High value-added solutions for strategic markets
R&D OF SUSTAINABLE AND EFFECTIVE HOME CARE CLEANING FORMULATIONS WITH NEW RE-FILL PRESENTATION FORMATS
CLEANTEX II
Motivation
Traditional Home Care cleaning products leave a significant ecological footprint due to their composition. They contain ingredients that can contaminate water, their biodegradability is poor and some pose a potential health and safety risk.
Another drawback of Home Care cleaning products is mainly that they are packaged in heavy plastic bottles, most of which are not recycled and end up in landfill. These formulations usually contain 90% water, which makes them less cost-effective with a higher carbon footprint due to their increased weight for transportation.
Objectives
- Research new ingredients from natural sources (minerals and plants), which are easily biodegradable and do not produce toxic biodegradation products. The aim is to obtain Home Care formulations with at least 75% natural ingredients, without losing cleaning power and meeting the requirements of the European Ecolabel.
- Develop environmentally friendly, low water content concentrated formulations for use in water-soluble capsule formats, thus reducing weight by up to 90% and reducing transport fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 75% compared to conventional cleaning products.
- Develop the most appropriate formulations and mixing procedures by optimizing the content of each ingredient.
- Study the level of biodegradability (OECD301) of the formulations developed under the most severe circumstances, in aerobic and anaerobic conditions to reduce the minimum impact on wastewater. It is expected to obtain products that meet the requirements of the European Ecolabel.
- Study the level of toxicity of the formulations to reduce the impact on aquatic organisms (CDVchronic limits – the maximum critical dilution volume that the product can reach) which depends on the degradation factors, the chronic toxicity of each ingredient and the dosage of the product.
- Investigate natural, non-allergenic preservative compounds that are not sensitising.
- Research new odour neutralising additives that are >80% bio-based and 100% biodegradable.
- To investigate the ability of probiotics to improve hygiene and cleanliness in different HomeCare
- To study the cleaning capacity of newly developed household cleaning formulations.
- To study new, more sustainable presentation formats, using as little packaging as possible and/or using 100% recyclable materials. Likewise, new formats will be studied that are capable of being used as a re-fill system, to eliminate one-time use and move towards a system of reuse and recycling that allows the useful life of the products to be extended, giving them a second life.
Value and competitive advantage
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Innovation and technical advancement depend not only on new processes and technologies but also on the raw materials used. CLEANTEX II focuses on developing sustainable and effective home care cleaning products from easily biodegradable and natural ingredients.
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New packaging formats designed for refill systems aim to reduce raw material usage and promote container reuse. This initiative impacts R&D investment in detergent and personal care manufacturers and is expected to yield returns in other industrial sectors, such as textiles and hygiene products for home cleaning and baby care.
Results obtained
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Research on surfactants, chelating agents, preservatives, opacifiers, and probiotics.
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Development and activation of HSC formulas.
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Characterization and efficacy evaluation of HSC formulas.
Grant number: IMDEEA/2022/5
Amount: 205.005 €
Entity: IVACE
Period of execution: May 2022 – Junes 2023
Status: Finished
This project is funded by the Conselleria d’Economia Sostenible, Sectors Productius, Comerç i Treball de la Generalitat Valenciana, through IVACE, and is co funded by ERDF from the European Commission within the framework of the Operational Programme FEDER for the Comunitat Valenciana 2021-2027.
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R&D AREAS
New high-performance functionalised materials
Circular economy and sustainability
Advanced manufacturing, smart textiles and digitalisation
High value-added solutions for strategic markets
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