In contrast, consumer complaints logged on the Cascade website relate mostly to traditional powders and gels. Industry players say the effectiveness—and price—divide between first- and second-tier products has widened in the postphosphate era.
In the past, any detergent with enough STPP would perform pretty well, says a cleaning products formulation expert who asked not to be named for fear of alienating clients. ADW gels, which grew in popularity with U. Now, with phosphates gone as well, performance is suffering. Dee sees a better future for enzyme-based gels, which can host surfactants, polymers, and organic chelants to enhance performance. In addition to phosphonates, chemical companies are promoting a host of other ingredients aimed at helping detergent manufacturers bridge the phosphate gap.
Chelating agents, dispersant polymers, surfactants, and enzymes are all being bandied about as the key to achieving phosphatelike performance in ADW detergents. Dee says the company placed a big bet on Trilon M back in when legislation limiting or removing phosphates in U. ADW detergents started to look inevitable. The firm began building a plant in Germany in and completed it early last year.
And Plurafac LF can be used in multifunctional detergents or stand-alone rinse aids to reduce spotting. AkzoNobel also markets polymers, surfactants, and chelating agents to the ADW detergent industry. Akzo launched its big U. Akzo is promoting its new Alcoguard hybrid dispersant polymers as companions to Dissolvine GL. Both ingredients thus are derived at least in part from renewable resources. Rivertop Renewables , a start-up company based in Missoula, Mont.
Rivertop was launched in on the basis of work conducted by Donald E. Kiely, a University of Montana chemistry professor. The firm is headed by James R. Stoppert, a one-time Dow Chemical executive who has worked for a number of renewable-chemical start-ups. Today, glucaric acid is stocked mainly by laboratory chemical supply houses.
Working with contract manufacturers, he expects to be in production by the middle of this year. In the end, though, they stuck with STPP, and the polymers languished on the shelf. Rohm and Haas revived the program in Polymers and chelants are generally included in ADW formulas in tandem. As Shah explains, small-molecule chelants such as Trilon M or Dissolvine GL work on a stoichiometric basis: One chelant molecule bonds with one metal ion.
Polymers, on the other hand, have multiple bonding sites per chain. They are good at surrounding a growing crystal nucleus and keeping it from depositing onto dishware. Protease and amylase enzymes, long a part of ADW detergent formulas, are now doing extra duty in many of the new phosphate-free products. Rather than sequester metals in the wash water, enzymes degrade organic matter that is stuck to glasses and dishes, explains Nelson Prieto, manager of customer solutions in the Americas for the enzyme maker Novozymes.
Although they are not a direct phosphate replacement, by breaking down soils and making them more water soluble, enzymes do their share to help prevent filming and spotting, he says. Like many of the new ingredients, enzymes are expensive. One potential solution is Dow polymer chemistry, still being tested in the lab, that extends the effectiveness of expensive replacements for phosphates, Shah says.
He breathed a sigh of relief late last year when the European Commission left ADW detergents out of a proposed ban on phosphates in laundry detergents. Tablets dominate the market, and most brands make multiple claims related to water softening, odor reduction, shine, and etch inhibition.
Henkel already sells reduced-phosphorus products in Italy for regulatory reasons and in France on a voluntary basis. And the company is prepared to launch virtually phosphorus-free detergents in other markets if necessary. Read more stories by Gina-Marie Cheeseman. Words by Gina-Marie Cheeseman. They include powering its plants with percent renewable energy and using percent renewable or recycled materials for all of its products and packaging.
They also include zero consumer waste going to landfills and zero manufacturing waste going to landfills. Gina-Marie Cheeseman. Words by Sean Cady Oct At First Ever U. In the 's and early 's, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario were found to be heavily polluted with phosphates from detergents, and consumer agencies began calling for their ban.
The detergent industry continues to use phosphates in their products on a large scale, but individual states can regulate their use in commercial products.
Phosphates are helpful in softening hard water and also aid in suspending dirt. In very high concentrations, they also are effective in reducing lead dust in places like windowsills.
After highly publicized campaigns against the use of phosphates in household detergents, as well as in outdoor cleaning jobs, some manufacturers offer phosphate-free alternatives for consumer cleaning.
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