How Readily Biodegradable Specialty Oils Advance Sustainability

Using readily biodegradable ingredients, such as select specialty oils, helps product manufacturers advance sustainability and profitability.

This article was originally published at renkertoil.com.

As consumer demand for sustainable products grows around the world, more manufacturers are turning to green alternatives. This includes highly biodegradable materials.

Today, the effort to utilize such materials whenever possible is simply good business.?

• More than a third of global consumers (34 percent) are willing to pay up to 25 percent more for sustainable products or services.?
• Inventor interest in pursuing investments that are considered both environmentally and socially sustainable is on the rise.
• Major players in a variety of markets, including lubricant and chemical companies, are adopting sustainability requirements, setting standards that ripple down the supply chain.

With myriad options to consider to improve the sustainability of your product lines, adopting readily biodegradable oils and solvents may be one way to embrace the trend.

The Importance of Biodegradable Products

Consumers generally understand that products that resist breaking down naturally are potentially toxic and hazardous to plants, animals, and humans.?

This is what drives our common interest in biodegradability, a desire to ensure the waste we create dissipates harmlessly. Or at least to the greatest extent possible.?

By definition:

Biodegradability is the capacity for biological degradation of organic materials by living organisms down to the base substances such as water, carbon dioxide, methane, basic elements and biomass. - ScienceDirect

Though most consumers aren’t chemists, the general public embraces the idea that this breakdown into naturally-occurring elements is best for the environment. There is a growing interest in biodegradable cosmetics and other personal care products, for example.

Consumers demand biodegradability in all kinds of products, particularly any that involve human contact. Biodegradable products are considered more “natural,” pure, and safe. Product categories that stand to benefit the most include:

• Personal care products
• Cosmetics
• Cleaners
• Lubricants
• Lamp oils
• Adhesives
• Paints
• Sealants

Biodegradable oils and solvents are also preferred in production facilities and products whenever there is a potential to escape into the environment. Aluminum rolling oils, defoamers for water treatment, metalworking fluids, and dust suppressants are all common examples.??

Why a “Readily Biodegradable” Rating Matters

With growing awareness of sustainability issues comes scrutiny of terminology. Environmentally-conscientious consumers today are skeptical of terms like “biodegradable” - as well as “organic,” “natural,” etc. - understanding these terms exist on a spectrum.

Many products that aren’t considered sustainable could be called “biodegradable” due to their ability to break down to some extent.?

To lend credibility to the claim that products are truly contributing to a more environmentally sustainable world, the natural process of biological degradation has to occur fairly quickly. This is the difference between substances that are inherently vs. readily biodegradable.

Readily biodegradable is defined as the ability of a product to biodegrade quickly and completely (at least 60%) within 28 days.

When it comes to sustainability, this is preferable over a product being inherently biodegradable, which means it may not degrade much more than 20 percent in the same timeframe.

There are other factors for manufacturers to consider besides the degree of biodegradability when selecting a specialty oil or solvent, of course. It also has to be cost-effective.

Why Not Just Use Vegetable Oil?

Case in point: vegetable oil.?

Vegetable oils are readily biodegradable. Their viscosities are fairly stable when subjected to temperature change, and they have relatively high flash points.

Of course, vegetable oils in their natural form are less than ideal for many applications:?

• They lack the stability needed for high-performance lubrication, given their tendency to polymerize into a plastic-like consistency.?
• Their pour points are too high for low-temperature applications.??
• As food, vegetable oils, attract pests that mineral oils do not.
• Their instability means they are sensitive to rancidity - off-odors and taste.

These limits require costly chemical modifications or additives to make the use of vegetable oils workable.?

Product engineers add antioxidants to prevent polymerization, or chemically modify the oils to synthetic esters to improve cold-weather performance. Additional modifications may be necessary as well.

For many applications, there may be a better alternative that is both cost-effective and readily biodegradable. And it comes from a surprising family of chemicals, historically speaking: hydrocarbons.

Clean, High-Performing, Readily Biodegradable: Shell GTL Oils and Solvents

Shell is a leader in the conversion of clean natural gas into liquid hydrocarbons (gas-to-liquid = GTL) to create synthetic oils and solvents that are both high-performing and environmentally sustainable.

This is possible due to Shell GTL’s unique properties. It has a very high-purity isoparaffinic composition with very low aromatic and low naphthenic content. The molecular shape provides the very low viscosity with high flash point and provides access to microbes for natural breakdown.

As a result, these isoparaffins are readily biodegradable, with an ability to break down naturally that is far superior to most hydrocarbon compounds. Other properties that contribute to reduced environmental impact and performance include:

• Purity. GTL contains nearly no impurities, resulting in minimal environmental impact and a water-white, bright and clear appearance.
• Synthetic. These food-grade solvents and oils maintain the consistent composition you would expect from a synthetic product, ideal for food manufacturing.
• Low odor. As a result of its very low aromatic and low naphthenic content, GTL is almost entirely odorless - particularly useful in personal care and household products.
• Safe. Shell GTL is also non-toxic, non-sensitizing, and non-irritating, gentle on human skin and not harmful to honeybees or aquatic organisms.

This unique set of properties makes Shell GTL an attractive option, and not only for those with a high interest in promoting environmental sustainability.?

It is a next-generation product that checks many boxes for product manufacturers, including exceeding FDA food contact and cosmetics requirements.?

Renkert Oil: Your Readily Biodegradable Specialty Oil Supplier

Advancing environmental sustainability is a high priority for many of our customers, and Renkert Oil is committed to supporting their efforts to the greatest degree possible.

That is why we are so proud to partner with Shell to supply our customers with premium GTL oils and solvents.?

These products represent a monumental achievement toward sustainability. And in many applications, they offer superior performance, safety, and appearance as well.

Learn more about Shell GTL isoparaffins. Contact Renkert Oil today.