Green Chelating Agents for Industrial & Institutional Cleaning

Formulators in the industrial and institution (I&I) cleaning market are challenged to develop more efficient systems such as low temperature wash for energy conservation, lower cost and /or with a more sustainable footprint. While keeping up with changing market dynamics they look to maintain or improve cleaning efficacy. Selecting the right ingredients is important to meet user needs for performance and efficiency and this article will discuss the most effective green chelants available for I&I cleaning – glutamic acid diacetic acid (GLDA) and methylglycine diacetic acid (MGDA). Both are readily biodegradable or biodegradable under anaerobic conditions and perform at high pH where other green chelants may underperform. GLDA is the preferred option for liquid formulations while MGDA is preferred for solid applications.