Enzymatic detergents are in, chemical ingredients are out. Enzymes have a positive environmental impact because they can replace larger amounts of petrochemicalderived formulations, and their unique catalytic action makes enzymes particularly useful ingredients at low-temperature,” avers G.S. Krishnan, Regional President- India, Novozymes South Asia Pvt Ltd, during an interaction with Suprita Anupam.
Development & Applicability Enzyme applications in detergents began in the early 1930s with the use of pancreatic enzymes in presoak solutions. It was German scientist Otto Röhm who first patented the use of pancreatic enzymes in 1913. Thus, the foundation was laid already in 1913 for the commercial use of enzymes in detergents. Fifty years ago, it was common to boil clothes to remove starch stains. Now consumers can effectively remove stubborn stains in a cool wash. By replacing petroleumbased ingredients and other non-renewables with enzymes and microbial agents, manufacturers can give consumers high-performance cleaning solutions that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve water.
Today, enzymes are continually growing in importance for detergent formulators. Detergent manufacturers are required to supply products that provide better cleaning results with less effort, time and environmental impact. Enzymes can help manufacturers achieve superior technical performance and effectively banish stains of blood, banana, baby food and other sources that are traditionally very difficult to remove.
Enzymes can bring new powerful performance to detergents. Examples include enzymes that enable detergents to maintain the intense colour or whiteness of clothes or that snip away fuzz and pills to keep clothes looking fresh and new. This means that enzymatic technology can be actively used to bring new products to market and help manufacturers make exciting market claims to differentiate their products.
Enzymes are widely used in laundry and dishwashing detergents and the solutions which improve performance by enabling better stain removal, garment care and general wash. With lifestyle / food habits changing, modern consumer is much more demanding when it comes to the expectations one has from the detergent. This in turn can be addressed only by the incorporation of multienzyme solutions in the formulations and going forward one would expect most of the detergent formulations (if not all) would be enzymatic.
Consumption, efficiency and fabric life
The enzyme preparations like proteases, amylases, lipases and cellulases are considered as indispensable ingredients in these detergents. These components account for the major portion of the market for various cleaning applications. The cleaning ability of these formulations is mainly due to the synergistic action exhibited by the different detergent ingredients and the enzyme-preparations.
Now-a-days, the use of enzyme-based detergents in preferred over the conventional synthetic ones in view of their better cleaning properties. And as mentioned earlier, we believe that cold water washing will become the norm one day and that the degree of surfactant replacement will continue to increase.
By providing our customers attractive alternatives one traditional ingredients, we enable them to help steer the market toward greener detergents with fewer chemicals and high-performance household care solutions. The ultimate goal would be that enzymes are recognized as a seal of quality in the detergent business. Already, some manufacturers are promoting the use of enzymes on their packaging.
Novozymes’ readily biodegradable enzyme solutions for detergents are an alternative to traditional chemical ingredients, allowing manufacturers to produce laundry detergent that gives consumers cleaner, whiter, brighter and softer clothes. Our ‘Household Care’ offers a variety of enzymatic innovations that are an alternative to traditional laundry detergents. Our enzymes deliver powerful stain removal, whiteness (color) and fabric care benefits in an environment friendly manner and cleaning effectively at lower wash temperatures.
The most widely used detergent enzymes are hydrolases, which remove soils formed from proteins, lipids, and polysaccharides. Cellulase is a type of hydrolase that provides fabric care through selective reactions not previously possible when washing clothes. Looking to the future, research is currently being carried out into the possibility of extending the types of enzymes used in detergents. Each of the major classes of detergent enzymes-proteases, lipases, amylases, mannanases and cellulases-provides specific benefits for laundering and proteases and amylases for automatic dishwashing. Historically, proteases were the first to be used extensively in laundering. Today, they have been joined by lipases, amylases and mannanases in increasing the effectiveness of detergents, especially in household laundering at lower temperatures and in industrial cleaning operations, at lower pH.
As market leader, we are constantly expected to bring new innovations to market, which is very demanding of our talented research and development team. Our solutions are developed by combining technical expertise with in-depth consumer insight to stay on top of the trends and continue to offer highly relevant solutions. Some advantages of these detergents are:
- A higher degree of stain removal, whiteness (color) and fabric care than traditional chemical ingredients.
- Replaces traditional chemical ingredients like surfactants and builders with low-volume, bio-based and readily biodegradable enzymes for a more environmentally friendly detergent.
- A consumer-friendly detergent that cleans well at cold wash temperatures.
- A more compact detergent with no compromise on performance.
Enzyme-based detergent vs Zeolite-based detergents
Enzymes are catalysts, that help make chemical reactions happen more quickly or easily. Generally, they’re added to detergents to make them more effective at tackling tricky forms of dirt that ordinary detergents struggle with. They also help lower the environmental impact of detergents by reducing the need for surfactants. They are widely used in industries. They have specific cleaning action and can also be used at lower temperatures. They produce effluents with lower COD and non-corrosive nature. Enzyme-based cleaners are becoming increasingly popular in the food industry as compared to caustic or acid cleaning regimes.
The enzyme based detergents have better cleaning properties as compared to synthetic detergents. They are active at low washing temperatures and does not lose their activity after removing stain. The enzyme containing detergents also improve the fabric quality and keeps color bright. They are used in small quantity as compared to synthetic chemicals and are biodegradable.
A Zeolite based detergent can also be enzymatic. The challenges faced by detergent formulators to come out with a high performing formulation and at the same time having the product to be environment friendly, can be addressed by incorporating enzymes. With growing ban on Phosphate -based detergent, the introduction of builders are more environment friendly, but not efficient as the wash performance becomes much more dependent on the surfactant levels, choice of surfactant , co builders etc. This can to a large extent, be addressed by introduction of multi-enzyme solutions.
Laundry detergents
Apart from the microbial enzymes proteases, amylases and lipases, the cellulases have also been recently employed in the detergent industry with an added dimension. The proteases hydrolyse the proteinaceous residues of blood, egg, grass and sweat to form soluble peptides which are subsequently easily removed by detergent suds. The amylases degrade the residues of starchy foods like porridge, potatoes, gravies, custard, chocolate, etc. to dextrins, while the lipases cataly
se the hydrolysis of salad oil, sauces, lipstick, etc. The cellulases in the detergents degrade mainly the microfibrils which are generated during continuous use and repeated washings of the garment and also help in restoring the original shine and colour of the garment.