disposal. Also remember that disinfectants work best on a clean surface. Therefore, areas should be cleaned before disinfecting begins.
Bell Chem is a sanitation ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including CSANTM sanitation products. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Utilizing Phosphoric Acid
Phosphoric acid is a colorless, odorless, viscous, non-volatile liquid also known as H3PO4, orthophosphoric acid, or phosphoric (V) acid, that finds uses in many industries. Bell Chem carries several strengths of phosphoric acid to suit your industry’s needs, whether it is cleaning, pharmaceutical, food, and beverage, or agriculture.
Agriculture
Between 80% and 90% of all phosphoric acid produced eventually becomes fertilizer. Most commercial fertilizers are a combination of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium (NPK). Phosphorous is also added in cattle, pig, and poultry feed for flavor.
Cleaner
Phosphoric acid degreases, de-grimes, and removes mineral deposits and hard water stains. Detergents often contain phosphoric acid to treat water and metals since phosphoric acid adheres to metals, flocculating them so they sink to the base of the container. Phosphoric acid is also an oxidizer, ideal for cleaning. Phosphoric acid reacts with rust to discolor ferric oxide into ferric phosphate, a simple-to-remove black compound.
Food and Beverage
As a food additive, phosphoric acid regulates the pH of processed meats and cheeses, cereal bars, and jams and jellies. Beverages find phosphoric acid an excellent acidulant to stave off the growth of bacteria and fungi. Many companies also add phosphoric acid to drinks as a flavor enhancer.
Fuel Cells
Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs) were the first generation of marketable fuel cells. Phosphoric acid was used as PAFCs’ electrolyte to catalyze the reaction.
Health and Beauty
Phosphoric acid combines quickly with metals to form phosphoric acid salts. These salts act as buffers to control the pH of skincare and cosmetic products. When many products are stored for an extended period, they may become overly acidic or basic. Phosphoric acid buffers prevent this, thereby lengthening the product’s shelf life.
Pharmaceutical
Phosphoric acid’s use as an etching solution in dentistry is renowned. When patients have their teeth cleaned, phosphoric acid is the chemical of choice and is often an ingredient in toothpaste, mouthwash, and teeth whiteners. Many anti-nausea medicines also contain phosphoric acid, which delays the stomach’s smooth muscle contractions, thereby relieving emesis.
Bell Chem is based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including phosphoric acid. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Uses of Heptane
Heptane, or C7H16, is a colorless, liquid, alkane hydrocarbon known primarily as a derivative of crude oils. Most people associate heptane with gasoline since it is a component in its manufacture and gives off an odor often associated with gasoline. Water treatment chemical supplier Bell Chem recognizes that heptane’s low density, low toxicity, low boiling point, slow evaporation rate, and insolubility in water strengthens its application in many industries.
Anesthetics
When inhaled as a general anesthetic, heptane has the ability to numb pain receptors in nerve cells, which stops the sensation of pain. Heptane also induces short-term unconsciousness in patients.
Gasoline
Heptane plays a critical role in the creation of gasoline. In fact, the octane rating of gasoline is due to heptane. Heptane is a hydrocarbon and combusts readily, releasing energy in the form of heat. High-octane fuel can be compressed more fully before igniting than low-octane fuel. At a 0% octane rating, heptane combusts much too quickly and is a poor ingredient in gasoline, but fantastic as a standard on how gasoline should combust.
Ink manufacturing
Heptane suspends the dye in printer ink, stamp pad ink, and other types of ink, which provides a smooth and glossy finish that lasts long after the stamp dries and the news is printed.
Laboratory
In a commercial or school lab, heptane acts as a reagent and non-polar solvent. It also proves a catalyst for organic synthesis. Heptane is a solvent in the lab as well since it behaves like a noble gas by not readily associating with other molecules. Lab professionals often rely on heptane to dissolve substances that refuse to dissolve in water.
Oil Extraction
Extracting oil from olives or corn is expensive using a machine press. A chemical extraction that uses heptane is both efficient and cost-effective.
Bell Chem is a water treatment chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products such as heptane stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Hand Sanitizers
In today’s extremely complicated world, many items we have taken for granted are suddenly in short supply. One of these items is hand sanitizer. Your personal care raw material supplier Bell Chem wishes to spotlight ingredients necessary to manufacture hand sanitizer so your company can meet the needs of our ever-changing world.
99% Isopropyl Alcohol
Renowned for its ability to disinfect and clean, 99% isopropyl alcohol is recognized as one of the purest forms of alcohol available for commercial use. In hand sanitizer, 99% isopropyl alcohol is the primary component with most hand sanitizers consisting of 2/3 isopropyl alcohol by volume. It effectively kills most bacteria and viruses within 60 seconds of use.
Glycerin 99.7%
Although glycerin is an inactive ingredient in hand sanitizer, it plays an extremely important role by keeping the alcohol in hand sanitizer from immediately evaporating when it is applied. Because of the excessively high number of hydrogen bonds between the molecules, glycerin ensures hand sanitizer remains on the skin’s surface for 30–60 seconds, the amount of time it takes for isopropyl alcohol to kill germs and bacteria.
Aloe Vera Gel
Dousing your hands with 99% isopropyl alcohol leaves hands feeling dry and chapped. When aloe vera gel is added to hand sanitizer, the isopropyl alcohol will evaporate after 30–60 seconds, but the aloe vera gel remains to soothe irritated skin and keep it feeling soft.
Hydrogen Peroxide 35%
Hydrogen peroxide disinfects your disinfectant. In other words, even if all equipment used in the production of hand sanitizer meets every quality guideline, germs may infiltrate at some point along the line. Hydrogen peroxide added to the production of hand sanitizer physically kills the bacteria that can accidentally enter bottles of sanitizer. Within 72 hours, any introduced bacteria are eradicated with the addition of hydrogen peroxide.
Bell Chem is a personal care raw material supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in its 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including a vast amount of ingredients and chemicals to keep your work areas as clean and sanitized as possible. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Industrial Uses of Sodium Acetate
Sodium acetate, CH3COONa, is a sodium salt of acetic acid. Often called acetic acid, sodium acetate anhydrous, or sodium salt, this odorless, white granular powder has plenty of far-ranging uses throughout industries. For this reason, industrial chemical supplier Bell Chem keeps plenty on hand to satisfy customer demand.
Cleaning
Impurities such as stains, rust, or scale on metal surfaces quickly vanish when with cleaning sodium acetate.
Concrete
Hygroscopic sodium acetate seeps into the crevices on the surface of concrete, sealing it against the elements. Water damage is the scourge of the construction industry’s concrete usage, and the ability to seal concrete against water saves time and money.
Food and Beverage
Sodium acetate has long been the seasoning that gives potato chips that pungent salt and vinegar flavor. Because it is an acid, the addition of sodium acetate during food production can lower or stabilize a product’s pH. Another positive trait of its acidity is the negative reaction of bacterial growth in the presence of sodium acetate. It is, therefore, a great preservative. The beneficial preservation properties of sodium acetate are also dominant in pickling foods. Similar to general food use, pickling uses sodium acetate to enhance flavors and preserve foods, but in much larger quantities.
Laboratory
The growth of bacteria often requires a source of carbon. Sodium acetate fills that role while also catalyzing ethanol precipitation yield when isolating DNA. Sodium acetate is commonly used as a reagent in molecular biology as well as biochemistry.
Medical
An intravenous transfusion of sodium acetate is recommended for electrolyte replenishment. This occurs frequently with patients undergoing dialysis. Hyponatremic patients are often given sodium acetate to stabilize falling sodium levels. Reusable heating pads and hand warmers rely on a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate and water surrounding a metal disc.
Textile
Aniline dyes, derived from coal tar extracts, are often paired with sodium acetate during the textile dyeing process. Sodium acetate also acts as a photoresist, or light-sensitive material, that stimulates patterned coating in photoengraving and photolithography.
Bell Chem is an industrial chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products such as sodium acetate stocked in its 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Vegetable Glycerin
Vegetable glycerine (C3H5(OH)3) is an incredibly versatile ingredient that fills a role in almost every industry. Food ingredient supplier Bell Chem stocks this clear, sweet-tasting, odorless, and viscous liquid for industries ranging from foods and beverages to dynamite and biodiesel.
With a name derived from the Greek word glukeros (sweet), it is no wonder vegetable glycerin is often added to items we consume. But where does this important ingredient originate? Vegetable glycerin’s main components include coconut, palm, and soybean oil. When any of these oils are heated with a strong base, such as lye, the glycerin breaks its bonds with the fatty acids forming triglycerides. Vegetable fat then mixes with water to form glycerin. And a water-soluble vegetable fat has hundreds of clever uses. Take a look at some of the industries vegetable glycerin is utilized in:
Cosmetics
The creamy feel of lotions, makeup, and deodorants is often because vegetable glycerin is an ingredient.
Foods and Beverages
Ice cream left too long in the freezer forms ice crystals. Add glycerol while processing frozen foods and your foods will last longer. Vegetable glycerin acts as a humectant, solvent, sweetener, and thickener to canned foods, bakery goods, processed fruits, and energy bars.
Health and Wellness
Glycerin is touted as being a moisturizer for overly dry skin. It also is said to give skin more resiliency. For skin, glycerin has been proven to soothe irritation and is often applied to the skin to protect against natural elements, such as wind and bitter cold, as an aid in wound healing and discomfort, and as a barrier against topical microbial infection.
Industrial
When partnered with sulfuric acid and nitric acid, glycerin becomes nitroglycerin, the liquid portion of dynamite. On a lighter note, candles and soaps also contain vegetable glycerin.
Pharmaceuticals
Vegetable glycerin is often an ingredient in stool softeners and other constipation aids since it eases the passage of foods through the digestive system. Added to cough syrups, the viscous fluid coats irritated passages with a sweet flavor. In toothpaste, vegetable glycerin prevents toothpaste from hardening inside the container and has been approved by the FDA as an anti-cavity drug.
Bell Chem is a food and ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in its 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Dextrose in the Food Industry
Most of the dextrose commonly manufactured today is hydrolyzed from corn and wheat starches, or the cellulose of woody plants. These high-energy products are refined into the dextrose we recognize in thousands of food and beverage brands worldwide. Your food ingredient supplier, Bell Chem, highlights some of dextrose’s major roles in the food industry.
The main role of dextrose is to provide energy to the body’s cells. In this respect, it is added to nutritional supplements and infant formulas to stimulate the metabolic process of cells. Many supplements that address the body’s peak energy demands contain dextrose to provide an almost immediate burst of energy.
Though dextrose is a sweetener, it adds a flavor other than sweet to products. Dextrose provides a cool, fruity flavor to confectionary goods. It is often noted that a food’s aroma is enhanced by dextrose as well.
Yeast utilizes dextrose for their metabolic functions, so adding dextrose to bakery products will increase yeast activity in a shorter amount of time; hence, breads rise higher and doughnuts are fluffier. In the beer and wine industry, dextrose’s ability to feed yeast accelerates the rate of fermentation.
Dextrose has an increased osmotic pressure compared to other sweeteners, which lengthens the shelf life of products when it is an ingredient.
Processed meats are often cured with nitrate and salt. These products are not always evenly distributed, leaving areas of pungent, overly salty meat. Adding dextrose diffuses the salt more evenly and improves the overall quality of flavor and color.
Over-the-counter dextrose tablets or gel supplements given to diabetic patients quickly compensate for low blood sugar levels. Intravenous drips are frequently dextrose-based to sustain normal body functions while patients are unable to ingest food or their health situations prevent them from eating.
Bell Chem is a food ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products such as dextrose stocked in its 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Using Hydrogen Peroxide
The hydrogen peroxide present in a traditional household’s medicine cabinet has amazing industrial-strength abilities. Bell Chem’s customers find it is a must-have for wastewater treatment, pools, and lakes, and has strong disinfecting properties in food and beverage, hospital, and laboratory settings. Read more to discover how hydrogen peroxide from your water treatment chemical supplier, Bell Chem, can contribute to the success of your business.
Environmental Control
Coupled with iron (II) sulfate, hydrogen peroxide forms the well-known Fenton’s reagent. Fenton’s treats industrial waste from drinking water, wastewater, soils, filamentous bulk, et cetera.
Biological Treatment Systems
Organisms that synthesize wastes during metabolic activity keep ponds and wastewater treatment plants healthy. When these organisms lack oxygen (excess biological oxygen demand, or BOD), the delicate balance can plunge water into a murky, unhealthy state. Hydrogen peroxide quickly addresses this issue with a burst of oxygen to feed bacteria and nematodes as they decompose the waste in wastewater and other aquatic environments. An unhealthy water system often reeks of pungent waste, so a bonus of hydrogen peroxide is the control of hydrogen sulfide release and other noxious gaseous odors.
Gas Scrubbing
Odor control on an industrial scale is a necessity, and hydrogen peroxide is recognized as the chemical of choice for oil refineries, solid waste landfills, paper manufacturing, and chemical processing.
Cooling Water Systems
Cooling loops, process water loops, and heat exchangers rapidly collect slime and organic matter. Hydrogen peroxide removes biological contaminants leaving clean, safe machinery.
Wastewater Treatment
Pretreating wastewater with hydrogen peroxide reduces BOD as well as chemical oxygen demand (COD) before water is refined. The result is fewer overall harsh chemicals to successfully treat water. A particular issue with wastewater treatment is the reduction of sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, thiosulfate, and mercaptans. Hydrogen sulfide quickly and inexpensively negates these compounds.
Heavy Metal Flocculant
Ferrous iron and other metals present in industrial processes and wastewater are dangerous. Hydrogen peroxide binds these metals so the larger particulate matter is more easily filtered.
Food and Beverage
Hydrogen peroxide is recognized as aseptic and, as such, is often used to sterilize machinery and prepping areas for packaging foods. Natural foods, such as sugars, oils, and waxes, add hydrogen peroxide to safely whiten their final products.
Bell Chem is a water treatment chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in its 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Industry Uses of Caustic Soda
It seems contradictory that a highly toxic, crystalline, alkaline chemical such as sodium hydroxide (also known as caustic soda and lye) is a main ingredient in traditional hand soaps. Such is the case with caustic soda, or NaOH. This strong, odorless, water-soluble, inorganic compound has industrial uses from textiles to foods and beverages. Read below to find how industrial chemical supplier Bell Chem’s pure caustic soda can benefit your industry.
Alumina
During the Bayer process of production, caustic soda catalyzes the refining of bauxite to the product alumina, which eventually becomes aluminum. Also, strong bases will ultimately destroy aluminum, so during any etching, caustic soda erodes specific areas. Likewise, caustic soda transforms a polished aluminum surface to a satin-smooth finish.
Biodiesel
Anhydrous caustic soda catalyzes the transesterification of methanol and triglycerides.
Cement
The plasticity of cement mix brought about by caustic soda homogenizes the ingredients and decreases the amount of water necessary to spread the product.
Chemical Intermediary
As a strong base, varying strengths of caustic soda easily regulate many chemicals and their reactions.
Cleaning
When caustic soda is added to water and heated, it is a powerful cleaner for process equipment and storage tanks. Glass and stainless steel soaked in caustic soda clean much more rapidly. Many oven cleaners contain caustic soda as an ingredient.
Detergents and Soaps
Cold process soap-making (saponification) was a traditional use of caustic soda. The product, lye soap, is still created today in small markets. Its ability to destroy proteins, fats, oils, and grease give caustic soda a leading role in removing stains from hands as well as industrial textiles.
Foods and Beverages
Fruits and vegetables are cleaned and chemically peeled with caustic soda. Other uses include the processing of cocoa and its products, scalding poultry, increasing ice cream viscosity, and soft drink processing. Caustic soda softens olives and, in contrast, is used in the glaze of pretzels and hard rolls to make them crisp and shiny.
Paper and Pulp
An astonishing 25% of all caustic soda manufactured around the world is utilized in the paper industry. Caustic soda alters plant tissues, such as the separation of lignin from cellulose in the kraft process of paper manufacture. As pulp is purified, the second role of caustic soda is noted: it bleaches the resulting brown pulp into the white slurry that we recognize as paper.
Petroleum Refineries
Caustic soda increases alkalinity and viscosity in bentonite mud systems as it neutralizes acidic gases that rise from the earth with drilling.
Water Treatment
Increasing the pH in water supplies protects plumbing from corrosion and reduces the amount of dissolved toxic metals. Caustic soda also takes on this role of pH adjuster in water treatment systems.
Bell Chem is your industrial chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products, such as caustic soda, stocked in its 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.
Bell Chem: Your Simple Source
Founded in 1992, Bell Chem is proud to be your simple source for all of your chemical needs. Offering a diverse line of food, pharmaceutical, and personal care raw materials, we offer personalized service and are positioned to be your supplier on a local, national, and international level.
Quality
When a company offers ingredients that interact with humans — whether those products are in the form of detergents to clean granaries or processing equipment or ingredients for facial cream — they have to be extremely safe. Bell Chem inspects all products from the manufacturer as they enter stock to maintain integrity, as well as offering quality documentation for all products whether they are food grade, reagent grade, or designated for nutritional, personal care, or pharmaceutical use.
Quality products extend beyond those that directly interact with humans, though. Bell Chem’s extensive line of sanitation, technical grade chemicals, and water treatment chemicals are pure, hardworking chemicals that fit a vast array of needs and industries.
How can all these varied ingredients and chemicals be safely transported, handled, and packaged? The answer is in the form of quality control. Every chemical and ingredient passes quality inspections and document control that ensure your product is the same from one shipment to the next.
Bell Chem is registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its food ingredient storage; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for its pharmaceutical ingredients, which must also meet United States Pharmacopeia standards; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure its chemicals are properly stored as well as distributed and disposed of properly; and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to verify workers have adequate personal protective equipment, chemicals are handled properly, and the workplace is safe.
Bell Chem is based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.