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Liquid-detergent dosage sparks comments

Liquid-laundry detergent manu-facturer Church & Dwight iscampaigning for consistency in

recommended doses of liquid laundrydetergents.

"Nearly two years since majormanufacturers introduced one-quarter-cup packaging for concentrated liquidlaundry detergent, the initiative 10reduce packaging waste and increaseconsumer convenience may fail due todeclining market share for one-quar-ter-cup detergents," a companyannouncement in December 1994said.

Labels on liquid detergents oftendirect consumers to use a "capful" ofproduct for each wash load; the vol-ume of product thus will varyaccording to the size of the cap usedby each firm for its product. Con-sumers may nOI always followdosage directions. Colgate-Palmolivespokesperson Jennifer Barbara notedthat people tend to dose differentlyeven with measuring devices (caps)provided-"sometimes they usemore than the cap holds and some-times less."

Church & Dwight said that Col-gate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamblehad lowered recommended doses ofconcentrated liquid detergents by one-tenth of a cup, from a half cup to four-tenths. Amway has been marketing aliquid detergent formulated for one-quarter-cup doses since 1960, accord-ing to Church & Dwight.

Colgate-Palmolive's Barbara saidthat firm uses caps holding three-eighths of a cup measuring caps, notfour-tenths of a cup. Procter & Gam-ble spokesperson Teri Glover said thatbefore the development of "ultra" orconcentrated products, the company'sliquid laundry measuring caps werefour-tenths of a cup. not a half-cup.

"We introduced ultra liquids inNovember of 1992. Concentrated liq-uids involve more than just takingwater out; these products representnew technology," she said.

Market share for one-quarter cupliquid detergents fell by 30% in thesix months from February throughAugust 1994, Church & Dwight said,

citing its data from InformationResources Inc. Church & Dwightattributed the decline to consumerconfusion and a belief that biggerpackages provide greater value.Church & Dwight noted that a con-sumer following label directionswould get 16 washes from a 64-ouncebottle of laundry detergent with a half-cup measuring cap, a 50-ounce bottlewith a four-tenths of a cup measuringcap or a 32-ounce bottle with a one-quarter cup measuring cap.

Unit pricing based on the weight orvolume of the package also confusesconsumers, according to Church &Dwight. "For example, a 64-ounceboule (with a half-cup measuring cap)priced at $3.69 costs the consumeronly six cents per ounce, or 23 centsper washload. On the other hand, a32-ounce bottle with a one-quartercup cap priced at $2.49 costs the con-sumer eight cents per ounce but 15.5cents per washload. The price seemsto be 2 cents more per ounce for con-centrates, but tbe cost is actually 7.5cents less per load," the finn said.

Church & Dwight said the pricesreflect average national retail prices ofmajor brands. Some states and munic-ipalities require stores to post pricesbased on volume or weight of theproduct.

"People buy our products based ona number of factors," said Glover ofProcter & Gamble. "The main onesare performance and value. With theultra products they get environmentalbenefits, but that's a bonus."

The environmental impact of largerdoses and larger packages could besignificant, Cburch & Dwight report-ed, citing a study by Henry S. Cole,former national science and policydirector for Clean Water Action. 'Thestudy shows that concentrated prod-ucts require less packaging and energyand result in less waste and pollution,"the company's announcement stated."With approximately a half-billionliquid laundry detergent containerssold in the United States each year,converting all half-cup liquid laundrydetergent containers to one-quartercup concentrated detergent would

save 55 million pounds of plastic con-tainer material; conserve 18.2 milliongallons of gasoline and 1.1 billionpounds of water; cut pollution andwaste from the production of plasticdetergent containers in half; and elim-inate the disposal of millions of con-tainers per year:'

P&G's Glover said that her compa-ny's introduction of concentratedpowders and liquids, refillable pack-aging and use of packaging containingpost-consumer recycled plastics "isevidence of our commitment to pro-tect the environment and reduce envi-ronmental impact throughout thedesign, manufacturing, use and dis-posal of our products. Our wholeindustry is concerned about the envi-rcnmenr."

Gist-brocades opensnew enzyme plantGist-brocades opened its new Lipo-max lipase enzyme production facili-ties in Bruges, Belgium. this pastDecember.

Opening ceremonies included asymposium on lipase enzymes indetergents. Since the Japanese firmLion introduced lipase enzymes incommercial laundry detergents in thelate 1980s, other formulators acrossthe globe have incorporated lipases inliquid and powder products, joiningpreviously used protease and amylaseenzymes. Gist-brocades began pro-ducing lipase enzymes for the deter-gent industry in mid-1994. The newproduction facility has a Ilexiblecapacity, which the company wouldnot specify. However, the new facilityrepresents an investment of 25 millionDutch guilders (approximately $14million). The Iipases produced may beused in other processing industries aswell.

Speakers at the lipase symposiumincluded Onno Misset of Gist-bro-cades enzyme research department inDelft, The Netherlands, on "Develop-ment and Properties of Lipomax;"Robert Verger of the Centre National

INFORM.Vol. 6. no. 2 (February 1995)

de Recherche Scienrifique in Mar-seille, France, on "Structure and Func-tion of Lipases;" Maarten R. Egmondof Unilever Research Laboratory inVlaardingen, The Netherlands, on"Pseudomonas glumae Lipase Char-acterization, Biogenesis and ProteinEngineering;" and Ann Wolff of Proc-ter & Gamble's (P&G) Fabric andHard Surfaces Technology Division inCincinnati, Ohio, on "Lipases inDetergents."

P&G's Wolff reviewed theattributes lipase enzymes offer deter-gent users and had some caveats forproducers. Lipases remove greasyfood stains, as well as cosmetic stainssuch as lipstick, and sebum stains onthe underarms, collar and cuffs ofshins and blouses.

"These stains are difficult toremove from fabric under the best ofconditions-hot water and extendedwash time," Wolff said.

She noted that increased emphasison energy conservation has led to useof cooler water and shorter washingcycles in home laundry equipment."There's a real need for an addedtechnology that can provide a newtype of cleaning," she said.

Lipases break down the trig lyc-erides in oily stains. Triglycerides arehydrophobic, insoluble in water, hardto remove and lend to produce mal-odors as they age, Wolff noted. Lipas-es break the triglyceride in two places,"resulting in three smallerparts-mono- or diglyceride and fattyacids. These parts are soluble and canbe removed with cooler water," shesaid.

Lipases are nOIused up in the washliquor, so they can act repeatedly.

"In addition, the fabric is visiblyclean and the potential for malodorproduction is eliminated," she said.

For detergent formulators, howev-

er, there are some concerns withenzymes. "Lipase is a fragile enzyme,which requires the proper balance ofsurfactency to allow its benefits to berealized. Here's where detergentmatrices make a huge difference," shesaid.

A mix of surfactants can facilitatethe enzyme's reaching the soil and"removal of the products created dur-ing the enzyme's use are imperative tothe optimal performance of theenzyme," she said. Wolff urged deter-gent manufacturers to find activeingredients that can operate withlipase enzymes "under all of theglobe's considerable different washingand matrix conditions."

To develop its Lipomax enzyme,Gist-brocades' Misset said he and hisco-workers screened various enzymecandidates (microorganisms in soilsamples and in scientific collections,which excrete lipolytic activity) and

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INFORM, Vol. 6. no. 2 (February 1995)

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found the "extracellular alkaline lipasefrom Pseudomonas alcaligene ..." to bethe best for functioning in laundryconditions. "neutral to alkaline pH(7-11), temperatures up to 600e andthe presence of nonionic and anionicsurfactants and bleach:' Missel report-ed that the P. alcaligenes lipase is a"monomeric protein composed of 289amino acids with a molecular weightof 30 kDa and an isoelectric point of5.1." He said the enzyme is mostactive hydrolyzing fatly acid chainslonger than C12'

Protein engineering to improve meenzyme's performance characteristicsincluded creating a three-dimensionalmodel of its structure, selectingactive-site residues, performing site-directed mutagenesis and localizedrandom mutagenesis, and testing theresulting enzyme in laundry applica-tions.

Verger's paper discussed the struc-ture and function of lipases, based oncontributions of the Marseilles, Yorkand Novo-Nordisk teams to the Euro-pean Communities BRIDGE T-Pro-gramme on Lipases (1991-1994). Thework covered the use of x-ray crystal-lography to study the interfacial acti-vation by mixed micelles of theupase-procoftpese complex. His paperalso mentioned the finding that astructure normally found in pancreaticlipases is absent from guinea pigphospholipase, which could be "panlyresponsible for the anomalous behav-ior of the enzyme." He discussed per-forming kinetic measurements oflipase hydrolysis rates of long-chainglycerides forming monomolecularfilms as well as developmentsenabling scientists to use the oil-droptensiometer for studying the kineticsof phospholipase.

Henkel expandingEmery facilityHenkel has announced that a three-phase expansion and upgrading of itsfatty acids and glycerine plant at itsEmery Group in Cincinnati. Ohio,should be completed sometime in 1996.

During the first phase, begun inDecember 1994, a new oleic fatty acid

distillation system is being installed.The system was designed and its tech-nologies developed by companyemployees; no descriptions of the sys-tem were available. It is expected to beoperational by the middle of the year.

The second phase will involveimproving facilities for materialunloading, pressure splitting, hydro-genation, separation, distillation, glyc-erine processing and product loading.The project will become operationalin stages through early 1996.

The company said the third phasewould be "a major expansion of theunit operations for the processing offauy acids and glycerine." Productwill be sold in North America. Oleo-chemicals are used in pharmaceuti-cals, soaps and detergents, cleaningproducts, cosmetics and personal-careproducts. coatings, lubricants, adhe-sives and plastics.

Italy's Migninito head lFSCCElio Mignini of Italy has been electedpresident of the International Federa-tion of Societies of CosmeticChemists (IFSCC) for 1994-1995. Hetook office during the IFSCC meetingduring October 1994 in Venice,Italy.

Other officers will be Peter Schnei-der, Switzerland, vice president;Lothar Mottischke, Germany, hon-orary secretary; Patrick Cooney, Unit-ed Kingdom, treasurer; and AOCSmember Stephen Greenberg, UnitedStates; Alan Oppenheim, Australia;Serge Grlzzo. France, and TatsuyaOzawa, Japan, as praesidiurn commit-tee members.

The 1996 IFSCC Congress will beheld Oct. 22-25, 1996, in Sydney,Australia.

Business briefsPilot Chemical Company andAlbright & Wilson Americas (AWA)have announced the formation of aventure to manufacture and to markethigh active (70%) alcohol sulfates andether sulfates for personal-care,household and industrial and institu-tional markets in North America. Thecooperative arrangement, announcedduring November 1994, will enableAWA to produce surfactants in NorthAmerica for customers previouslysupplied from the company's facilitiesin Europe and Asia. A new plantbeing constructed III Pilot's facility inMiddletown, Ohio, is scheduled to becommissioned early in 1995.

Lonza Inc. has expanded its fatty acidesters plant at Williamsport, Pennsylva-nia. The $10-15 million project added10-20 million pounds of capacity,which represented an overall increase ofester capacity of approximately a third,the company's announcement said.

Draiswerke Inc., manufacturer ofequipment for mixing, reacting anddrying a variety of products, includingsoaps, has moved from Allendale,New Jersey, to 40 Whitney Road,Mahwah, New Jersey (telephone: 201-

INFORM. Vol. 6, no. 2 (February 1995)

L

Henkel's Winkhaushonored by ecologistsH.D. Winkhaus, management chair-man for Henkel KGaA, has been rec-ognized as the ecological manager ofthe year for large firms in Germany bythe Ecological Foundation, WWF(World Wildlife Fund)-Germany andCapital. a German magazine, accord-ing to a report in Feu WissenschaftTechnologie.

The group annually selects twopersons for the award, one from alarge organization and one from amedium-sized company. SiegfriedStocker, owner of a Munich bakery,was selected as the recipient for medi-um-sized companies.

Among Henkel's environmentalactivities cited in Winkhaus' selectionwere making environmental conserva-tion a concern of Henkel's top manage-ment, establishing a special group toemphasize ecological concerns, trainingof 1,500-2,000 staff members a year onenvironmental topics, encouraging con-servation through various media, estab-lishing ecological monitoring programs,and other activities.

Winkhaus spoke at the 1986 Sec-ond World Conference on Detergentssponsored by the AOCS.

847-0600; fax: 201-847-0606).

Lion Corporation of Japan hasopened a new detergent packagingline at its Chiba factory near Tokyo.The line is producing gift packages ofdetergent products. Lion said itopened the new line to meet consumerdemand for gift-packaged products.

Rohm and Haas said it has expandedmanufacturing capacity for its tertiary-alkyl primary amines at its plant inHouston, Texas. by 35% but declinedto reveal the total new capacity. Thetertiary-alkyl primary amines, market-ed under the Primene brand name, areused in diverse applications.

International F10ra Technologies Ltd.of Apache Junction. Arizona. hasappointed ICI Surfactants as distributorfor the Arizona firm's high-oleic sun-flower oil, Aorasun-90, for North. Cen-tral and South America. excluding cer-tain U.S. states. International Flora willretain distribution rights in the westernand Rocky Mountain regions of theUnited States, in Europe and in Asia.The oil contains more than 85% oleicacid, a news release said, providing astable oil emollient for cosmetic and per-sonal-cere products (INFORM 5: 1208).

ErratumIn the December 1994 INFORM, areport on the AOCS Soaps and Deter-gents Technologist Conference held inMiami Beach inadvertently omittedthree papers from the listing of paperspresented. Those papers were "KettleSaponification, Concurrent and Coun-tercurrent Systems, Computer Model-ing;' by J.A. Serdakowski of Chemi-cal Engineering Consultants and E.D.George of the Original Bradford SoapWorks Inc.; "The Importance of RawMaterial Selection in Detergent Manu-facture," by R. Maldonado of FMCCorporation; and "Risk ManagementPrograms, Environmental Control,Process Safety and Energy Conserva-tion" by E. Castaneda of Procter &Gamble de Mexico. INFORM regretsthe omissions. •

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Announces all

International Symposium on Micelles,Microemulsions and Monolayers: Quarter

Century Progress and New HorizonsAugust 28-30,1995 (Monday-Wednesday)'

Abstracts for papers (20 minutes) and posters are invited on the following topics:

• MICELLES• Thermodynamics of Micelles• Solubilization in Micelles• Dynamic Structure and Kinetics of Micelles• Micellar Catalysis• Rod-Like, Lamellar and Other Irregular Shaped Micelles• Liquid Crystalline Structures, Vesicles and Liposomes• Viscoelastic Solutions• Photochemistry of Micellar Solutions• Reverse Micelles, Structure and Dynamics• Detergency and Other Technological Applications of Micelles

• MICROEMULSIONS• Reactions in Microemulsions• Nanoparticle Synthesis in Microemulsions• Applications of Microemulsions to Food and Pharmaceutics• Solubilization Phenomena in Microemulsions• Structure and Dynamics of Microemulsions• Enzymatic Reactions in Microemulsions• Polymerization in Microemulsions• Removal of Heavy Metals or Organic Pollutants Using Microemul-

sicns• Small Angle, X-Ray and Neutron Scattering of Microemulsions• Phase-Diagrams or Microemulsion Systems• Freeze-Fracture, Electron Microscopy of Microemulsions• Technological Applications or Microemulsions

• MONOLAYERS• Reactions in Monolayers (c.g. Polymerization. Hydrolysis, etc.)• Brewster Angle Microscopy of Monolayers• Optical and Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Monolayers• Langmuir-Blodgett Films• Enzymatic Reactions in Monolayers• Phase-Transition in Monotayers. Marangoni Effect• Rheological Properties of Monolayers• Protein and Polymer Monolayers• Surfactant Monolayers at Oil/Water or Solid/Gas Interfaces• STM and AFM of Monolayers• Retardation of Evaporation by Monolayers• Technological Applications of Monolayers

The program also includes plenary and invited lecturesby promincnt researchers.

For Further Information Contact: Professor D.O. Shah, DirectorCenter for Surface Science &: Engineering, 425 Chemical Engineering,P.O. Box 116005, University of Florida. Gainesville. FL 32611 USA

Phone: 904-392-0877: FAX: 904-392-0127; E-Mail: shah@che.un.cdu

.Immediately following !lie ACS Nationat Meeting in Chkago. IL (August 2t-25. \995)

For Inlormatlon elrel. flOO

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