Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH/PVA) performance hinges on the grade you select and its base chemistry. Selvol™ PVOH 325 from SEKISUI Specialty Chemicals is a fully hydrolyzed, medium-viscosity grade built for applications demanding strength and water resistance.

We offer it as standard Selvol PVOH 325 and as high-purity Selvol E PVOH 325. Part of the globally trusted Selvol PVOH product line, it’s one of our sturdiest grades.

Learn more about Selvol PVOH, grades engineered with your real-world needs in mind.

Selvol PVOH 325: Key Characteristics

SEKISUI produces Selvol PVOH 325 at 98.40 mol% hydrolysis, plus or minus 0.40. This fully hydrolyzed backbone drives its performance profile:

  • High tensile strength
  • Ease of film formation
  • Excellent adhesion to cellulosic substrates (e.g., paper, wood)
  • Resistance to grease, petroleum hydrocarbons, animal and vegetable oils and organic solvents

On viscosity, Selvol PVOH 325 runs at 30.00 cP, plus or minus 2.00, in a 4% aqueous solution at 20°C. It’s in the medium-viscosity tier, between low-viscosity grades built for fast dissolution and high-viscosity grades built for heavy film build.

Additional Specifications

Use these related aspects of Selvol PVOH 325 to help determine whether it’s right for your formulation:

  • 4% solution pH: 6.00, plus or minus 1.00
  • Total volatiles: 5.00 wt% maximum
  • Ash (as sodium oxide): 1.20 wt% maximum
  • Methanol: 0.90 wt% maximum

 Available Forms

Selvol PVOH 325’s chemistry is available in several formats to match various handling and processing scenarios:

  • Selvol PVOH 325, the primary white to off-white granular solid
  • Selvol E PVOH 325, a Selvol E PVOH grade manufactured exclusively in Tarragona, Spain
  • Selvol PVOH 325LA, a lower-ash variant (0.60 wt% maximum versus 1.20 wt% for standard 325) at matching hydrolysis and viscosity (for applications sensitive to residual ionic content)
  • Selvol PVOH 09-325 solution, a predissolved format at roughly 8.5% solids, for when you want to skip dissolution

Fully hydrolyzed Selvol PVOH 325 lends itself to a variety of applications. These seven are where you’ll find it most useful.

Review the Selvol PVOH product line, or request samples.

1. Wood, Paper and Solid-Fiber Adhesives

Selvol PVOH 325 acts as a main adhesive component where bond strength and water resistance are important. 

Adhesives for solid-fiber laminating, tube winding and wood assembly must build strength fast and hold up against moisture. A formulation that softens or delaminates under humidity costs you rework and returns.

The full hydrolysis in Selvol PVOH 325 gives a dried film high tensile strength and strong adhesion to cellulosic substrates. You can tailor wet tack, set speed, viscosity and penetration within the grade’s working range. The predissolved 09-325 solution is available for speedier processing.

Common End Uses

Among the wood, paper and solid-fiber application, here’s where you’ll find Selvol PVOH 325:

  • Solid fiber laminating
  • Corrugated and honeycomb board bonding
  • Tube, core and composite can winding
  • Wood veneer, plywood and edge-banding adhesives
  • Furniture assembly adhesives

Read more about Selvol PVOH for adhesive applications.

2. Barrier Coatings for Silicone-Coated Release Liners

Selvol PVOH 325 is a fundamental grade for barrier coating and release-liner applications, producing predictable holdout and clean release.

Silicone-coated release liners and other packaging base papers need low porosity and strong solvent and water resistance. Without those aspects, the release coating absorbs into the sheet instead of curing on the surface, and holdout fails.

Selvol PVOH 325 is one of our recommended grades for silicone-coated release base paper, alongside 125, 310 and 107. All four share a hydrolysis and viscosity profile suited to reducing sheet porosity and improving water and solvent holdout. They dry to a transparent film that’s inert to silicone cure catalysts.

Common End Uses

Selvol PVOH 325 appears in these high-demand silicone-release base paper products:

  • Glassine release liners
  • Super-calendered kraft (SCK) liners
  • Pressure-sensitive label release liners
  • Pressure-sensitive tape backing
  • Medical and hygiene product release liners (e.g., bandage and adhesive dressing backing)
  • High-speed labeling stock (film transparency supports photocell detection; tensile strength resists web breaks)

Learn more about Selvol PVOH for films and packaging.

 

3. Surface Sizing and PIgment Coating

Selvol PVOH 325 serves broad paper surface treatment roles beyond release liners.

Paper substrates for packaging and specialty printing need surface strength and print quality without slowing the coating line. You also need a binder that holds up in demanding coating applications like inkjet and thermal media.

Surface sizing, pigment coating and thermal paper are among Selvol PVOH 325’s integral paper applications. Its full hydrolysis and medium viscosity support consistent coat weights at the size press.

Common End Uses

As you fine-tune your paper product, Selvol PVOH 325 lends strength and protection to these items:

  • Surface sizing at the size press
  • Pigment coating formulations
  • Inkjet coating binder for silica-pigment systems
  • Thermal paper topcoats

Learn more about Selvol PVOH for paper applications.

 4. Oil and Grease Resistance for Food-Grade Paper and Packaging

Selvol PVOH 325 delivers proven oil and grease resistance (OGR). This role puts it to work in food industry applications.

Food-service and specialty packaging papers need dependable resistance to oil, grease and moisture. This is key when you need both product freshness and print quality. Starch systems or the wrong binder chemistry often can’t hit tighter OGR specifications independently.

As a continuous film, PVOH is a total barrier to oil, grease and most organic solvents. However, add-on levels on paper are typically too low to achieve true barrier performance on their own. 

Selvol PVOH 325 is a high-efficiency carrier for specialized OGR additives, ranging from traditional fluorochemicals to modern bio-based barrier systems. Because PVOH improves surface holdout and additive distribution, it optimizes active ingredient performance in a formulation. It also helps you achieve target 3M Kit Ratings at a lower cost per ton.

Common End Uses

Selvol PVOH 325 supports OGR performance in these food industry and packaging contexts:

  • Food-service wrappers and sandwich papers treated for active grease resistance
  • Surface-sized paperboard (e.g., bakery boxes, takeout packaging, food trays)
  • High-holdout specialty packaging, such as pet food bags and multiwall liners

Note. Consult the SEKISUI Technical Service Team for the FDA status of any Selvol PVOH grade you need for food-contact applications. Learn about our Environmental, Health and Safety stance.

Read more about Selvol PVOH for oil and grease resistance in paper applications.

 5. Textile Auxiliary: Yarn Sizing, Finishing and Nonwovens

Selvol PVOH 325 supports both pre-weaving sizing and downstream finishing operations on cellulosic fibers. That’s where its adhesion profile matches fiber chemistry.

Cotton and rayon yarns need a protective sizing film that survives high-speed weaving abrasion. It then must desize cleanly without leaving residue that interferes with dyeing. 

Once woven, finished fabrics need surface treatments that add stiffness or structure without degrading handfeel. Nonwoven fabric production needs a binder that holds fibers together through the web-forming process.

Cotton yarn sizing and spun/rayon yarn sizing are central textile applications for Selvol PVOH 325. Cotton and rayon are both cellulosic fibers, so the grade’s substrate adhesion carries into sizing performance at the slasher. 

That same film-forming strength extends downstream into fabric-finishing treatments and nonwoven fiber bonding.

 Common End Uses

Here’s where you’ll find Selvol PVOH 325 valuable in the textile industry, from the loom to the finishing line:

  • Cotton yarn warp sizing for woven fabrics like denim, sheeting and toweling
  • Rayon and spun yarn sizing for apparel and lining fabrics
  • Cotton/rayon blended yarn sizing
  • High-speed beaming and slashing operations
  • Fabric stiffening and handfeel-building treatments for cellulosic fabrics
  • Starch-replacement finishing on cotton and rayon woven goods
  • Wet-laid and air-laid nonwoven binder systems for industrial and technical textiles (e.g., wipes, interlinings, batting)

Learn more about Selvol PVOH for textiles.

6. Ceramics, PVB and Other Specialty Binder Uses

Ceramics, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayers and water-soluble film all rely on the same requirement. They need a temporary binder or film-former that holds materials together through processing, then washes off or burns out completely.

In ceramic processing, Selvol PVOH functions as a temporary binder and viscosity modifier, particularly in spray-drying and dry-pressing sequences. It offers high green strength to hold a ceramic body together before firing, then burns out with no sulfur residue.

If you need to move past dissolution, the Selvol PVOH 09-325 solution offers the same benefits as a ready-to-use binder.

Common End Uses

When you’re tailoring your specialty binder, Selvol PVOH 325 performs well in these items:

Learn more about Selvol PVOH for ceramics.

 7. Leather Finishing and Processing Intermediate Roles

Selvol PVOH 325 extends into two more specialized categories. Both are grounded in the same fully hydrolyzed chemistry driving its adhesive, paper and textile performance:

In leather finishing, hydrolyzed PVOH acts as an emulsion stabilizer for water-based nitrocellulose lacquer topcoats. It maintains longer emulsion stability and resists the separation that limits topcoat shelf life. 

As a processing intermediate, full hydrolysis gives Selvol PVOH 325 the hydroxyl content that acetalization reactions demand. This makes it a suitable feedstock for PVB production (covered earlier).

Common End Uses

Selvol PVOH 325 can be the differentiator that strengthens these niche applications:

  • Film-forming topcoat modifier for wet-rub resistance in leather-finishing lacquers
  • Feedstock for PVB and other acetalization reactions

Note. If you’re formulating a leather finishing or processing-intermediate application, confirm parameters with our Technical Service Team.

Read more about Selvol PVOH for specialty applications.

Contact SEKISUI To Try Selvol PVOH 325

Selvol PVOH 325 is the workhorse of the Selvol PVOH line. It adds resilience to adhesives, release liners, food-grade packaging, textiles and specialty binders. We’re happy to walk you through what you might use it for, whether you’re a weaver, packaging manufacturer or food industry specialist.

Contact SEKISUI for more information, and request Selvol PVOH samples.

[Slim callout box] Reach out to our Technical Service Team for dedicated customer services. They’ll help you select the right grade if Selvol PVOH 325 isn’t the right fit for your formula.

More Resources

Find safety data sheets (SDS) and technical data sheets/technical specs (TDS):