"Sustainability of the surfactant industry in a highly regulated world" - The motto of the upcoming CESIO World Surfactant Congress reflects the hurdles facing the industry nowadays. The congress, which is organized by the European Association of Surfactant Producers (CESIO), is usually dedicated to the scientific and technical exchange between surfactant manufacturers and companies along the surfactant value chain. New this year is the business convention element, which the organizers say will enable visitors to meet with suppliers and customers on site.

Dr. Birgit Megges asked CESIO President Dr. Thomas Greindl about this new orientation of the congress and issues that are currently being discussed among the surfactant manufacturers.

CHEManager Europe: Dr. Greindl, in the past, the CESIO congress has been oriented into a scientific/technical direction. What is the specific target of the new business convention element?

T. Greindl: At the end of the 7th CESIO World Surfactant Congress 2008 in Paris, many companies approached us and asked us to create a European platform that would enable companies along the surfactant value chain to meet and to organize midyear business review meetings. The CESIO World Surfactant Congress in general offered the necessary conditions for this new orientation, but has been focused more on scientific/technical topics and did not consider to the required extend the wishes and requests of the business people in the companies.
According to their needs, the adjusted focus of the event will be shifted to the interface of science and business. We assume that this adjusted positioning will encourage further target groups to participate at the congress. It is not our aim to establish a new competition to existing events in the field of detergents or cosmetics. In fact, we would like to establish a unique profile that focuses on surfactants as an ingredient for a multitude of applications along the whole value chain. We therefore invite and encourage all stakeholders, to meet with the surfactant industry June 6-8 in Vienna.

What expectations do the organizers link to the review of the congress? Will the profile of the participants change significantly?

T. Greindl: Considering some 80 presentations in parallel sessions under the headlines market trends; applications; technical; and regulatory and safety affairs, we expect to attract a high number of industry delegates. With the business convention and the session on market trends, we expect a significant number of participants representing the business of the companies. The profile of the participants will most probably be broader and more diverse than in the previous congresses. In addition to that, we want to motivate and encourage more representatives from emerging regions like Eastern Europe and Middle East to participate at the congress. Selecting Vienna as the first location for our new orientation reflects a corresponding symbolism, as the location provides easy accessibility for delegates from these emerging regions.

Why did you choose sustainability for the motto of the congress?

T. Greindl: The industry has been working on sustainability aspects in all dimensions related to surfactants for a long time, and we have seen innovative products come out of this. With the motto of the congress: "Sustainability of the surfactant industry in a highly regulated world," we would like to focus on the key question of today's markets: How can sustainability aspects in an ever more regulated world be further developed
It is uncontested that regulation can be conducive to sustainable development, or that a regulation can even be a trigger for enhanced sustainability. For many decades, the surfactant industry has had to implement more and more pieces of legislation that limited our scope for action and, consequently, our flexibility. One of the central messages of the congress will be that sustainability should be the key driver for any new development.

Is there any good news for humans and the environment in this area?

T. Greindl: Sustainability does not only mean the protection of human and of the environment; it also has the goal to offer market solutions for our customers - needed to best fulfill technical, ecological and economic requirements. Considering the three dimensions of sustainability, activities will focus on further improvements in surfactant performance. Efforts give more and more emphasis on sustainability through improved efficacy and specific applications. Surfactants help improve processes and applications, making them more effective and saving resources and energy and thus contribute to sustainability.

Challenges for the surfactant manufacturers belong to the following four categories: availability of raw materials; production capacities; performance; and costs. Options for product-related developments could be structural variations of known surfactant building blocks, the development of new manufacturing technologies and the broader use of new petro- based or renewable-based raw materials with specific and selected properties.

There are first ideas of a synthesis of surfactant alcohols from CO2 and sunlight through algae. Biotechnology will certainly contribute to the further development of surfactants as well. Novel structure types can be the result of modified proteins or oligopeptides that find their specific fields of application. All these examples are of course in different stages of their development and it remains to be seen which of those will have commercial relevance.

Are there other issues that will be highlighted?

T. Greindl: The key issue of our congress will focus on the performance of systems where interaction between the surfactant and other product components is a crucial topic. These interactions are prerequisite e.g. for laundry and dishwashing processes at reduced temperatures. Surfactants can help to increase sustainability in these fields - for example, through savings in water and energy consumption. With this regard, systems containing surfactants are more interesting for the life cycle assessment than the surfactants in an isolated assessment of materials and substances.

Formulations and combinations of substances may be subject to a specific assessment, if, for instance, the interaction of substances within a formulation may lead to a different assessment taking into account the interactions of the single components. A new European legislation is on the horizon that bases the risk assessment on systems or formulations of substances. On Monday afternoon of the congress, we will offer a panel discussion that will adequately inform and sensitize the participants on that matter.

The increasing demand for renewable-based raw materials will continue to be an important topic. The question of sustainability cannot be simply answered for a given product, e.g. in that sense, that the higher the share of renewable-based raw materials in a product, the more sustainable the product is. Ecoefficiency and life cycle analyses for products and applications take the entire life cycle of a product into consideration - this includes the environmental impact of the raw materials used, the use of the product by customers and end consumers as well as options for recycling and disposal.

What fields of applications do you consider as the focus of research and development?

T. Greindl: Regarding the production and processing of new materials, the use of surfactants is indispensable in the production process. For example, polymers with a special microfiber structure, bio-mimetic materials and composites require surfactants that make the various components more compatible with each other. In these cases, the typical intrinsic property of a surfactant is the key: The effect on the bounding surface of compounds, which would never bond without the help of surfactants.