Europe, the United States, Japan and other industrially developed countries have a long history of producing and applying cellulose ethers, with advanced production technology and leading the development of cellulose ether applications. The technical indicators of some products of major domestic enterprises have reached the standards of similar products of internationally renowned enterprises, but there is still a certain gap between the research and development technology level and the international advanced level.
At present, the mainstream production processes of cellulose ethers include gas phase method and liquid phase method. Well-known enterprises in developed countries mostly use gas phase production process, while domestic enterprises mostly use liquid phase production process. The gas phase method has the advantages of short reaction time, large production capacity, no use of solvents, low cost and energy consumption, but the adjustability and flexibility of the production line are poorer than the liquid phase method; the reaction uniformity, adjustability and flexibility of the liquid phase method are better than the gas phase method, but the cost and energy consumption are relatively high.