Povidone PVP K30
Povidone is the excipient that dissolves in almost everything — water, ethanol, isopropanol, chlorinated solvents. That unusual dual solubility is why one polymer can serve as an aqueous granulation binder, an alcoholic binder and a solid-dispersion carrier without changing product.
Chelora Chemicals supplies povidone K30 to pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and personal-care manufacturers worldwide, in compendial grades, with a batch COA, GHS safety data sheet and the regulatory statements your QA file needs.
Product identity
- CAS Number
- 9003-39-8
- Compendial name
- Povidone / Povidonum
- Monomer unit
- 1-Vinyl-2-pyrrolidone
- K-value
- 27.0 – 32.4
- EC / EINECS
- 201-800-4
- Food additive number
- E1201
- Pharmacopoeias
- USP-NF · Ph. Eur. · JP · IP · BP
- HS Code
- 3905 99*
* Confirm the exact HS heading with your customs broker — vinyl polymers can sit under a different subheading depending on the destination tariff schedule and the declared end use.
What Povidone K30 is used for
Povidone is a white to creamy-white, hygroscopic, free-flowing powder — a linear homopolymer of 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone. The pyrrolidone ring on every repeat unit is what does the work: it hydrogen-bonds to water, to solvents and to drug molecules, which is why a single polymer can bind granules, hold an amorphous drug out of crystallisation and stabilise a suspension.
Its dominant pharmaceutical use is as a wet-granulation binder at 2–5%, added either dry to the powder bed or dissolved in the granulating liquid. Beyond that it is specified as a solubility enhancer and crystallisation inhibitor in solid dispersions, as a film former in coatings and personal care, and as the carrier in povidone-iodine antiseptic complexes.
Where it sits among binders
- Povidone K30 (this product) soluble in water and alcohols; strong granules that still compress well.
- Copovidone the vinyl acetate copolymer; less hygroscopic, softer granules, often preferred for roller compaction.
- HPMC a cellulose ether binder and the standard for film coating and sustained release. See that page.
- Crospovidone the crosslinked, insoluble form — a superdisintegrant, not a binder, and not interchangeable with this product.
Most granulation formulations settle on povidone or HPMC and then tune the grade — see the full excipient range.
Appearance and handling character
The material is strongly hygroscopic and will pick up several percent moisture from humid air within hours of a drum being left open. It is freely soluble in water, ethanol, isopropanol and several chlorinated solvents, and it is not classified as a hazardous substance. The practical handling questions are moisture control, static on transfer, and peroxide content if your active is oxidation sensitive.
| Parameter | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Appearance | White to creamy-white free-flowing powder |
| K-value | 27.0 – 32.4 |
| Loss on drying | 5.0% max |
| pH (5% w/v solution) | 3.0 – 5.0 |
| Nitrogen content | 11.5 – 12.8% |
| Sulphated ash | 0.1% max |
| Aldehydes (as acetaldehyde) | 500 ppm max |
| Peroxides (as H₂O₂) | 400 ppm max |
| Free N-vinylpyrrolidone | 10 ppm max |
| Hydrazine | 1 ppm max |
Important: the figures above are indicative of compendial-grade material and are offered for planning only. The batch certificate of analysis is the governing document. K-value and peroxide content are the figures that most affect performance — tell us your target and we will quote against it.
| Grade | K-value / typical role |
|---|---|
| PVP K12 | 10.2 – 13.8 · fast-dissolving, low viscosity |
| PVP K17 | 15.3 – 18.4 · injectable and low-viscosity work |
| PVP K25 | 22.5 – 27.0 · lighter granulation binder |
| PVP K30 | 27.0 – 32.4 · the standard binder |
| PVP K90 | 81.0 – 97.2 · film strength, viscosity, solid dispersions |
K-value is measured as a relative viscosity and converted by the Fikentscher equation. It is a proxy for molecular weight, not a direct measurement of it.
Where our customers put this excipient to work
One polymer, a long list of jobs — which is exactly why it turns up in so many formulations at once.
Wet granulation binder
The classic application at 2–5%, giving granules strong enough to survive handling but still plastic enough to compress well.
- Aqueous or alcoholic granulating liquid
- Pairs with MCC PH-101
- Blend trials supported
Solubility enhancement
Used as the polymer carrier in amorphous solid dispersions, holding poorly soluble actives out of their crystalline form.
- Spray-dried dispersion and hot-melt routes
- Low-peroxide grade usually specified
- Technical desk review of your route
Film forming & coating
Forms clear, hard, adherent films from water or alcohol, used in coating systems and as a film former in personal care.
- Clear film from aqueous or alcoholic systems
- Pairs with HPMC in coating blends
- Cosmetic grade available
Povidone-iodine complexes
The polymer carrier that makes iodine water-soluble and tolerable on skin, used across antiseptic solutions and scrubs.
- Antiseptic manufacture
- Specification on request
- Bulk quantities available
Suspensions & liquid dosage
Acts as a protective colloid and suspension stabiliser, keeping dispersed solids from settling and caking in the bottle.
- Oral suspension formulation
- Viscosity data on request
- Lower K grades often preferred
Nutraceutical & food use
Permitted as E1201 in supplement tablets and as a clarifying and stabilising agent in beverage processing.
- Food-grade specification available
- Halal, kosher and vegan statements
- Non-GMO declaration on request
How we supply Povidone K30
Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and sourcing partner, not a manufacturer. On a polymer excipient, owning no plant means we are never pushing you a K-grade because it is the one we happen to make — we route your order to the producer whose K-value consistency and peroxide control actually match your formulation.
We place your order with whichever qualified producer best matches your grade, your compendial requirement, your price point and your delivery window.
We keep a second qualified source on this line. Excipient changes are a regulatory event, so we would rather you qualify the alternate in advance than scramble when a plant goes down.
- K-value consistency checked batch to batch. A K-value that drifts inside the monograph range still moves your granulation end point — we look at the trend, not just the limit.
- Peroxide content flagged up front. If your API is oxidation sensitive we say so at enquiry stage and source against a tighter limit than the monograph.
- Compendial coverage confirmed first. USP-NF, Ph. Eur., JP or IP — we establish which monographs your filing cites before the quote, not after.
- Full regulatory statement pack. BSE/TSE, GMO, allergen, residual solvent, elemental impurity and nitrosamine risk statements with the consignment.
- Moisture-protective packing as standard. This is a hygroscopic polymer; the liner and the seal are part of the specification, not packaging detail.
- Change notification taken seriously. If a source plant changes anything that touches your filing, you hear about it from us first.
Packed the way your plant receives it
On a hygroscopic polymer the pack is a moisture barrier before it is a container. Tell us how the material will be charged at your end and we will quote the format that suits your operation.
Fibre drums, double-lined
Double PE liner inside a fibre drum — the standard pharmaceutical format and the one that actually keeps moisture out in transit.
Aluminium-foil laminate bags
Foil-laminate sacks for humid destinations and long sea legs, where a simple PE liner is not enough of a barrier.
Jumbo bags (FIBC)
Lined, discharge-spout FIBCs for high-volume users with bulk-bag handling and a controlled-humidity charging area.
Trial / sample quantities
Small sealed packs dispatched so your formulation team can run granulation trials before committing to a grade.
Incoterms to suit you
Quoted on the Incoterm your purchasing team works to, with export documentation filed before the booking is made.
Campaign despatch
We hold contracted tonnage and release it against your production calendar — worth doing on a hygroscopic material you do not want sitting in store.
Moisture is the controlling variable
Povidone is not classified as hazardous and has a very long record of safe use in medicine and food. What it does demand is moisture discipline — and, where the active is oxidation sensitive, attention to peroxide content. The summary below is orientation only — the safety data sheet supplied with your consignment is the authoritative document.
Hazard position
GHSNot classified as a hazardous substance or mixture.DUSTNuisance dust; may cause mechanical irritation to eyes and the respiratory tract.HYGROStrongly hygroscopic — keep sealed and protect from humid air.ATEXOrganic powder — combustible dust precautions apply in enclosed handling.
Povidone's unclassified status does not remove the need for a dust assessment. Any fine organic polymer handled in an enclosed space has a combustible-dust dimension, and your process-safety team should treat it as such. Always read the SDS issued with your specific batch.
Practical handling notes
- Re-seal the liner the moment you finish charging. This is the single most common cause of an out-of-specification LOD result on povidone.
- Watch peroxide on stored material. Peroxide content can rise slowly in storage; if your API is oxidation sensitive, re-test rather than assume.
- Bond and earth transfer equipment. The powder charges readily on pneumatic conveying.
- Dissolve with the right order of addition. Povidone lumps if dumped into water; sift it onto a vortex or pre-wet with alcohol.
- Clean up by vacuum. Dry sweeping re-suspends a very light powder across the room.
Storage
- Cool, dry, tightly closed, protected from light. Humidity control in the store is worth more on this product than on any other common excipient.
- Keep the liner intact. A damaged liner is a batch risk rather than a cosmetic issue — povidone will reach equilibrium with the warehouse atmosphere within days.
- Keep off the floor and away from external walls. Condensation against a cold wall reaches the drum before it reaches the room.
- Segregate from oxidising agents. Standard practice, and relevant given the peroxide question.
- Shelf life typically 36 months. In sealed original packing. Re-test LOD and peroxide before use after extended storage.
Handling & PPE
- Standard GMP powder handling. Local exhaust at tipping points, gloves, safety glasses and a dust mask where airborne powder is generated.
- Static control on transfer. Earthed equipment and conductive liners where the material is conveyed pneumatically.
- Control the granulating liquid, not just the powder. Povidone solution viscosity drifts with concentration and temperature; make it fresh and use it within the shift.
- Dedicated scoops and containers. Cross-contamination control matters more here than personal protection.
- Dispose of as ordinary non-hazardous waste. Subject to your local waste classification.
Transport
Povidone K30 is not a regulated dangerous good and ships as general cargo by road, sea and air. We issue the commercial and compendial documentation with every consignment — ask us for the full document pack when you plan the shipment.
What travels with every consignment
On an excipient the documentation is half the product. A grade that performs perfectly and arrives without the right statements is still a batch your QA cannot release.
Certificate of Analysis
Batch-specific K-value, LOD, pH, nitrogen content, peroxides, aldehydes, residual monomer and hydrazine against the monographs you cite.
GHS Safety Data Sheet
Full 16-section SDS in GHS format, issued in the language your destination requires, confirming the unclassified status in writing.
Residual monomer & hydrazine data
Free N-vinylpyrrolidone and hydrazine results reported per batch — the two tests that most often decide acceptance on a polymer excipient.
Elemental impurities & residual solvents
ICH Q3D elemental impurity data and residual solvent statements on request, with a nitrosamine risk assessment statement where your filing needs one.
BSE/TSE, GMO, halal & kosher
Synthetic polymer with no animal-derived material at any stage; certification and allergen statements supplied with the consignment.
Retained & pre-shipment samples
Pre-shipment samples carry the same COA as the commercial lot, so what your laboratory qualifies is exactly what arrives.
A pyrrolidone ring on every repeat unit
Povidone's versatility comes from a polymer backbone that is hydrophobic enough to like solvents and a side ring that is polar enough to like water. The steps below are the general industrial pattern, not a process disclosure.
Make gamma-butyrolactone
The classical route builds the four-carbon lactone that forms the backbone of the pyrrolidone ring.
Aminate to 2-pyrrolidone
Reaction with ammonia converts the lactone to the five-membered nitrogen heterocycle.
Vinylate to N-vinylpyrrolidone
Addition of a vinyl group gives the polymerisable monomer, which is then purified to a low residual level.
Polymerise to the target K-value
Free-radical polymerisation in water builds chain length, and the stopping point is what sets K30 apart from K90.
Why K-value and peroxide carry through the whole formulation
Two drums of K30 can both meet the monograph and still behave differently in your granulator:
- K-value sets granulating-liquid viscosity. Material at 27 and material at 32 need different liquid volumes to reach the same end point — inside spec, but not interchangeable on an automated line.
- Peroxides attack oxidation-sensitive actives. The monograph limit of 400 ppm is generous for a sensitive API; specify tighter and verify per batch.
- Moisture changes everything downstream. A hygroscopic binder that arrived at 2% and sits at 6% has changed your effective binder concentration before you started.
- Residual monomer is a safety specification, not a performance one. It will not change your tablet, but it will decide whether QA releases the batch.
That is why we look at K-value trend across batches rather than just the limit, and why the batch COA is shared for approval before dispatch rather than sent with the invoice.
| Material | Role |
|---|---|
| Povidone K30 CAS 9003-39-8 — this product | Soluble binder, solubiliser |
| Povidone K90 CAS 9003-39-8 | High viscosity, film strength |
| Crospovidone Crosslinked, insoluble | Superdisintegrant |
| Copovidone CAS 25086-89-9 | Less hygroscopic binder |
We supply across the excipient range — see the full excipient range. Send your formulation and we will confirm the grades before quoting.
What actually moves the price of this product
Knowing what drives the quote helps you time a purchase and read whether an offer is realistic.
Monomer availability
N-vinylpyrrolidone is made by a small number of producers worldwide, so monomer supply, not polymerisation capacity, is usually the constraint.
- A narrow upstream supply base
- Monomer outages move the whole chain
- We flag feedstock-driven moves in the quote
Purity specification
Low-peroxide and low-residual-monomer grades cost more because they need extra purification, not because of branding.
- Specify tighter limits only where needed
- We will say when the monograph limit will do
- Over-specification is the commonest cost leak
Moisture-barrier packing
Foil-laminate packing costs more than a simple liner, and on a humid destination it is the difference between usable and off-spec material.
- Specify the pack for the destination climate
- Compare on landed, usable cost
- We quote FOB, CIF, CFR or DDP as you prefer
K-grade demand split
Plants run campaigns by K-grade, so the lead time on K30 depends on where you catch the production cycle.
- Ask us where the campaign calendar sits
- Contracted call-off smooths the exposure
- We hold inventory on K30 specifically
Source qualification lead time
Changing povidone source is a regulatory event, so the real cost of a supply gap is the requalification, not the spot price.
- We hold a second qualified source on this line
- Qualify the alternate before you need it
- Ask us about dual-source contracts
Antiseptic & personal-care demand
Povidone-iodine and personal-care demand compete for the same polymer and can tighten pharmaceutical availability without warning.
- Ask us what adjacent demand is doing
- Long-term contracts lock in supply
- We track the upstream monomer market
| If your process is… | Specify |
|---|---|
| Wet granulation binder | K30, 2–5% of formulation weight |
| Oxidation-sensitive API | K30, low-peroxide specification |
| Amorphous solid dispersion | K30 or K90, low-peroxide, low-moisture |
| Fast-dissolving / injectable work | K12 or K17 |
| Film strength or viscosity | K90 |
| Tablet disintegration | Crospovidone — not this product |
Not sure which row you are in? Describe your granulator, your API and your current binder level and our technical desk will recommend the grade — including telling you when the grade you already buy is the right one.
Support that goes beyond shipping the drum
What our technical desk will do
- Ask about your API's oxidation sensitivity first. It is the question that decides whether the monograph peroxide limit is adequate for you, and it comes up before pricing.
- Confirm which pharmacopoeias you cite. Multi-compendial material costs more, and there is no point paying for tests your filing does not reference.
- Check you want povidone, not crospovidone. The names are a letter apart and the functions are opposite — we would rather confirm than ship the wrong one.
- Get you the statement pack early. Residual monomer, hydrazine, BSE/TSE and elemental impurity statements arrive with the sample, not after the order.
Regulatory & compliance notes
- Excipient change control is yours to manage. Tell us which products this feeds and we will treat source changes as notifiable rather than routine.
- Compendial monographs differ in detail. USP-NF, Ph. Eur., JP and IP are close but not identical; we confirm coverage rather than assuming harmonisation.
- GMP expectations vary by market. IPEC-style excipient GMP documentation is available where your market expects it.
- Food and pharma grades are not interchangeable. If the same material serves both, the specification should be written to the stricter of the two.
None of the above is legal advice — your own regulatory affairs team owns the final compliance position for your import and your filing. What we commit to is accurate product identity data, correctly matched grades and complete documentation to work from.
From enquiry to delivered pallet
Send the specification
K-grade, any tighter peroxide or monomer limit, the pharmacopoeias you cite, quantity, pack preference and destination port.
Receive a firm quote
Pricing, lead time, packing and Incoterm confirmed in writing within 24 hours — our sourcing desk is staffed around the clock.
Qualify and approve
Sample dispatched with the full statement pack for your granulation trials. Batch COA shared for approval before release.
Ship and track
Freight booked, export documents issued, and the consignment tracked through transit and clearance to your plant.
What buyers ask us about Povidone K30
What is povidone K30 used for?
What does the K-value actually mean?
How is K30 different from K90 or K12?
Why are peroxide and aldehyde limits on the COA?
Is it hygroscopic?
Is it compliant with pharmacopoeial monographs?
What is the minimum order quantity?
How should we store it?
Do you manufacture this yourself?
Request pricing on Povidone PVP K30
Send your K-grade, any tighter peroxide or monomer limits, the pharmacopoeias you cite, quantity, pack format and destination port. Our sourcing desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and comes back with pricing, lead time and packing options.