Evonik Introduced TEGO® Wet 570 Terra and TEGO® Wet 580 Terra Biosurfactants for Paints and Inks

Date: 28/09/2024
A colourful flower spourting from two hands

The new 100% natural and EU-Ecolabel compliant biosurfactants from Evonik ensure excellent performance in water-based coatings and inks.

The Coating Additives business line of Evonik has recently announced that it is launching TEGO® Wet 570 Terra and TEGO® Wet 580 Terra, two new innovative biosurfactants for water-based paints, coatings and inks that have been specifically designed to combine high performance with an exceptional sustainability profile.

TEGO Wet 570 Terra and TEGO Wet 580 Terra offer optimal substrate wetting for protective coatings and improve pigment and filler wetting and dispersion, reducing grinding time and energy consumption and thus resulting in energy savings and efficient production processes for customers.

“Our TEGO Wet 570 Terra and TEGO Wet 580 Terra are suitable for waterborne decorative, industrial and transportation paints, coatings and inks. Their unique properties and the fact that they meet the stringent standards of the EU Ecolabel make them an ideal choice for our customers to formulate coatings for a sustainable future,” has commented Katina Kiep, the head of the Decorative segment of the Coating Additives business line at Evonik.

They also provide improved colour properties, storage stability and corrosion resistance, as well supporting the anti-crater effect in can coatings. In addition, these biosurfactants are produced by microorganisms in a unique fermentation process and – unlike fossil-based surfactants – they are 100% derived from natural resources. Besides having very low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), their natural origin makes them readily biodegradable and well tolerated by aquatic organisms.

“With our TEGO Wet 570 Terra and TEGO Wet 580 Terra, we offer our customers completely new high-performance solutions that also drive the green transformation in the paint and coatings industry,” has stated Elias Lacerda, the head of the Coating Additives business line at Evonik.

The majority of these biosurfactants are produced in Slovakia, where the company is leading the development of biosurfactants on an industrial scale with its IP-protected fermentation-based process for the production of rhamnolipids – manufactured from renewable corn feedstock using a biotechnological process resulting in a high-performance, non-toxic and biodegradable biosurfactant.

“These new products not only demonstrate our strong innovation capabilities, but also our commitment to driving positive change in the development of environmentally friendly solutions and setting new standards for additives in the coatings and inks industry,” has concluded Tim-Frederic Sloot, the head of sustainability for the Coating Additives business line of Evonik.