Michael Dreja

Biosurfactants – Exotic Specialties or Ready for Application?

Abstract Surfactants are the most important ingredients in laundry detergents, hand dish washing liquids and shampoos. It is a major challenge for the industry today to identify alternative materials that are biodegradable, based on renewable resources and that show reasonable cost-performance effectiveness. Biosurfactants are an emerging class of surfactants produced by microorganisms in processes usually running at low temperatures and without large amounts of waste or by-products, therefore complying with the rules of green chemistry and potentially resulting in a lower carbon footprint than conventional surfactants. We show in our work which biosurfactants can meet or even surpass conventional surfactants today when it comes to properties like interfacial tension reduction and wetting. Taking into account that further optimization and tailoring of materials, unique physicochemical properties and efficient production processes are within reach, the future perspectives for the broader use of biosurfactants are bright.

Understanding Interactions of Surfactants and Enzymes: Impact of Individual Surfactants on Stability and Wash Performance of Protease Enzyme in Detergents

Abstract Enzymes and surfactants are both essential ingredients that determine the performance of modern laundry detergents. We have conducted an investigation of the interaction of surfactants and enzymes under laundry detergent application conditions in order to understand the influence of individual ingredients and to optimize detergent performance. We can show that for a given protease enzyme, individual surfactants in a constant detergent matrix have a significant impact on relevant stability and performance parameter. While certain anionic surfactants like e.g. linear alkylbenzene sulfonate show strong protease inactivation, nonionic surfactants did only show slight inactivation over time. On the other hand, proteolytic performance of protease on test stains was most driven by fatty alcohol ether sulfate. Knowledge about the impact of individual surfactants on proteases will enable the best choice of ingredients for mixed surfactant systems with optimized enzyme performance and stability.

Formulation, Performance and Sustainability Aspects of Liquid Laundry Detergents

Abstract In this study, we have investigated the development of liquid laundry detergent formulations over the past 10 years with regard to performance and sustainability profiles. We found that between 2001 and 2011, wash performance has significantly increased while at the same time the surfactant level was substantially reduced, leading to lower Global Warming Potential and improvements in all other relevant lifecycle indicators. One driver is the partial replacement of surfactants with other, more effective ingredients like enzymes that allow for additional performance dimensions and new consumer-relevant benefits. Future surfactant systems that help increase and support the stability and functionality of enzymes will further boost performance at low temperature, improve storage stability and enable more concentrated formulations at competitive costs.