Henkel-developed enzyme to help reduce CO2 emissions

Henkel Research has succeeded in combining surfactants and enzymes within a liquid hand-dishwashing product - a chemical first - which means not just a better cleaning performance but a reduction in CO2 emissions amounting to some 12,000 metric tons per year.

The enzymes give a greater cleaning power because they are capable of splitting starch molecules. They are also still effective at low temperatures, enabling a reduction in energy consumption. Dishwashing even in cold water produces the same results, the company maintains.

And because enzymes replace a portion of the surfactants otherwise needed, material input is also reduced. Each year this means a saving of 2,000 metric tons in surfactant consumption, says the German home care giant which, in carbon footprint terms, corresponds to the annual CO2 take-up of a wooded area three times the size of New York’s Central Park.

To facilitate development of the enzymes required, Henkel has been working closely with the company Novozymes, which received Henkel’s “Sustainability Award Laundry & Home Care 2013” at the ACI Convention in Orlando, Florida, held at the beginning of this year.