Surfactants are centrally important for the functioning of our modern society, since these are essential ingredients in i.a. detergents, personal- & home care products, with a global production of over 20 Mt/y. The surfactants sector and associated industries, are facing a range of serious challenges related to raw materials supply, manufacturing practices, and severe shortage of sustainable high-performance products. Clearly, these industries are eager to embrace circular and sustainable concepts, while not willing to compromise on performance and profitability targets. Yet, currently available solutions are not optimal. About half still fully rely on petrochemicals, whereas only less than 5% can be considered fully-biobased (≥95% renewable carbon). Moreover, most bio-based solutions are either too costly or lack the performance needed for full customer satisfaction.
PureSurf, an EIC Transition scheme funded project, addresses the evident need for high performance surfactants sourced from locally available, renewable raw materials while meeting industrial meeting market requirements.
This project develops novel bio based surfactants via a modular synthesis platform transforming European bio based waste and side streams into readily biodegradable, high performance molecules. Targeted feedstocks include used cooking oils, vegetable oil derived building blocks, and biomass derived aromatic building blocks. The objectives are to replace petro and tropical oil inputs with regional feedstocks, to support EU strategic autonomy by reducing import dependence, deliver ready biodegradable surfactants with competitive performance, and establish a pathway to market through scale up and regulatory preparedness. The project integrates end to end validation from kilogram scale synthesis and process intensification to standardized performance testing and regulatory assessments. The pathways rely on iterative molecular design aligned with the principles of green chemistry. early market feedback, a standardized testing pipeline benchmarking against industrial references, external formulation trials for drop in feasibility, and toxicology and ecotoxicology assessments.
