IFF today announced the launch of its new-to-the-world Designed Enzymatic Biomaterials (DEB) technology for the development of biobased materials at scale. Designed to deliver meaningful sustainability benefits – with performance comparable or superior to fossil-based materials – DEB technology helps to address growing preferences for environmentally-friendly, high-performance biopolymers.
The technology platform offers manufacturers the opportunity to meet regulatory changes and mounting consumer demands to replace traditional fossil-based synthetic polymers. DEB is poised to lead the rapidly progressing bio-revolution by unlocking purposeful and sustainable innovation across various applications and products in home care, personal care, fabric care and industrial markets.
“With the DEB technology platform, scientists can now build the functions of petroleum-based polymers into biopolymer materials directly – customizing and fine-tuning polysaccharides to enable sustainable performance enhancements within the chosen application,” said Wayne Ashton, VP of Home and Personal Care at IFF. “From my perspective, this is one of the most innovative technology platforms to launch industry-wide in the last 15 years.”
Biomaterials derived from renewable raw materials are becoming a preferred option for many customers as they can be considerably more sustainable than their traditional, fossil-based counterparts. However, historically, biomaterials have demonstrated performance weaknesses, limiting their adoption and market penetration.
IFF’s cutting-edge DEB technology utilizes advanced biotechnology to create unique, structurally diverse polysaccharides like those found in nature, but at scale, with an accuracy and consistency typically only found in traditional industrial polymers. Its new family of advanced tailored biomaterials uses only plant-based sugars, water and enzymes; to open up access to a range of materials with glycosidic linkage control, designed-in molecular weights and morphology.
The promising potential of this innovative technology platform has already been demonstrated across several industries.
- Personal Care Applications ─ AURIST™ AGC, IFF’s first personal care ingredient enabled by DEB technology can significantly improve both wet and dry combability in conditioning haircare products and is a readily biodegradable alternative to synthetic incumbents. The newly launched conditioning biopolymer won the prestigious gold in the functional ingredients category at the 2023 in-cosmetics Global Innovation Zone Best Ingredient Award.
- Home Care Applications ─ Lyrature™ is a growing family of nature-inspired, customizable, high-performance biopolymers, designed to pursue 100 percent biodegradable detergents and cleansers. The DEB technology can be applied as cleaning polymers, rheology modifiers and emulsion stabilizers.
- Industrial Applications ─ Nuvolve™ engineered polysaccharides are currently being developed successfully as performance-enhancing materials for textile and performance additive applications and together with partners across various industries such as packaging, paper and board as well as non-wovens and performance composites. Nuvolve™ solutions are designed to meet the established polymer grade, industry specifications that are expected from fossil-derived products but are typically not met by the traditional biomaterials available today.
IFF embeds its commitment to circular design across its business as a guiding principle toward creating responsible, sustainable, and closed-loop systems in which materials are reused and waste becomes a resource. The Company continues to seek partnerships with forward-thinkers to drive the bio-revolution. To learn more about how Designed Enzymatic Biomaterials from IFF are powering a new frontier in biomaterial innovation, visit here.
