In the field of detergents, the continued search for better performance leads to formulation changes involving new ingredients able to satisfy specific functions of the washing process. It is of paramount importance to know the detailed nature of these products so that other implications such as the environmental performance, energy, and hygiene implications, for instance, can be assessed.

The Battelle World Detergent Program provides analytical data on the composition of major brands of detergents throughout the world for a multitude of clients ranging from detergent manufacturers to chemical suppliers to chemical associations. While the detergents analyzed are generally those used for clothing, Battelle has also analyzed heavy industrial detergents. The program helps keep track of the many technical developments the industry has undergone since the 1980s, such as the introduction of compact powders, concentrated liquids, and powders with activated bleach, or the launch of tablets and capsules.

It provides product and business managers, research and development managers, and market research managers in detergent manufacturing companies and their suppliers with a wealth of information about industry developments.

The program was created in 1989 to serve the detergent industry in Western Europe and North America, and services expanded to the Far East in 1996 and Latin America in 1997. Services include regular analysis of major detergent brands sold in Western Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia and the Pacific and an Early Warning System allowing rapid analysis of newly introduced products. Analytical methods undergo continuous improvement and development to follow introduction of new ingredients found through patent surveys.

The primary purpose of the analyses is the quantitative assay of all major ingredients, such as surfactants, builders, alkalis, and bleaching agents, as well as minor ingredients important for product performance. These may include polymers, enzymes, foam control agents, hydrotropes, or optical brighteners. The ultimate goal is the reconstruction of the product composition formula in weight percent.

The World Detergent Program also includes a marketing study that supplies detergent ingredient manufacturers with an assessment of the Western European and U.S. markets in terms of volume and value. The study combines the understanding of chemical compositions with knowledge of market shares and sales volume. Battelle’s Geneva Research Center is responsible for all the technical and marketing aspects of the program, drawing upon an inter-disciplinary team of chemical engineers, chemists, skilled laboratory technicians, and market research managers.

For more information, please contact Daniel Frauchiger at 41-22-8272839, frauchiger@battelle.org.