The Sirius Effect:

Briteframe AQn is a highly effective antiscalant that is extremely biodegradable. This makes it a good replacement for traditional antiscalants such as phosphates and phosphonates, but also for less biodegradable antiscalants. However, replacement may require minor adjustments to the product formulation. Sirius International is happy to think along with you in this regard. Because Sirius International is now part of the Azelis Group, it is now also possible to investigate this in one of Azelis's many application laboratories. That is the new Sirius effect.

It is clear to everyone that sustainable alternatives are needed for phosphates, phosphonates and polyacrylates as water softeners and antiscalants. Phosphorus compounds are very harmful to nature and are therefore increasingly banned. The fact that phosph(on)ates and polyacrylates are undegradable means that they continue to accumulate in nature for a very long time. The consequences of this are becoming increasingly clear.

However, it is very important for manufacturers of washing powders, dishwasher tablets and other products in which antiscalants are used that the replacement with a sustainable alternative does not come at the expense of the quality of the final product. And that poses a challenge for producers. In order to use sustainable antiscalants effectively, it is necessary to adjust the product formulation slightly.

Readily biodegradable

Sirius International already has several biodegradable antiscalants in its product portfolio. The latest addition to this product line is Briteframe AQn, which is the third polymer in this field in addition to Briteframe PESA and Briteframe PASP, with high effectiveness, even better degradability and also a chelating effect. Briteframe AQn is available in different versions with different polymer lengths (n=5, 10 or 15).

Briteframe AQn is available as an aqueous solution and as granules. Work is currently underway on a granule with a slightly larger grain to prevent dust and thus increase safety even further.

The first test results of Briteframe AQn were very positive. Due to the chemical structure of this polymer, Briteframe AQn has a very high effectiveness as an antiscalant and chelating agent. In addition, it has very good biodegradability. Nowadays, a product can be called ' readily biodegradable' if at least sixty percent has been broken down into carbon and hydrogen after 28 days. Recent OECD301 tests showed that Briteframe AQn more than meets these requirements and is even approaching 90-95%.

Adjust formulation

However good these test results are, the big question for manufacturers is how this sustainable antiscalant can be included in a product formulation and replace a less sustainable antiscalant. Although the old and new antiscalants basically do the same thing, they differ so much from each other chemically that a direct 1-to-1 replacement is not possible. Small adjustments in the formulation will always be necessary to allow the Briteframe AQn to do its work effectively. Of course, this must be done without compromising the quality of the end product in the slightest. The exact adjustments differ per product.

Sirius International would like to think along with you and provide support in this regard. Thanks to our affiliation with the Azelis Group, we can offer our customers even more than before. Of course we offer you the opportunity to test our Briteframe AQn yourself in your formulation. We would like to hear your feedback, so that we can further optimize our antiscalant if necessary, to suit your needs. In addition, there is now also the option to test your formulation in one of Azelis' formulation and application support laboratories, which are specially equipped for this. In this way we hope to remove all obstacles to the application of sustainable antiscalants such as Briteframe AQn.

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