SURFACTANTS
Sustainable surfactants for the industrial market
Andy Richards and John Adamson of Lankem introduce BioLoops
Figure 1 – Formation of BioLoop surfactants
The surfactant market is moving towards products with greener credentials . Evonik has estimated that the market for these renewable surfactants is around $ 5.5 billion in 2022 . Renewable surfactants can be split into two main types :
• Biobased surfactants , which are generally manufactured using plantbased materials , like , sunflower , rapeseed etc ., but are still made by chemical processes
• Biosurfactants , which are made from 100 % natural surface-active materials and are formed by biological synthesis , like fermentation The European Commission on Standardisation ( CEN ) has further categorised biobased surfactants by their renewable carbon content : wholly biobased (> 95 %), majority biobased ( 50-94 % 0 , minority biobased ( 5-49 %) and non-biobased (< 5 %). Lankem is active in surfactants , especially for applications that fall within the industrial markets . The coatings industry is a particularly important market , where the company makes coatings additives , including dispersing agents , defoamers and humectants , plus emulsifiers for emulsion polymerisation .
For several years , we have been exploring the concept of engineering new surfactants using novel biobased technologies . Sustainable products from renewable sources have been around for many years , but the majority have limited functionality in terms of performance compared to synthetic types . Our remit was to develop a range of biobased products that offer comparable performance against synthetic products across many applications .
The next generation
Lankem ’ s new range of BioLoop bio-based surfactants contains components that are from renewable sources . Unlike many biobased surfactants , these products offer excellent surfactant properties and are ideal for green alternatives to conventional , synthetic nonionics , such as alcohol ethoxylates . BioLoops have two soybeanhydrophobic sections that link together to form an ether by reacting with polyethylene glycol derived from molasses and producing the hydrophilic loop ( Figure 1 ). Unlike palm-based surfactants , BioLoops contain soybean oil , with further developments underway to produce products on a wider range of sustainable vegetable oils . Their key features are being a biobased , biodegradable , 100 % renewable and ultra-mild , green alternative to alcohol ethoxylates , while having no skin or eye irritancy , low ecotoxicity and good detergency . The normal grade of BioLoop surfactants is aimed at standard industrial-based processes in which clarity in an aqueous medium is not necessary . The PG versions – P stands for ‘ purified grades ’ are aimed at industries in which clarity in aqueous media is essential , i . e ., cosmetics , personal care and household products .
Mildness studies
An in vitro test was successfully adapted from the widely used ET50 method using human reconstructed skin models . Formulations are applied to the skin model surface for defined time points , followed by the determination of any damage to the skin cells , using an indicator of intracellular metabolism . Test results express the ET50 value - the time taken for viability to drop to 50 % of the untreated control . The results ( Figure 2 ) indicate that the BioLoops , in this instance BioLoop 84L , gave a result that showed extreme mildness . •
Lankem
Figure 2 – Mildness testing on BioLoop 84L k + 44 161 513 4125 J sales . enquiry @ lankem . com j www . lankem . com
40 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981