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Formulations and Literature

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As the global specialists, we stay ahead of industry trends to create innovative, high-performing formulations that always meet your customers’ evolving needs. Now you can share in our knowledge – watch the video to find out more.

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Formulations

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Literature

We have all the information you're looking for. Browse extensive documentation on our specialty ingredients and value-added services – there’s so much to discover.
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Discover our on-demand webinars for the Beauty & Personal Care and Home Care Institutional & Industrial Cleaning (HI&I) industries.
These webinars were created to share our knowledge with specialists like you: insiders with a passion for redefining our industries.

Formulations and literature for every industry

Each year our chemists debut new formulations and prototypes for cosmetics, cleaning and food at industry trade shows. These prototypes serve to showcase trends in their specific markets, as well as unique uses for ingredients from our product offering, are intended for use as starting formulas only and may be altered or modified as needed.

Frequently asked questions to a formulator

Use a non-VOC solvent like the Solve 100 at reduce concentration 1% and use a Glucopon® 420 UP, which will improve cleaning without leaving any mark. Solve 100 deploys better than glycol ether EB or any other glycol ether. If you want to improve the wetting on a surface like glass, then use Wacker® L053 at 0,2%. Wacker® L053 helps to clean without leaving any residue.
Rheovis® AT 120, a HASE thickener, can be used at a pH> 7. Rheovis® AT 120 does not need any actives or surfactants to support the viscosity. Dosage should be 2% to get a viscosity of 800 cps. Please note to add at the end of the formula and mix well for 20 minutes.
Enzymes, especially proteases, can be stabilized using polyols, such as glycerol, propylene glycol, PEG, or sucrose, borax/boric acid and calcium chloride. Add the stabilizers before adding the enzymes.
Enzymes are very sensitive to pH. They should be selected based on the pH of the neat formula and consider any change in pH upon dilution. One trick to stabilizing enzymes is to formulate at a slight suboptimal pH, as long as the pH jumps to optimal upon dilution.
To avoid settling and having to put “shake well before use” directions on the label, add a viscosity modifier. Particularly recommended thickeners are xanthan gum, other natural gums, or cellulosic thickeners.
Cleaning products containing bacterial spores/probiotics should be formulated between pH 4 – 9. Formulating outside this range risks damaging the spores so that they don’t properly germinate when needed.
A preservative should always be added in formulas between the pH of 2-12. Preservatives are added to cleaning products to prevent microbial contamination, such as bacteria and fungi. When selecting a preservative, please take note of its pH efficacy range and ensure that your formula’s pH is within that range.
Surfactants are chemicals that reduce surface tension and increase surface wetting. They are key ingredients of cleaning products. Surfactants have a water loving head (hydrophile) and a water hating tail (hydrophobe) that allows them to trap and remove soils from surfaces.
There are four main types of surfactants. These include:
  • Anionic surfactants – these are negatively charged and target particulate soil. They have some dispersing properties and are high foamers.
  • Cationic surfactants – these are positively charged. They are used in fabric softeners to neutralize static cling. Certain cationic surfactants are used in disinfectants/sanitizers.
  • Nonionic surfactants – these have no charge. Nonionic surfactants are the largest category of surfactants. Some defoam, some have low-foam, and some have moderate but quickly collapsing foam.
  • Amphoteric surfactants – these can take on either a negative charge or a positive charge depending on the pH of the cleaner they are in. Negative at high pH and positive at low pH. They are very good as a secondary component to formulations.
The US EPA has established Safer Choice criteria for surfactants which require products, especially those with a higher toxicity profile, to biodegrade fast.
Surfactants perform many tasks in cleaning products. Below are some standard examples.
  • Laundry – particulate and oily soil removal
  • Warewash/Automatic Dish – wetting, defoaming, spot free shine
  • Manual Dishwash – soil removal and foaming
  • Hard Surfaces – foam or low/no foam, wetting, soil removal, shine and gloss
  • Disinfection – some cationic surfactants called quaternary ammonium compounds (“Quats”) are registered active materials that can destroy certain bacteria, viruses and fungi.
  • It’s about what you avoid. Principle contributors (not exhaustive) are ethoxylates, alkoxylates, ether sulfates and esters having tramp methanol byproduct. The definitive list resides at The Proposition 65 List - OEHHA - CA.gov . If you elect to use any products containing the chemicals on the list, you must be sure there is an assessment by the manufacturer, not distributor, covering that the handling of the product does not pose a cancer or reproductive toxin risk, to be exempt from the Prop 65 labeling requirements.
  • Suitable alternatives to ethoxylates and alkoxylates are the Glucosides. For laundry applications, Glucopon® 400 and Glucopon® 600 series are best for detergency. Another option is lauramine dimethyl amine oxide, such as Brenntag Lauramine Oxide LO 30 S or Pilot Macat AO-12.
  • Instead of SLES, approach with a mix of SLS 30, SAS 30, MES 40 (there are methanol-stripped versions). Lose the EDTA and NTA. MGDA and GLDA fit the bill, respectively, MGDA being more dispersive, and is forgiving to all pH and soils when combined 3:1 with sodium citrate (a cost saver over any other approach). We recommend the Trilon entries.
  • Try potassium or sodium cocoates in place of alkoxylates to control foam. Avoid traditional food type silicone defoamers, which damp performance as well as foam.
Often the question comes with desire for a mono-dose around 10 ml. To retain full ‘built’ functionality in a single-phase liquid, about 15 - 20 ml is a practical limit due to components’ system solubilities. Our team of technical experts can advise further.

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