Last week saw yet another exciting addition to our multi-million-pound capital investment programme at our manufacturing site in Irlam, UK. At Libra, we are committed to investing in the future of the UK chemical industry.
With all of our new Low Salt Betaine storage tanks now in place we are moving ever closer to Low Salt Betaine production at Libra, which will commence in Q4 2021. We are extremely proud of the continued capital investments in our manufacturing plant, and we are excited for the future of Betaine production.
Why Are We Investing?
Betaines are well known for exceptional detergency and foam boosting properties and do not suffer from the problems listed and widely recognised for SLES. Betaines are also fully biodegradable and naturally sustainable. However, standard betaines contain typically 5-6% salt. Salt causes extensive issues with viscosity control, formulation stability and formulation clarity which currently restricts the inclusion levels to ca 2%.
Libra’s new technology will produce Betaines with ultra-low salt levels, typically <0.5% salt (but can even be <0.05%). This allows formulators the freedom and capability to include betaines at 10 -15% inclusion levels without the technical restraints associated with standard betaines. This offers the opportunity to formulators to make fantastic new products for the coming years.
At Libra, we are passionate about sustainability and minimising our environmental impact. Our new Low Salt Betaine production is a great example of both these principles in action. The new low salt technology exhibits cutting edge design to absolutely minimise water consumption. The result is a ten-fold reduction in water usage compared to existing technologies. In addition, the energy consumption per unit of low salt betaine produced is designed to be significantly less than other methodologies.
For more information about Libra Speciality Chemicals and the fantastic products we offer, please get in touch with a member of our sales team.
Tel: +44 161 775 1888
Email: sales@librachem.co.uk
Web: www.librachem.co.uk
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