Is there a sustainable and safe alternative to solvents?

Is there a sustainable and safe alternative to solvents?

Wednesday, 13 April, 2022

The constant rise of increasingly restrictive regulations surrounding the use of solvents, together with the search for products that are less dangerous to handle is a growing trend.

Accordingly, traditional solvents are being replaced by bio-solvents, which are safer and sustainable alternatives.

Our represented company Galactic manufactures bio-solvents derived from lactic acid (lactic acid esters). The lactic acid is obtained from the fermentation of sugar and corn glucose. As such, they are a sustainable product with a significantly lower carbon footprint than solvents derived from petroleum.

Comindex distributes the following bio-solvents:

Galaster EL98: 100% biodegradable ethyl ester of lactic acid. It is miscible in water and in most organic solvents and has a boiling point of 153ºC.
Galaster BL97: Butyl ester of lactic acid. Its boiling point is 187ºC and it is partially miscible in water and in a wide range of organic solvents.

Traditional solvents can be replaced by one of these products or by a mixture of them, depending on the characteristics of the solvent to be replaced.

In addition, they are useful as drying retardants in solvent-based coatings and as coalescents in water-based coating formulations.

Some of the sectors where we can replace traditional solvents include:

Paints and coatings
Inks
Surface treatments
Detergency and industrial cleaning
Phytosanitary products

In conclusion, bio-solvents are a safe and environmentally-friendly alternative that does not adversely affect the performance of production processes.

For further information about these products, please contact our technical advisory team.

URL: www.lactic.com

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