This video is part of the Nature's Building Blocks series produced for Evonik by BBC StoryWorks, the commercial content division of BBC Global News.

This video is part of the Nature's Building Blocks series produced for Evonik by BBC StoryWorks, the commercial content division of BBC Global News.

Biosurfactants by Evonik

Harness the power of clean and green in your bottle

Evonik’s biosurfactants make a clean sweep – literally. They not only remove grease and dirt but are also eco-friendly and gentle on the skin. Other performance advantages include exceptional foam-forming properties and hard water compatibility. They are 100 percent biodegradable and also impact the environment less than conventional surfactants. All our biosurfactants are produced from bio-based raw materials without the use of tropical oils.

Evonik's new and unique biosurfactant REWOFERM® SL ONE shows an outstanding eco-toxicological profile. It is biodegradable under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions and fully complies with European Ecolabel requirements. In REWOFERM® SL ONE Evonik has launched a novel sophorolipid-based biosurfactant that uncompromisingly satisfies all the requirements on a high-end biosurfactant: excellent cleaning performance, environmental compatibility, and production from renewable raw materials.

Sophorolipids, produced in nature by yeasts, have so far been available on the market only as niche products. However, Evonik has succeeded in developing a cost-effective biotechnological production process, so that sophorolipids are now available on a large scale for the usage in detergents and home care cleaning products. The first household cleaners containing REWOFERM® SL ONE are already on supermarket shelves. This new generation of biosurfactants will convince formulators and consumers that environmental compatibility and cleaning power need not be contradictory.

According to currently available knowledge, REWOFERM® SL ONE is now the most environmentally compatible surfactant on the market. It satisfies the requirements of OECD 301 F and EN ISO 11734 for rapid biodegradability under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The product has an outstanding Renewable Carbon Index (RCI) of 100 percent. In water toxicity tests (OECD 211 and 202) REWOFERM® SL again performed significantly better than all conventional reference surfactants products.

Learn more about REWOFERM® SL ONE on intoCleaning!

REWOFERM® SL ONE

Novel sophorolipid biosurfactant with an excellent ecotoxicological profile

CHEMICAL DESCRIPTION

Aqueous solution of sophorolipids (lactone- and acid form)