Clariant presents the EcoTain® life cycle for safer, long lasting lubricants

Muttenz Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, unveils its portfolio of EcoTain® products for the industrial lubricants sector. The EcoTain lifecycle and labeling system clearly identifies Clariant products that offer “sustainable excellence at every step”.

The EcoTain life cycle and label developed by Clariant is driven by the commitment to protect human, environmental and ecological health without compromising on performance and efficiency. The EcoTain claim “sustainable excellence at every step” promises that every product carrying the EcoTain label delivers advantages and benefits at each of its four life-cycle steps: sustainable design, responsible process, safe & efficient use, and eco-integration.

Clariant components for industrial lubricants that carry the EcoTain label fulfill a broad range of requirements that safeguard the health of the people who produce them as well as those that use them.

EcoTain products for industrial lubricants have been developed to satisfy the dual aims of performance and sustainability. Products such as non-ionic emulsifier Emulsogen MTP 070 offer lubricant and metal working formulators outstanding performance benefits, including excellent emulsion formation and stability, very low foaming and high lime soap dispersing power. Along with its lower environmental impact, customers are assured a steady supply through a combination of excellent feedstock availability, a broad inventory status and global production set-up.

Current lubricant products that carry the EcoTain label include further Emulsogen® emulsifiers, Hostacor® corrosion inhibitors, Hostagliss® lubricity improvers, Hordaphos® EP/AW additives as well as an Emulsogen® metal working package. The products’ applications range from water-based, semi-synthetic and synthetic metal working fluids to HFA and HFC fire-resistant hydraulic fluids as well as metal cleaners and rolling emulsions. Specific life-cycle-phase benefits of EcoTain products that fulfill the four-step criteria are highlighted in the following examples:

Sustainable design
Friendly, non-hazardous composition is a primary requirement for EcoTain products and this involves the use of safe ingredients and renewable feedstocks wherever possible. EcoTain products, like non-ionic emulsifier Emulsogen MTP 070, make use of alternatives to toxic materials such as boron, diethanolamine, chlorinated paraffins and nitrites and therefore need no health hazard labeling.

Responsible process
Responsible process refers to sustainable production using safer processes that have a lower impact on the environment. All the sites that manufacture EcoTain products for industrial lubricants have been certified for safety and quality (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001). Improved chemical processes lead to increased yield and reduced generation of waste. Many of the products, including the Emulsogen range, are produced in Germany, the USA and China. This reduces the distances that products have to be transported, along with the accompanying impact on the environment.

Safe & efficient use
This phase focuses on safety for those who handle EcoTain products both during their production and application at the same time as optimizing performance. Multi-functionality in lubricant additives leads to reduced formulation complexity and performance optimization to prolong the life of lubricants. Complex ester Hostagliss L4, for example, is suitable for mineral-oil-free formulations and also helps to reduce energy consumption in metal working operations.

Eco-integration
The environmental profile of a product defines how rapidly and easily it degrades as well as the overall impact it has on the environment. EcoTain additives all present an improved environmental profile and are readily biodegradable as well as belonging, where applicable, to WGK1 - the lowest hazard class of the German water hazard classification.

Sustainable innovation
EcoTain represents Clariant’s approach to sustainability at the product level and is being systematically rolled out throughout the company. The 4th Lubgrax Meeting 2013 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, of which Clariant is a silver sponsor, is the venue at which Clariant’s Industrial Lubricants segment, Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties (ICS), is showcasing its range of sustainable products. New sustainable ingredients are also currently in the pipeline and will soon be launched under the EcoTain label.

“When selecting our EcoTain products, customers in the industrial lubricants sector can be immediately confident that they have been developed and manufactured with sustainability and performance in mind. Clariant is setting a new standard in terms of environmental and social health with EcoTain, and we are pleased to offer these customers every possible chance to lighten the environmental load without giving up the edge on performance,” comments Silvia Ziebold, Global Marketing Manager at Clariant’s Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties.