Product Focus: Nabion® and Liquid Nabion®
Nabion® and Liquid Nabion®: effective and sustainable builders for laundry formulations
Nabion® and Liquid Nabion® are all-in-one and eco-friendly builders. We carried out studies to compare the efficiency of laundry formulas containing Nabion® and Liquid Nabion® in comparison with benchmarks and similar builders. We found that Nabion® and Liquid Nabion® were as efficient in laundry formulas as the one of the benchmarks.
Nabion® is an all-in-one and eco-friendly builder produced by Novabion (part of Humens group).
Nabion® is a fully water-soluble mineral powder composed of white granules made from sodium carbonate and sodium silicate. The Nabion® product range was developed for laundry and automatic dishwashing detergents (powder formulations).
The range contains two references: Nabion® 15 and Nabion® 26. Liquid Nabion® is a liquid builder made of sodium silicate and dissolved sodium carbonate. Liquid Nabion® was developed for laundry and dishwashing detergents (liquid formulations).
Their main advantages are: a source of alkalinity with a buffer effect, anti-corrosion properties thanks to silicate content and reduction of lime deposits thanks to high capacity of sequestration of calcium and magnesium ions.
The results of these efficiency studies have enabled us to perform comparisons on mineral incrustation, stain removal and color fading on fabrics between laundry formulas with Nabion®/Liquid Nabion® and benchmarks/laundry formulas with builders from competitors.
Efficiency tests on powder laundry formulas containing Nabion®
Study on mineral incrustation
Protocol
- White flat cotton (CN11 ref) and Terry cotton (W12A ref).
- Water temperature: T = 30°C
- Water hardness: 300 ppm CaCO3
- 5 washing cycles (one washing cycle = 20 min wash + 5 min rinse).
- Detergent dosage: 5 g/L
- After 2 and 5 washing cycles, the fabrics are burned at 800°C for 2 - 3 h to obtain ashes.
- Entire formulations with 20% of one builder (F2 - Nabion® 26, F3 - Zeolite and F4 - STPP).
Results
- Lower mineral deposit with Nabion® 26 compared to Zeolite.
- Similar level compared to STPP.
Efficiency tests on powder laundry formulas containing Nabion®
Study on stain removal
Protocol
- Standard stains from CFT (NL).
- Water temperature: T = 40°C
- Water hardness: 300-400 ppm CaCO3 (Ca : Mg = 3 : 1).
- One washing cycle = 20 min wash + 3 rinses 5 min each.
- Detergent dosage: 5 g/L immersion ratio: 1:32 (weight fabrics : water).
- The total colorimetric difference is measured for each stain: L, a and b are measured in the Hunter Lab system.
- Entire formulations with 3 different compositions of the builder part:
Results
- Formulas containing Nabion® have similar efficiency on stain removal as the reference containing STPP.
Efficiency tests on powder laundry formulas containing Nabion®
Study on color fading
Protocol
- 4 test fabrics (AISE 16-8-24-3).
- Water temperature: T = 30° C
- Water hardness: 250 ppm CaCO3,
- 20 washing cycles (one washing cycle = 20 min wash + 3 rinses 3 min each).
- Detergent dosage: 5g/L
- Each standard color can be identified with its L, a and b values with the following diagram (L a b are measured before and after the 20 cycles).
- F2 : Powder with 12% Nabion® 15
- F3 : Powder with 12% Nabion® 26
- F4 : Benchmark powder
- F5 : Reference with STPP
Results
- No significant difference between the 4 formulas.
- None of the 4 formulas have a bad effect on colors.
- Nabion® 15 and Nabion® 26 protect the colors of fabrics.
Efficiency tests on liquid laundry formulas containing Liquid Nabion®
Study on mineral incrustation
Protocol
- White flat cotton (CN11 ref) and Terry cotton (W12A ref).
- Water temperature: T = 60°C
- Water hardness: 500 ppm CaCO3,
- 5 washing cycles (one washing cycle = 20 min wash + 5 min rinse).
- Detergent dosage: 5 g/L
- After 2 and 5 washing cycles, the fabrics are burned at 800°C for 2 - 3 h to obtain ashes.
- Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3: formulas containing Liquid Nabion®
- Formula 4: Liquid Benchmark
- White: without detergent
Results
- Formula 3 containing Liquid Nabion® has performances that come closest to the effectiveness of the Benchmark (Formula 4) regarding mineral deposit on fabrics (knowing that the mineral deposit is very low as it is less than 0.6%).
Efficiency tests on liquid laundry formulas containing Liquid Nabion®
Study on stain removal
Protocol
- 4 Standard stains from CFT (NL):
C-S-01 = Blood aged - Cotton
W-10 D = Pigment/Sebum - Cotton
E-104 = Carbon Black / olive oil - Polyester/Cotton
C-BC-03 = Tea for low temperature - Cotton
- Water temperature: T = 30°C
- Water hardness: 500 ppm CaCO3 .
- One washing cycle = 15 min wash + 3 rinses 5 min each.
- Detergent dosage: 5 g/L immersion ratio: 1:32 (weight fabrics : water).
- The total colorimetric difference is measured for each stain: L, a and b are measured in the Hunter Lab system.
- Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3: formulas containing Liquid Nabion®
- Formula 4: Liquid Benchmark
- White: without detergent
- The graph mentions the average of the removal of the 4 kinds of stains.
Results
- Formula 3 containing Liquid Nabion® has performances which are closest to the effectiveness of the Benchmark (Formula 4) regarding the removal of dirt.
Efficiency tests on liquid laundry formulas containing Liquid Nabion®
Study on color fading
Protocol
- 4 test fabrics (AISE 18-24-3-8).
- Water temperature: T = 30° C
- Water hardness: 500 ppm CaCO3,
- 20 washing cycles (one washing cycle = 20 min wash + 3 rinses 3 min each).
- Detergent dosage: 5 g/L
- Each standard color can be identified with its L, a and b values (L a b are measured before and after the 20 cycles).
- F1: Liquid Benchmark
- F3: formula containing Liquid Nabion®
- White: without detergent
Results
- Formula 3 containing Liquid Nabion® has the same level of color protection as the Benchmark (F1).
Conclusions
This study shows that Nabion® (Powder and Liquid) has similar efficiency compared to the formulas present on the market. It is also an eco-friendly component (compliant with several Ecolabels) with anti-corrosive properties. Furthermore, Nabion® and Liquid Nabion® decrease the cost of the formula in comparison with a formula with other builders like STPP (powder) or GLDA (liquid) for example.
