Eastman bags environmental award in the US

Published: 16 Jul 2009 22:38:03 PST

Eastman Chemical Company has won one of the US government's top environmental awards for its breakthrough Eastman™ green biocatalytic process. The green biocatalytic process uses enzymes and closely controlled conditions to make esters, eliminating the high temperature and strong acids traditionally required in their manufacturing. Esters are a vital building block in thousands of products. The cosmetic and personal care industry in North America annually consumes an estimated 50,000 metric tonne of esters for a variety of uses including emollients, emulsifiers, and specialty performance ingredients. Eastman's gentle process consumes less energy while making high quality products, even when beginning with sensitive starting materials. The green biocatalytic process uses no solvents and virtually eliminates by-products, reducing the number of processing steps required for manufacturing. This process provides new green, sustainable, and natural ingredients for use in cosmetics and personal care products.