16 INTERVIEW Tim Probert – Editor, Personal Care Global
On 29 June, Evonik broke ground on the world’s first industrial-scale facility for rhamnolipid biosurfactants in Slovakia. A triple-digit million-euro investment, construction of the Slovenská Ľupča plant is scheduled for completion by the end of 2023. Personal Care Global editor Tim Probert caught up with Yann d’Hervé, head of Evonik’s Care Solutions business line, to discuss the plant and where it fits in with the German chemical company’s long-term strategic objectives.
TIM PROBERT (TP): What is the rationale for building the rhamnolipid biosurfactants plant in Slovakia? YANN D’HERVÉ (YH): It’s a very important milestone in our strategy to becoming the preferred sustainability specialties partner. Rhamnolipids are 100% bio-based, 100% biodegradable and do not use any tropical oil. There are clear advantages
versus currently available surfactants that may be non- biodegradable or use tropical oil or fossil carbon. This is a move in the right
direction for sustainability of our planet because surfactants are everywhere, including in personal care products like shampoo, creams, shower gel and so on. So if we can offer the
industry an option that is much more sustainable, that’s also an opportunity for our clients to develop more sustainable formulations. It’s the first milestone
because it’s the first real, industrial scale rhamnolipid plant that will be producing personal care and home care products. It’s also an important
milestone for our partner, Unilever, because it enables them to launch products that reach a much larger consumer base.
PERSONAL CARE July 2022
TP: What will be the initial capacity of the plant? YH: We can’t disclose the exact capacity but it will be double- digit kilotons per year. One of the reasons we can’t
disclose the exact capacity is because we’re talking about fermentation-based products and very often capacity can increase based on the additional performance that a new process can have. The process is prone to
improvement, much more so than standard chemical processes.
TP: What will the rhamnolipid biosurfactants be made from? YH: The main ingredient to produce these biosurfactants is sugar in order to nourish the strain essential for the rhamnolipid. We are using different kinds of sugar sources. It will be liquid sugar, it’s not going to be fully refined.
TP: Is there any concern among the personal care industry about performance in relation to fermentation-based products such as rhamnolipid biosurfactants? YH: The performance aspect is important as consumers need sustainable products that perform as well as, and better than, existing products. Products made from our
biosurfactants need to perfom well and be sustainable. Rhamnolipids offer both
sustainability and performance. What we see right now is rhamnolipids offer good foaming performance that allows us to reduce the quantity of biosurfactant needed to achieve the same effect. That has an additional sustainability impact. Another performance feature
is our product has no bitterness. Surfactants used in oral care applications such as toothpaste are extremely bitter. Our biosurfactant is kind of sweet so you can formulate differently, you don’t need the same masking to achieve the same results. So, there are additional features.
Another one is skin feel. When you apply it, it can have a very nice skin feel so it can be used in cream. We are focusing on the added value that we can provide to our customers with the rhamnolipid biosurfactant.
www.personalcaremagazine.com
INTERVIEW
Scaling up for a more sustainable future
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