Commonly in India, housekeepers identify cleaning chemicals for various applications either through their brand or the code number on the bottle. This has been a convenient approach, as it is easy to remember and there is less scope of an error while picking up the chemical for cleaning. It is time supervisors and operation heads start identifying the chemicals through its ingredients, its reaction with surfaces and the cleaning results obtained. Clean India Journal speaks to industry experts about compositions, chemicals and cleaning.
NOTHING COULD be more dangerous, unhealthy, unsafe and fatal than using a chemical on a surface without knowing what it contains. The beauty of cleaning lies in understanding the formulations of the agents that does the trick through a safe and effective reaction with the surface. This is science. It is important to understand the chemistry of cleaning chemicals.
Simply said, “Cleaning is the resultant outcome (reaction) of application of suitable cleaning chemical on the surface in question, as per the desired process.”
“With the knowledge of the ingredient and formulation of the chemical and its impact on the surface would certainly help cleaning professionals to select right chemicals, dilution and application process for best results,” says Nadeem Siddiqui, CEO-Altret Performance Pvt. Ltd. “The customer becoming more aware of chemical formulations and demanding for cost effective and specific need-based solutions can also help to a great extent,” he adds.
Today, there is an increasing demand for cleaning chemicals which are ecofriendly; thus, causing minimal or no harm to the environment.
The word eco-friendly refers to the use of cleaning methods and products with environment-friendly ingredients and procedures which can preserve health as well as environment quality. These chemicals are used in cleaning formulations which are organic in nature and hence the effect on ecology as well as the human body is not detrimental.
As in the case of cleaning, chemicals used for sanitation and hygiene are to be diluted with water before they enter the wastewater system. Together with a variety of substances originating from other processes they inevitably contribute to the pollution of the resource ‘water’. In order to reduce this pollution to an ecologically and economically sustainable extent, wastewater is usually treated in a wastewater treatment (WWT) plant before being released into the water bodies.
“In simpler terms, the products should not increase the waste, should not be harmful and should keep the earth either in a state of equilibrium or with lesser waste. In this context, there is an increased demand on using chemicals, which can be readily biodegraded in the wastewater system and do not increase the carbon footprint,” says Sumeet Verma, Managing Director, Buzil Rossari Pvt Ltd.
Formulation
Eco-friendly products are biodegradable also, hence use of Alkylpolyglycosides (APGs) is recommended, which are used in
industrial and institutional cleaning formulations. APGs are used to enhance the formation of foams in cleaning formulations and are readily biodegradable.
“Sometimes cost and affordability also play a role in use of eco-friendly chemicals. For example, spraying air fresheners alone in washrooms is not going to solve the problem. Using organic acids in bathroom cleaners with Quats will help sanitize and shine the fixtures. Bathroom cleaners can be acidic in nature with low pH values giving excellent results and enabling removal of hard water stains, soap scum without damaging the fixtures, due to its organic and non-corrosive nature unlike hydrochloric acid,” says Yugesh Naik, Business Head, Alpha Products.
Several physical, chemical, and biological parameters serve to monitor the proper function of water treatment plants and the overall pollution of wastewater. “They may also be used to quantitatively describe the contribution of a cleaning agent to the chemical load of the wastewater. For this three most informative parameters are mandatorily required and calculated for each product based on its chemical formulations,” Sumeet explains. “Theoretical oxygen demand (ThOD) is a measure of the total content of organic substances. This parameter is correlated with the measure ‘Chemical oxygen demand (COD),’ which plays a central role in wastewater analytics. It indicates the overall load of wastewater with organic substances, which cause oxygen consumption in WWT plants and natural waters and therefore, may lead to malfunction and harmful effects, respectively. ThOD of the wastewater specifies the contribution of the respective product to the organic load of the wastewater resulting from the application and subsequent discharge of a given working solution.
“The biodegradability according to OECD 301 methods and the Regulation on detergents is the second most important criterion. This denotes at which percentage the product is subject to immediate and complete biodegradation in water treatment plants and natural waters.
“Thirdly, the content of phosphates and phosphonates calculated as elemental phosphorus and specified as mg phosphorus per gram of product (P-value). The contribution of phosphates (and, to a lesser extent, phosphonates) originating from washing and cleaning processes leads to eutrophication (over fertilization) of water bodies. In some of the formulations, phosphates and phosphonates perform certain tasks, for which they are compared to possible substitute materials. Preferable options in terms of occupational safety, health and environmental compatibility are the deciding factor while looking for the substitutes for phosphates and phosphonates.
Packaging and dispensing
In the world of marketing, perception is reality and what you see is what you get. A product with a bold headline, very powerful words like ‘Science Miracle,’ or phrases like ‘once you use it, you are unlikely to change,’ is compelling. Dispensing of chemicals remains the choice of the user while the dilutor carbouy pumps offer right dosage, no spillage, no wastage.
“In a country like India, proper classroom training should be given. Why, which and when a particular chemical should be used is needed to be explained to them. We know people using brands without knowing its pH values. Hence, any user should be able to use any brand, if they are sound with the chemistry of the product and we are sure they will get optimum results,” opines Yugesh. Speaking on the packaging, Nadeem explains, “The packaging depends on three factors, viz, transportation from manufacturer to dealer/customer, storing at vendor/ customer’s end and handling at customer’s end. Considering the above factors in the Cleaning Chemical industry, generally corrugated boxes are used for outside packaging of 5lt x 2 carbouys of HDPE material. However, in laundry cleaning because of heavy usages, standard packing size is 25lt of HDPE carbouy.” Not only the product formulation but the storage also plays an important role in environment sustainability. Proper packaging and dispensing techniques are important to maintain the HSE parameters to avoid hazards arising from operations. The “Customers becoming more aware and demanding for cost effective specific need based solution, knowledge of Cleaning Chemical formulation would certainly help to great extent.” – Nadeem Siddiqui Certification body, Ecolabel, is credible in terms of offering environment commitments. It also helps identify products and services that have been proved to reduce environmental impact throughout their lifecycle, from the extraction of raw material through to production, use and disposal. Recognised across the world, Ecolabel is a voluntary label promoting environmental excellence, which can be trusted. Ecolabel scheme is a commitment to environmental sustainability and has been developed and agreed upon by scientists, NGOs and stakeholders to create a credible and reliable way to make responsible choices.
3Cs of Chemical Disinfection
Chemical disinfection is a precision job and requires adequate training and understanding for its purposeful application in relation to dosage, dilution and application to the surface and its impact on the environment. Compliance, choice and cleaning are the three major aspects for using any chemical based disinfectant.
Compliance: Environmental compliance is a key aspect of any chemical-based disinfection agent, which requires a formulation meeting all necessary standards and yet giving effective sanitation from the targeted organisms or other means of infections. Compliance varies from agency to agency, premises and environments, and specific application requirements.
Choice: Choosing a right disinfectant for right application is another important part of using chemical disinfectants. The practice also ensures the safety and protection of area of application and workers in a specific environment. This requires SOPs and adherence to usage instructions on the products label given by the manufacturer. Any good choice of chemical disinfectant is based on some basic properties, including non-toxicity to the users, people and environment, ability to kill a wide range of pathogens, quick action and adequate disinfection in short time, ease of application in multiple formats, ease of implementation and support form manufacturer. Cleaning: The extent and effectiveness of cleaning varies with different premises and industrial environments such as hospital, hotel, food sector and other day-to-day cleaning needs at workplace and domestic space. Effective cleaning is linked to a number of factors such as training of personnel, selection of disinfectant, efficient use of equipment and accessories, bacterial load or extent of infection, footfall in a specific zone and adherence to guidelines.
Critical sectors which directly and very quickly impact the health of masses are pharma labs, hospitals, food manufacturing units, kitchens, etc. Anyone can imagine the impact on the environment, society, world and ecosystem if something goes wrong at these critical segments. Of late, we hear regularly the FDA’s notice to many pharmaceutical units on compliance which are mostly related to residual analysis, contamination control, formulations and overall quality assurance measures.
“These sectors are highly prone to microbiological contaminations as well. Unless highest level of cleaning and hygiene is ensured, checked, validated and revalidated, it may lead to issues which can even kill the brand! There had been certain instances in the past where a lot of marketing efforts and huge costs were incurred just to protect the brand because of some serious complaints from the market regarding products not complying to regulations and standards. Statutory bodies like FDA and FSSAI intend to put certain quality benchmarks which under compromise can adversely affect the entire ecosystem,” says Sumeet.
Chemical disinfectants used in pharma/food sector
There are a number of disinfectants available in the market but some specific chemicals and their combinations are used
in food and pharma sector based on various factors, including cost, sanitation potential, and process/ equipment in use.
“In a pharma industry, the entire range of products has to be free from bacteria; hence preservatives should be added. Floor cleaners should be made from non-ionics with a neutral pH. However, floor cleaners may also be anionic, nonionic, or blend of both with good super wetting properties and Quats added to them. The cleaners should preferably be free from any perfume in the food industry.
“Food industry should look into products, which will emulsify oils from the floor, hence selecting proper surfactants is necessary by the manufacturer. With these different types of surfactants it is a wonder that formulators are able to choose the right detergent for the right application,” informs Yugesh.
Market Scenario
The cleaning and hygiene market (including retail, detergent, disinfection, food & beverage, hospitality) is still very fragmented with unorganized segment still penetrating small towns and rural markets. The Tier I & II cities are now looking for special cleaning products and the drive is also very much due to the complex engineering requirements, stringent environmental laws and regular audits and checks by the statutory bodies. The cleaning hygiene requirements in organized segments, especially in HoReCa, hospitals, airports, railways, educational institutes, building & commercial segments and places of worship, demand highest level of sanitation due to the chances of getting exposed to maximum contamination.
“Imagine an office where the cleaning & hygiene is not maintained well, it can lead to employees getting frequently ill, loss of productivity, absenteeism and heavy losses for the organization. We might have experienced many aircrafts getting sanitized during the outbreak of certain communicable diseases. The demand and expectation are growing every day. We need to appreciate that we are trying to graduate from cleaning commodities like acids and phenyls with some successes but still a large part of India has no access to specialized cleaning products,” avers Verma.
A lot of multinational and Indian companies are focusing on creating demands, educating the customers/prospects on the need to have a clean India. Even the government has given it a priority to provide proper hygiene and sanitation systems to everyone. India being a global hotspot of manufacturing in various segments, the country is equipped to learn from the developed world, the available technology in this segment.
“Manufacturing in my opinion is not a constraint. I believe the demands from the customers are being met completely as of now and the production facilities are equipped to do so for the next few years as well. The real challenge is educating the masses on their contribution towards the economy by not creating waste, cleaning up themselves and teaching everyone not to make the surrounding and environment dirty,” explains Sumeet.
With ever changing market conditions and clients’ dynamic & specific demands, manufacturers need constant R&D process for developing new products and improving efficiency and costing of existing products. “At Altret, we constantly sense the pulse of the market/customer’s futuristic needs and develop/customise the products to meet their specific needs. We study the specific cleaning problems of clients, the surface, available cleaning chemicals in the market, ROI of chemical solution and then develop appropriate chemical. It goes through conditional/time, property testing and after application impact. Once proven, the product is launched in the market. From time to time, feedback is taken from the market for improving the product,” says Nadeem.
“The market in India is just booming with more and more players foraying to sell their products in the campaign for having a clean India. With Swachh Bharat mission, we are confident enough that, more and more people will be creating newer products. Finally, I would like to say that even though all products may look alike, any formulator worth his salt will be quick to tell you that not all surfactants are created equal and that some cleaners are better than others, given the situation,” says Naik.
A collaborative and comprehensive approach by all the stakeholders in cleaning and sanitation can help restructuring this unorganised sector. Thinking quick sanitation without using chemicals is out of question. Adapting to eco-friendly measures at all stages right from formulation to packaging and dispensing is need of the hour.