In the 1960s, many of the world’s rivers and lakes were polluted with harsh chemicals including detergents that caused rapid algae growth killing fish and natural plant life. To solve this challenge, Honeywell UOP developed a suite of biodegradable detergent technologies, meeting the growing need for effective and environmentally friendly surfactants and soaps. Today, more than 85 percent of worldwide biodegradable detergent production uses Honeywell UOP’s petrochemical process technologies.

Demand for household detergents continues to grow driving the need for linear alkylbenzene (LAB), the most common raw material in the manufacture of biodegradable household detergents. UOP’s Molex™, Pacol™, Olex™, DeFine™, PEP™ and Detal-Plus™ processes form an integrated LAB complex with recent enhancements focusing on energy efficiency and capital cost reduction.

The UOP Molex^TM process may include the following services:

• Research & development
• Evaluation services
• Market and economic studies
• Consulting services
• Design services
• Engineering services
• Technical service”