The Eastman™ green biocatalytic process provides new green, sustainable, and natural ingredients for use in cosmetics and personal care products. It uses enzymes and closely controlled conditions to make esters, eliminating the high temperature and strong acids traditionally required in their manufacture. Esters are a vital building block in thousands of products. The cosmetic and personal care industry in North America annually consumes an estimated 50,000 metric tons of esters for a variety of uses including emollients, emulsifiers, and specialty performance ingredients.
Presented with the 2009 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this “gentler” process consumes less energy while making high quality products, even when beginning with sensitive starting materials. Eastman’s green biocatalytic process uses no solvents and virtually eliminates by-products, reducing the number of processing steps required for manufacture.
Key benefits of the Eastman™ green biocatalytic process:
- Low energy consumption
- Operates at low temperatures and uses no solvent or strong acids
- Adheres to the EPA’s Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry
- Can utilize natural source material to produce natural ingredients
