SBIR Phase I: Bi-functional Surfactants Platform from Biomass-Derived Feedstocks

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过开发一种单一的洗涤剂化学品来取代现有洗涤剂配方中的多种化学品，从而将配制洗衣洗涤剂的成本降低30-50%。所提出的双功能洗涤剂分子的商业化可以基本上消除对通常用于在硬水条件下保持功能的化学品的需要。减少洗涤剂配方中所需的化学品的量和数量将使生产的洗涤剂产品浓度提高25%，降低包装成本，并使单剂量片剂的配制更容易。该技术通过使用植物为基础的原料而不是目前占主导地位的石油为基础的产品来抵消洗涤剂化学品生产的碳足迹。此外，减少洗涤剂中使用的化学品的量减少了对水道的环境影响。第一阶段研究项目的技术目标是开发一种用于洗衣粉应用的双功能表面活性剂化学品，对现有分子的新表面活性剂进行基准测试，并优化化学工艺以实现有效的规模化。该技术将通过消除对螯合剂的需求来降低洗衣粉配方的成本，螯合剂用于减轻清洁应用中常见的硬水的负面影响。双功能表面活性剂分子同时起到表面活性剂和螯合剂的作用，从而能够实现更浓缩的洗涤剂和单剂量片剂的改进功能，特别是对于基于植物的环境友好型洗涤剂的配制者。技术目标通过洗涤剂结构的迭代设计和测试来指导新洗涤剂分子的开发，从而鉴定出第一个上市的产品，以及反应工程和优化来指导工艺技术的有效设计。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to reduce the cost of formulating laundry detergents by 30-50% through the development of a single detergent chemical that replaces the need for numerous chemicals in existing detergent formulations. Commercialization of the proposed dual-function detergent molecule could substantially eliminate the need for chemicals commonly used to maintain the function in hard water conditions. Reduction of the amount and number of chemicals needed in a detergent formulation will enable production of 25% more concentrated detergent products, reducing packaging costs and enabling easier formulation of single-dose tablets. The technology offsets the carbon footprint of detergent chemical production by using plant-based starting materials instead of the current petroleum-based products, which currently dominate the industry. Additionally, reduction in the amount of chemicals used in detergents reduces environmental impact to waterways. The technical objectives in this Phase I research project are to develop a bi-functional surfactant chemical for laundry detergent applications, benchmark the new surfactants with respect to existing molecules, and to optimize the chemical process for effective scale-up. The technology will reduce the cost of laundry detergent formulations by eliminating the need for chelating agents, which are used to mitigate the negative effects of hard water common in cleaning applications. The bi-functional surfactant molecules take the role of both a surfactant and a chelating agent, thereby enabling more concentrated detergents and improved function for single-dose tablets, especially for formulators of plant-based, environmentally-friendly detergents. The technical objectives direct development of the new detergent molecules through iterative design and testing of detergent structures, resulting in identification of a first to market product, as well as reaction engineering and optimization to direct efficient design of the process technology.