Speciality Chemicals Magazine NOV / DEC 2026 | Page 33

o---------------------------------------- 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Global use( million tonnes / year, estimated)

Figure 2 – Global volume & gross margin by surfactant end market

brand capture more of the retail price than raw ingredient cost in that market( Figure 2). For an ingredient supplier, that gradient, combined with favourable regulatory pressure, gave personal care the greatest economic headroom for a differentiated functional ingredient and the strongest initial market for commercial demonstration.

Today, both Furasoft-SF and Furasoft-LFS are being used in personal care with demonstrable commercial outcomes. The base fatty acid furan resembles non-ionic and amphoteric surfactants and that has translated into real improvements across personal care products.

Furasoft-SF shows exceptional versatility, functioning in rinse-off applications as a foam and rheology modifier and in leave-on applications as a structurant improving oil dispersion and emulsion stability, in addition to improving sensory properties in a zinc oxide sunscreen. 6 Furasoft-LFS has shown dense, stable foam, together with hard- and cold-water tolerance in rinse-off applications. The same cycle of confirming manufacturing viability, measuring platform properties, screening with application experts

and refining at the formulation level underpins Sironix ' s next markets.

Outlook

The value of the fatty acid furan platform lies less in any single derivative than in a development model built around scale, process compatibility and natural application fit. Sironix’ s approach has been to identify a class of ingredients exceptionally suited to commercial production, use molecular structure and measured properties to define where the chemistry adds value, then use application data and formulation expertise to select the best market entry points.

Fatty acid furans are now being evaluated for use in home care, industrial cleaning and agricultural applications, where properties such as hard water tolerance, cold water solubility and low irritation address

References: 1: D. S. Park, K. E. Joseph, M. Koehle, C. Krumm et al., ACS Cent. Sci., 2016, 2( 11), 820 – 824. https:// doi. org / 10.1021 / acscentsci. 6b00208 2: Y. Ji, J. Pan, P. J. Dauenhauer & R. J. Gorte, Appl. Catal. A Gen., 2019, 577, 107 – 112. https:// doi. org / 10.1016 / j. apcata. 2019.03.012 3: G. Sartori & R. Maggi, Chem. Rev., 2006, 106( 3), 1077 – 1104. https:// doi. org / 10.1021 / cr040695c

4: M. Bejblová, D. Procházková & J. Čejka, ChemSusChem, 2009, 2( 6), 486 – 499. https:// doi. org / 10.1002 / cssc. 200900007 5: US Environmental Protection Agency( EPA), Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 1997 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award— BHC Company. 6: E. Murphy, S. C. Eady, A. Garcia & C. Krumm, Personal Care, 2026, 27( 8), 31 – 36. 7: S. C. Eady, M. Gokani, S. Conrad, T. Robison, M. Cruz & C. Krumm, J. Cosmet. Sci., 2025, 76( 1), 56 – 70. persistent formulation challenges ailing those industries for decades.

The derivatives best suited to those markets may differ from those used for personal care, which is precisely the rationale for developing a chemical platform rather than a single-purpose molecule. Each new market is a fresh test of the same platform logic: allowing manufacturability and molecular properties, rather than a predetermined end use, to guide where the chemistry goes next. ●

*- Also contributing to this article was Christoph Krumm, CEO and co-founder of Sironix Renewables

**- Furasoft is a trademark of Sironix Renewables, either active or pending registration.

J j

Shawn Eady

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

SIRONIX RENEWABLES shawn @ sironix. eco www. sironix. eco

8: California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment( OEHHA), Proposition 65 List of Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity: 1,4-Dioxane; N-Nitrosodiethanolamine. 9: Regulation( EC) No 1223 / 2009 on Cosmetic Products, Annex III, Entry 60— Fatty Acid Dialkylamides and Dialkanolamides. 10: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation( DEC), 1,4-Dioxane Limits for Household Cleansing, Personal Care and Cosmetic Products, ECL § 35-0105.

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