Preventol boost at Lanxess

At the cost of “a single-digit million euro amount”, Lanxess’s Material Protection Products (MPP) business unit is expanding capacity for the active ingredient Preventol CMK (chlorocresol) at Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany, by around 50%. This will be completed within Q1 the firm said.

Preventol CMK is a registered active ingredient for disinfection and preservation. Lanxess, which is the world’s largest producer, uses it in its own formulations marketed under the Preventol and Virkon brands. Preventol is also used in industrial preservation for their broad spectrum of activity against moulds, bacteria and yeasts, notably in leather preservation and in construction, where they can replace products containing formaldehyde.

Demand is growing particularly rapidly in human and animal disinfectants, including hospital and household care settings, thanks mainly to African swine fever, avian influenza and the COVID pandemic. This is expected to continue even after the pandemic, due to increased hygiene awareness, the company said.

MPP has also joined up with Matrìca up to produce sustainable preservatives from renewable raw materials. The Matrìca plant at Porto Torres in Sardinia will supply it with bio-based raw materials from vegetable oils, which it will use to manufacture a new series of industrial preservatives in the Preventol range.

Matrìca is a joint venture between Versalis and Novamont, a specialist in bioplastics and biochemicals. It makes the Matrilox range of bioproducts based on mono- and dicarboxylic acids and esters using a technology that “aims to use the molecular complexity of the vegetable raw material to produce chemicals with high added value” for applications including paints and inks, bioplastics, biolubricants and bioherbicides.