Blending Carbopol for hand gel application in first pass

Customer brief

A personal care products manufacturer was experiencing significant challenges in dispersing and hydrating Carbopol® 940—a common thickener used in gels, hand sanitizers, lotions, and similar formulations. Carbopol must be thoroughly wetted and activated in water, but the conventional batch process was not achieving this consistently.

Without proper hydration:

• Powder tended to clump and sink to the bottom of the mixing tank
• Batches required additional Carbopol to reach target viscosity
• Extended mixing time was needed, often adding up to 3 hours per batch

The customer’s goal was to reduce batch time, improve product consistency, and eliminate raw material waste due to incomplete dispersion.