General information

Chelating agents are used in a wide range of industries including home and personal care, food, beverage and pharmaceuticals. In all of these areas, the presence of metal ions can adversely affect the application.

By binding metal ions, chelating agents prevent them from interfering with the desired reactions. Chelators also play a key role in water softening, where they remove or prevent insoluble deposits from forming. In home care, chelating agents improve the effectiveness of surfactants by preventing the formation of insoluble salts. It is estimated that by 2022, the annual global demand for chelating agents will reach 4.34 million tons.

Areas of application

By far the largest share of chelating agents is accounted for by the detergent and cleaning agent industry. Applications include laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents, industrial cleaners and household cleaning products. Currently, phosphates, particularly sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) derivatives are the most commonly used chelating agents worldwide. However, many manufacturers try to avoid using these chelators, since their excessive release into water increases the release of nutrients, as well as complexes with low biodegradability.

Demand for non-toxic ingredients in personal and home care products is also strong and growing ontinuously. Therefore, there is a search for ecological and environmentally friendly ingredients for home care applications.

With their excellent chelating properties, MCAS' trisodium citrate and sodium gluconate have proven to be viable bio-based alternatives. These two MCAS products are readily biodegradable by many organisms not only under aerobic conditions but also under anaerobic wastewater treatment conditions and in the natural environment. Due to these good biodegradability, they represent a sustainable alternative to replace conventional chelating agents such as EDTA.

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