Cognis decided to further invest in the Ectapec site near Mexico City to help target new markets in the region.
It claims that the new sulfation unit will significantly increase the quality as well as the potential quantity of ingredients such as fatty alcohol sulfates, fatty alcohol ether sulfates and other surface active agents that the company manufactures.
Ectapec’s new sulfation reactor uses crystalline sulfur as opposed to chlorosulfonic acid as the basis for the products; which, according to the company, leads to purer products with no chlorine byproducts.
The low operating temperature means that the products don’t discolor and remain transparent, making them fit the growing demand for crystal clear formulations.
Product quantity may also be increased alongside quality as the new technology means higher throughput rates and ultimately an increase capacity, the company stated.
Commenting on the new plant site manager Roland Spörer said: “This new facility complements our existing plants and sulfation departments in Argentina, Brazil and the USA perfectly, and enables us to cover the entire North, Central and South America surfactants market.”
In addition to quantity and quality improvements, Cognis also claims the new facility will produce ingredients that have low levels of the impurity 1,4-dioxane, as limited by international regulations.
The substance was the centre of a media storm earlier this year when Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) accused a number of big personal care players of allowing dangerously high levels of the substance in their products.
Although not permitted as an ingredient in personal care products, 1,4-dioxane can be found at trace levels in ethoxylated substances that are then used in personal care products.
In response to the campaign that focused particularly on baby care products the US cosmetics trade association the Personal Care Products Council said that the impurity had been found to be safe when present at low levels.