SEPAWA® CONGRESS 2022 

Speaker: Ross Ellis

Company: Borregaard

Title: Which “Wood” You Choose? Presenting a Low Carbon Footprint Biopolymer for Auto-dishwasher Detergents

Abstract: Climate change is a major concern for the global consumer, requiring cleaning product formulators to reduce the carbon footprint of their detergents. The onus is on ingredient manufacturers to develop new sustainable surfactants and polymers that can replace current petrochemical additives. Truly sustainable additives should be based on raw materials that do not compete with agriculture or cause deforestation, that can be sourced and processed in a cost- and carbon-efficient manner and perform at a similar level to existing petrochemical ingredients. Here we present an anionic lignin-based biopolymer as an alternative to traditional polycarboxylates (e.g. polyacrylate) in auto-dishwasher (ADW) detergents, discussing sustainability and performance. The biopolymer is produced at the Borregaard biorefinery using sustainably sourced Scandinavian wood, which is treated in efficient water-based processes involving a mineral acid. Independent cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) shows that the lignin biopolymer has a negative carbon footprint in that the process used for production emits less carbon than the tree absorbs from the atmosphere. This is compared to LCA data for a traditional polyacrylate of the type used commonly in ADW detergents, which has a large positive carbon footprint. Finally, ADW anti-filming tests (ASTM standard) were conducted to compare the performance of the lignin-based biopolymer with a polyacrylate in a carbonate-based detergent of the type used commonly in tablet and powder formulations. The data show comparable performance in anti-filming properties, demonstrating that the lignin-based biopolymer can replace traditional polyacrylates in ADW detergents thus reducing the carbon footprint without compromising performance.