Striking a Balance
For several
decades, the
combined efforts
of scientists and
inventors across the
world in understanding
and minimizing the
impact of aerosols on
the environment have
been wide-ranging.
With phenomena like
global warming and
ozone depletion still
being seen as active
environmental issues, it has become increasingly important, or
rather critical, to come up with formulations of aerosol products
that continue to serve their purpose with minimal impact on the
environment, and overcome various challenges while also delivering
superior performance.
Environmental regulations have had a deep impact on formulations
of several widely-used aerosol applications, particularly in
the personal care aisle. Various ingredients were either regulated
out or have come under regulatory scrutiny, which called for an
urgent need for formulators to come up with innovative and safer
products. Changing consumer trends further challenged formulators
with the demand for newer forms of aerosol products.
These challenges, along with several others that will be covered
in the following sections, have led experts at Honeywell to develop
responsible and innovative replacements for hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs) with high global-warming potentials (GWPs). The Solstice
brand of low-GWP aerosols and solvents help enable us to create
formulations using ingredients that meet regulatory, environmental
and other challenges.
Tackling the challenges
When it came to understanding aerosols’ impact on the environment,
and the challenges and trends that impacted new and sustainable
formulations, several factors contributed. However, they
all boiled down to a fundamental challenge—consumers consider
aerosols to be bad for the environment. According to the Aerosol
Survey Report commissioned by Honeywell and conducted by ORC
International in May 2015, 40% of consumers were found to be
more likely to use aerosols that had lesser potential to impact the
atmosphere. This made it essential to create formulations that are
not only better for the environment, but perform equally well or
better than incumbent materials, and above all reassure consumers
that new opportunities lie ahead for responsible manufacturing
and better performance.
Increased regulatory pressure
Numerous reforms to regulations have mandated the phase-out
of many ingredients in aerosol formulations. This in turn meant
that the replacement ingredients were not necessarily “drop-in,”
and instead required complete transformation of personal care
formulations. Regulations to minimize
or eliminate emissions of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) further caused many other applications
of aerosols, such as specialized insecticides, tire inflators, dusters
and novelty aerosols, to undergo widespread changes. Our Solstice
range of products have helped make it possible to adhere to these
regulations while providing more convenient and safer product
formulations for these and numerous other applications.
Need for safer, nonflammable products
Since the phase-out of various hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
and HFCs, the focus on creating formulations that are safe to use,
handle, store, transport and dispose has become chief, especially in
the beauty sector. Honeywell’s Solstice Propellant (HFO-1234ze(E))
is the first new aerosol propellant created in 20 years. It can replace
HFC-134a with negligible environmental impact and reflects our
commitment to deliver safety with quality. With performance similar
to HFC-134a, HFO-1234ze(E) is a near drop-in replacement,
with only minimal changes required to formulations and equipment.
It is nonflammable and one of Honeywell’s ultra-low-GWP
products based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology.
Demand for newer forms of aerosol products
Consumers’ requirements are ever-changing and so is the nature of
solutions to keep up with the growing and varying demands. Meeting
the desire for newer forms of aerosol products has been an
interesting challenge. One such effort is a new bug freezer product
from Earth Chemical, one of the largest insect freezer producers in
Japan. When formulated with Solstice Propellant, it can be used
to safely freeze insects in homes and confined spaces near ignition
sources or with energized equipment. In the pathology lab, bug
freezers can be used for quick freezing of samples safely without
concern for flammability or contamination from hydrocarbons.
In the Personal Care industry, regulatory reforms have led to
several ingredients being phased out, and the challenge of newer
March 2019 SPRAY 41
The latest technology for new formulation benefits…
Prema Khanka-Bohra
Global Business Manager
Honeywell International Inc.
This paper was originally presented at the New York Aerosol Dispensing Forum (ADF).
Generations of Fluorine Products
Figure 1: Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) is a relative amount of
ozone degradation compared with R11 ODP = 1.0