INFORM March 2025

inform March 2025, Vol. 36 (3) • 31

heat treatment on saponin and vitamin E levels, as well as prod uct shelf life. The cleaning efficiency of the resulting bio-based detergent was assessed and compared with that of conventional synthetic detergents. Findings reveal that processing methods preserved the concentrations of saponin (1034—1148 mg/L) and vitamin E (11.9—11.7 mg/L), maintaining the essential sur factant properties. The bio-based detergent demonstrated an acceptable shelf life and efficiency comparable to commercial synthetic detergents, indicating the potential of utilizing liquid waste and residues as feedstock for cleaning product produc tion. Furthermore, the decomposition of liquid residues released numerous volatile compounds into the environment, including previously unidentified volatile surfactants specific to Furcraea sp., along with various other compounds such as alcohols, esters, aldehydes, ketones, terpenoids, and fatty acids. Using a novel bio-based cationic flocculant for food industry wastewater treatment Ahmed, G.E., et al. , Scientific Reports , 14, 19423, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69558-2 Wastewater from the food industry is considered harmful to human health and aquatic life, as well as polluting water and soil. This research is centered around finding an affordable and easy physicochemical method for dealing with waste generated by the food industry. To accomplish this goal, a new bio-based flocculant called 4-benzyl-4-(2-oleamidoethylamino-2-ox oethyl) morpholin-4-ium chloride was created using sustain able sources, specifically crude olive pomace oil. Its chemical structure was confirmed using various spectroscopic techniques such as FTIR, 1 H-NMR, mass spectra, and 13 C-NMR. This new bio-based cationic flocculant was combined with alum to act as a coagulant in the waste treatment process. Also, a study was conducted to determine the optimal conditions for the coagula tion-flocculation process parameters, namely, pH and alum dos age, on COD and removal efficiency. The results showed that the optimal conditions for flocculation were achieved at pH 5.8, with 680 mg/L alum and 10 mg/L of commercial flocculant dose com pared to only 5 mg/L of a new bio-based cationic flocculant. A comparison was made between the new bio-cationic flocculant and a commercial CTAB one for treating wastewater in the food industry. The study found that the new bio-based cationic floccu lant was more effective in reducing the chemical oxygen demand, achieving a reduction of 61.3% compared to 54.6% for using a commercial cationic flocculant. Furthermore, using a new bio based cationic flocculant costs only 0.49 $/g, which is less than the present cationic flocculant, which costs 0.93 $/g. The adop tion of this new flocculant provides a sustainable alternative to existing industrial wastewater treatment processes.

Bryan Yeh has over 30+ years of senior leader experience in the agribusiness, biofuels, energy, food, management con sulting, renewable chemicals, synthetic biology, and water industries. He is based in Walnut Creek, California.

An aspect that I feel is important for the surfactant and detergent industry is the environmental impact that these products have, either in the context of the carbon footprint from manufactur ing, or the end of use impact on the environment. The first article reviews the climate change impact of fragrance ingredients on the full consumer home and personal care product. The second article provides an evaluation of biosurfactants as an alternative to chem ical surfactants. The third article discusses strategies on bioreme diation of personal care products and detergents by providing a review on sustainability aspects and insights on life cycle assess ment. The forth article looks at the effect of essential oils combined with surfactants on enzyme stability towards the development of disinfectant detergents. On improving the climate change impact of surfactant-based cleaning products: Were you aware of the potential impact of fragrances? Doro, F., Colloids and Surfaces C: Environmental Aspects , 2, 100027, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsuc.2023.100027 Life cycle assessments of home and personal care consumer products, carried out in the last 20 years, have provided insights and disclosed blind spots that prompted product developers to make significant changes in product format, formulation, and packaging, leading to more sustainable consumer products. However, fragrances are often overlooked in terms of interconnectedness with key environmental footprint parameters of consumer products. In this article we show that fragrance ingredients could be relevant for reducing the climate change impact of the full consumer product, defined as Global Warming Potential at 100 years (GWP100), and at the same time drive olfactory differentiation. To illustrate this, a comparison was drawn between the GWP100 for typical surfactants commonly used in the European market and the GWP100 for fragrance ingredient proxies, using in both cases GWP100 data extracted from the literature. Fragrance proxies were synthesized using two methods: a continuous flow process (scenario 1) and batch-type processes (scenario 2), representing optimal and non-optimal synthesis approaches, respectively. The findings revealed that fragrance ingredients synthesized through less efficient processes could approach the environmental impact of surfactants. The article delves as well into the complexities posed by fragrance concentra tion, solubilization, and fragrance delivery in the development of novel sustainable formulations.

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