Seeking Novel Ingredients for Superior Grease Removal

• A Technology
• A Material

To enable a detergent manufacturer to produce superior grease removal performance from aqueous based liquid cleaning products providing significant benefits over current materials used in the Household and Institutional sectors. Benefits should be instrumentally measurable and observable to the consumer.

The removal of greasy or oily stains for surfaces and fabrics remains a key need for both industrial and household cleaning markets.

Classical cleaning solutions rely on non-ionic surfactants such as alcohol ethoxylates and their blends for the majority of grease removing properties. These systems are effective, however limits can be reached as to how much can be incorporated into the formulation both in terms of stability/solubility issues but also cost.

As such a need has arisen to provide significantly improved grease removal using materials or technologies not typically exploited in this market.

Technologies or materials are required to formulate into an aqueous based cleaning product. The benefit may be delivered by a complete reformulation or through addition of actives to current non-ionic bases. Critically there must be data or sound theoretical reasoning as to why suggested systems will be better than classical ones. Technology proposals must work at high dilution levels (less than 1g per litre).

• Technologies which contain non-ionic and cationic surfactant blends.
• Hydrophobic Hydrotropic polymers

• Alcohol Ethoxylates
• Anionic surfactants
• Enzymes
• Classical Solvents

Ideally materials will be immediately available. Product development is expected to be 6-12 months.

• Compatible with typical product packaging and storage.
• Not require storage or handling under special or inert conditions, e.g. under nitrogen or under oil.
• Cost appropriate for consumer products (when incorporated at the required level). As examples, this means maximum £20/kg (GBP) (€23/kg or $32/kg) for an ingredient incorporated at 1-5%, and maximum £250/kg (GBP) (€285/kg or $400/kg) for an ingredient incorporated at <0.1%.
• Technologies must be capable of withstanding any process stresses e.g. temperature without chemical degradation or any adverse effects.
• Technology must not reduce the existing quality of the user’s experience e.g. poor smell etc.
• Able to be incorporated into current products using simple batch mixing at room temperature and atmospheric pressure with minimal heating/cooling and no or minimal changes required to current clean-down processes.
• Not be harmful for human use (not classified or suspected to be a toxin, carcinogen, mutagen, irritating to the human respiratory system) with respect to the concentrations used in the final product. Not harmful to the environment (including not being a photo-reactive volatile organic compound).
• Ideally offer scope for patent protection with the desired application and format.
• Not negatively affecting the efficacy or aesthetics of the final product.
• Ingredients should be Reach supported.

Ideally materials will be immediately available for in-house testing.

• Business Type: FMCG
• Annual Revenue: Billions
• Years of Business: >100
• Location: Global, with offices in UK