How Does Environmentally Friendly Chelating Chemical Solutions Work?

Soil removal is a complex process that is much more involved than just adding soap or surfactant to water. One of the major concerns we have in dealing with cleaning compounds is water hardness. Water is made “hard” by the presence of calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese metal ions. These metal ions interfere with the cleaning ability of detergents. The metal ions act like dirt and “use up” the surfactants, making them unavailable to act on the surface we want to clean.

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A chelating agent (pronounced kee-lat-ing from the Greek word “claw”) combines itself with these disruptive metal ions in the water. The metal ions are surrounded by the claw-like chelating agent which alters the electronic charge of the metal ions from positive to negative (see diagram below.)

This makes it impossible for the metal ions to be precipitated with the surfactants. Thus, chelated metal ions remain tied up in solution in a harmless state where they will not use up all of the surfactants. The surfactants are then able to do their job of actually removing soil and cleaning the surface.

Our next article in this series will introduce builders and their role in cleaning.

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Hard water contains high levels of metal ions such as calcium and magnesium, which have a powerful influence on chemical processes and the performance of many products. Removing metal ions is therefore a key part of many industrial and domestic processes that use water. For example, if these ions are not removed from your dishwasher, insoluble deposits build up inside the machine and on surfaces leading to dirtier dishes.

For many years, metal ions were removed by adding phosphates to detergents. However, the phosphorus in phosphates acts as a nutrient in the environment, and the deposition of large quantities of phosphate in lakes and waterways induces excessive growth of plants and algae (known as eutrophication). This excessive growth depletes oxygen and endangers other aquatic life. As a result, phosphates have been phased out around the world.

High-performing, biodegradable phosphate alternatives 

Nouryon's Dissolvine® GL (GLDA) and Dissolvine® M (MGDA) green chelating agents are the best replacements for phosphates in most cleaning applications and they outperform alternatives like citrates, gluconates, and zeolites because they form stronger bonds with metal ions.  Dissolvine GL and Dissolvine M combine excellent performance with a superior ecological profile, since they are readily biodegradable and largely biobased. Dissolvine GL is the eco-friendliest and strong chelating agent in our range and is ideal for liquid applications because of its very high solubility.

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The life cycle of green chelating agents