MIREIA COLLADO*, CARMEN M. PEY, BLANCA NOGUÉS, BERNAT PI
*Corresponding author
KAO CHEMICALS EUROPE, Barberà del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

The need for alternative sustainable approaches to meet both the European Green Deal and today’s society demands has been recognized by the home care industry, which has been challenged to respond with innovative eco-friendly cleaning solutions. Waterless formulations are a clear example of sustainable formats that cut back on single-use plastics and CO2 emissions due to transport savings. Being surfactants the key ingredients in the formulation of super-concentrated waterless formulations, extensive research has been made around the phase behaviour of highly concentrated surfactant systems and the mechanisms behind aggregation processes, to select the best surfactant components that enable not only to meet the formulative requirements of hard surface and hand dishwashing cleaning compositions (stability, appearance, viscosity, etc.) but also to provide the excellent performance consumers are looking for.

INTRODUCTION
The European Union has enacted an investment plan to achieve the sustainability-related goals set by the European Green Deal over the next ten years. This investment plan is supposed to promote and facilitate an inclusive transition to a climate-neutral economy by 2050. As an approach to sustainable economic growth, this plan aims to help companies become leaders in clean products and technologies.
Moreover, connected with this green transition, waste-free lifestyles are becoming increasingly popular among consumers, who place special emphasis on the replacement of single-use plastics by refillable options.

To meet the demands of society, the Home Care industry is moving towards more sustainable solutions. Dilutable formats, concentrated products to be diluted at home by the consumer, are a clear example of an eco-friendly innovative cleaning option, which cut back on single-use plastics and carbon dioxide emissions associated with transportation.(1)

Many cleaning products contain water as a major ingredient, accounting for more than half percent of the composition. Since water is a common ...