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Soaps and detergents
F O C U S quaternary ammonium compound, one or more nonionic surfactants, and one or more quaternary ammonium surfactant compounds having germicidal properties. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2008, 45 (1), 32
P&G patents detergent The Procter & Gamble Co, based in Cincinnati, OH, USA, has been awarded Patent No US 7,304,023 B2 for an article consisting of a watersoluble pouch and a fabric care composition. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2008, 45 (1), 32
MARKET REVIEWS Sustainability is key to surfactants markets Many surfactants producers have come to realize that sustainability is the key to recovering lost margins. Consumer demand and pressure from retailers have prompted producers to develop more ecofriendly products and focus investments on new formulations. The surfactants market suffered in 2007, with producers unable to reclaim diminishing margins, despite efforts to boost prices. Companies, particularly those engaged in speciality chemicals, have been negatively impacted by soaring raw materials prices including the cost of ethylene and lauric oils, along with energy costs. The past year has also seen manufacturers change their focus. Consumers, according to brand owners and retailers, are looking for performance and reduced resource consumption. In response to this demand, Dow Chemical’s Fabric and Surface Care is marketing new materials from renewable sources and partnering with brand owners to develop products that let users consume less water and energy. Companies are also beginning to shift to oleo-based products due to the price pressure from petroleum-derived surfactants. But oleochemicals are also affected by the increasing cost of 6
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feedstocks. The manufacture of biodegradable products can also require vast amounts of energy and damage the environment. However, many producers have vowed to leave a lighter ecological footprint in their operations by utilizing natural, renewable raw materials. One of them is Dow, which is set to unveil a seed oil-derived surfactant called Ecosurf SA, which can be used in paints and coatings, household, industrial or institutional cleaners, and high-efficiency laundry products. Dow’s cellulose-derived water-soluble polymers and its hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid (HEIDA) biodegradable chelant [Focus on Surfactants, Dec 2007], as well as renewable content goods such as propylene glycol renewable, were unveiled in 2007. In addition, Cognis Care Chemicals introduced a mild, natural-based surfactant called Plantapon SF, which has zero sulfates, ethylene oxide and preservatives [ibid, Jan 2007]. ICIS Chemical Business, 21 Jan 2008, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
Soaps and detergents The soaring costs of energy, transportation and raw materials continue to affect the soaps and detergents industry, forcing raw material suppliers to work more keenly with customers to boost efficiencies and generate savings. Prices of soap and detergent raw materials are increasing due to soaring crude oil prices and growing demand for biodiesel and alcoholbased fuels. Increasing costs of petroleum-based raw materials utilized in the production of key detergent feedstock linear alkylbenzene (LAB) have affected margins in the LAB sector. LAB demand will climb steadily at approximately 2.5%/y through 2016. Huntsman intends to develop surfactants derived from cheaper feedstocks. The company has come up with a catalyst technology that produces ethoxylates from biodiesel. International Specialty Products (ISP), which has a technology for raw material conservation, intends to develop wetting agents and speciality surfactants that can be used at low levels and improve performance.
BASF has unveiled a surfactant system for the industrial and institutional cleaning product sectors in North America. Dow Chemical rolled out a range of water-soluble, modified alcohol ethoxylate surfactants derived from palm seed oil alcohol. In 2007 the firm also set up Dow Fabric and Surface Care, a business unit that aims to develop customized solutions for the household and institutional cleaning market. The worldwide soaps and detergents market is projected to expand 11.6% to $44.8 bn in 20062016, according to Euromonitor International. Growth will be evident in Western and Eastern Europe; markets are expected to expand by 25% in Eastern Europe. The growth in North America will be slower at 2.6%. Chemical Week, 28 Jan 2008, (Website: http://www.chemweek.com)
Household cleaning products go green with a dash of upscale The US market for household cleaning products cleaned up postrecession earlier this decade. The market bounced back from a slowdown and grew to $7.3 bn in 2007. A new report from Packaged Facts, Household Cleaning Products in the US, forecasts the market to continue growing at a slow-andsteady 2% rate, reaching $8.1 bn by 2012. With the industry fighting the image of cleaning the house as a boring sanitary chore, large market players have turned to new marketing campaigns that portray household cleaning as easy and convenient. Big names such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble are going with smaller creative agencies to infuse more fun into the functional nature of their products. It seems that the hot spot for accelerated growth and highly profitable sales is in higher-end, ecofriendly products. Green household products have fully penetrated natural foods stores, but finding space in traditional mass-market channels is still a challenge. Home improvement and housewares chains have also jumped on board, along with some department stores. Marketers stand to benefit a great deal from ethical cleaning products, with 50% of Americans between the age of 18 MARCH 2008
P&G patents detergent The Procter & Gamble Co, based in Cincinnati, OH, USA, has been awarded Patent No US 7,304,023 B2 for an article consisting of a watersoluble pouch and a fabric care composition. HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Jan 2008, 45 (1), 32
MARKET REVIEWS Sustainability is key to surfactants markets Many surfactants producers have come to realize that sustainability is the key to recovering lost margins. Consumer demand and pressure from retailers have prompted producers to develop more ecofriendly products and focus investments on new formulations. The surfactants market suffered in 2007, with producers unable to reclaim diminishing margins, despite efforts to boost prices. Companies, particularly those engaged in speciality chemicals, have been negatively impacted by soaring raw materials prices including the cost of ethylene and lauric oils, along with energy costs. The past year has also seen manufacturers change their focus. Consumers, according to brand owners and retailers, are looking for performance and reduced resource consumption. In response to this demand, Dow Chemical’s Fabric and Surface Care is marketing new materials from renewable sources and partnering with brand owners to develop products that let users consume less water and energy. Companies are also beginning to shift to oleo-based products due to the price pressure from petroleum-derived surfactants. But oleochemicals are also affected by the increasing cost of 6
O N
S U R FAC TA N T S
feedstocks. The manufacture of biodegradable products can also require vast amounts of energy and damage the environment. However, many producers have vowed to leave a lighter ecological footprint in their operations by utilizing natural, renewable raw materials. One of them is Dow, which is set to unveil a seed oil-derived surfactant called Ecosurf SA, which can be used in paints and coatings, household, industrial or institutional cleaners, and high-efficiency laundry products. Dow’s cellulose-derived water-soluble polymers and its hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid (HEIDA) biodegradable chelant [Focus on Surfactants, Dec 2007], as well as renewable content goods such as propylene glycol renewable, were unveiled in 2007. In addition, Cognis Care Chemicals introduced a mild, natural-based surfactant called Plantapon SF, which has zero sulfates, ethylene oxide and preservatives [ibid, Jan 2007]. ICIS Chemical Business, 21 Jan 2008, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
Soaps and detergents The soaring costs of energy, transportation and raw materials continue to affect the soaps and detergents industry, forcing raw material suppliers to work more keenly with customers to boost efficiencies and generate savings. Prices of soap and detergent raw materials are increasing due to soaring crude oil prices and growing demand for biodiesel and alcoholbased fuels. Increasing costs of petroleum-based raw materials utilized in the production of key detergent feedstock linear alkylbenzene (LAB) have affected margins in the LAB sector. LAB demand will climb steadily at approximately 2.5%/y through 2016. Huntsman intends to develop surfactants derived from cheaper feedstocks. The company has come up with a catalyst technology that produces ethoxylates from biodiesel. International Specialty Products (ISP), which has a technology for raw material conservation, intends to develop wetting agents and speciality surfactants that can be used at low levels and improve performance.
BASF has unveiled a surfactant system for the industrial and institutional cleaning product sectors in North America. Dow Chemical rolled out a range of water-soluble, modified alcohol ethoxylate surfactants derived from palm seed oil alcohol. In 2007 the firm also set up Dow Fabric and Surface Care, a business unit that aims to develop customized solutions for the household and institutional cleaning market. The worldwide soaps and detergents market is projected to expand 11.6% to $44.8 bn in 20062016, according to Euromonitor International. Growth will be evident in Western and Eastern Europe; markets are expected to expand by 25% in Eastern Europe. The growth in North America will be slower at 2.6%. Chemical Week, 28 Jan 2008, (Website: http://www.chemweek.com)
Household cleaning products go green with a dash of upscale The US market for household cleaning products cleaned up postrecession earlier this decade. The market bounced back from a slowdown and grew to $7.3 bn in 2007. A new report from Packaged Facts, Household Cleaning Products in the US, forecasts the market to continue growing at a slow-andsteady 2% rate, reaching $8.1 bn by 2012. With the industry fighting the image of cleaning the house as a boring sanitary chore, large market players have turned to new marketing campaigns that portray household cleaning as easy and convenient. Big names such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble are going with smaller creative agencies to infuse more fun into the functional nature of their products. It seems that the hot spot for accelerated growth and highly profitable sales is in higher-end, ecofriendly products. Green household products have fully penetrated natural foods stores, but finding space in traditional mass-market channels is still a challenge. Home improvement and housewares chains have also jumped on board, along with some department stores. Marketers stand to benefit a great deal from ethical cleaning products, with 50% of Americans between the age of 18 MARCH 2008