Evonik's Agricultural Adjuvant Innovations: Sustainability, Efficiency, and Global Expertise

″With an emphasis on innovative solutions, we offer agricultural chemicals based on both siloxane and organic surfactants under the BREAK-THRU^® brand name such as spreaders and penetrants, antifoams, dispersants, emulsifiers, and carrier liquids. They are used as tank mix adjuvants and as in-can additives for agrochemical formulations. BREAK-THRU^® additives can also increase the performance of biological active ingredients and includes products especially beneficial for products based on living microorganisms.″ said Rene Haensel, Technical Director Agriculture EMEA & Global Senior Expert at Evonik and Diego Abreu, Global Marketing Manager at Evonik in a recent interview with AgroPages.

During this interview, they also shared their views on the landscape of agricultural adjuvants; highlighted the company's adjuvant product line， innovative approaches to enhance sustainability and efficiency in agrochemical formulations; discussed company’s technical centers and capabilities,competitive advantages, business models, formulation challenges&solutions, as well as some advanced technologies to improve efficiency and service etc.

Can you describe the market landscape of the agriculture adjuvant market? What are the drivers, challenges and trends of the development of the sector?

The agriculture adjuvant market is a growing market that includes various types of chemistries used to enhance the performance of agricultural chemicals and biologicals pesticides. The market is driven by the increasing demand for food due to the growing global population. Additionally, the adoption of precision farming practices and the need for sustainable agriculture are also driving the growth of the adjuvant market by pushing for innovation on high performance green adjuvants.

Some of the key trends in the agriculture adjuvant market include the development of multifunctional adjuvants that can perform multiple functions such as wetting, spreading, and penetrating. There is also a growing trend towards the use of biodegradable and sustainable adjuvants that are less toxic to the environment like biobased and microplastic free products. The market is also witnessing a shift towards the use of biocompatible adjuvants that can enhance the efficacy of biological pesticides.

Can you give us an overview of your company's adjuvant product line? Highlight some featured products and their application situation.

With an emphasis on innovative solutions, we offer agricultural chemicals based on both siloxane and organic surfactants under the BREAK-THRU^® brand name such as spreaders and penetrants, antifoams, dispersants, emulsifiers, and carrier liquids. They are used as tank mix adjuvants and as in-can additives for agrochemical formulations.  BREAK-THRU^® additives can also increase the performance of biological active ingredients and includes products especially beneficial for products based on living microorganisms.

• BREAK-THRU^® SP 133: SP stands for Sticker Penetrant. The BREAK-THRU^® SP 133 improves the deposition and retention of the agrochemical sprays and facilitates the uptake of the pesticide. The BREAK-THRU^® SP 133 shows extraordinary drift control which is provided by a new mechanism which does not decrease the spray angle as conventional spray drift adjuvants. At the same time BREAK-THRU^® SP 133 meets today´s requirements for product safety, environmentally friendliness and convenience of handling by being biobased, biodegradable and OMRI approved. Additionally, BREAK-THRU^® SP 133 is outstanding with reference to its low foam tendencies and biocompatibility, allowing the use for biological formulations.

• BREAK-THRU^® SF 420: stands for Spreader manufactured by fermentation. BREAK-THRU^® SF 420 is a 100% biobased spreader improving wetting and adhesion and rain-fastness of plant protection products. In addition it also provides dispersing properties for copper products. The low foaming product is considered for organic farming.

 Can you brief us about your company’s technical centers and capabilities?

Evonik has a global network of technical centers that are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and staffed by experienced scientists. Our technical centers are located in key regions around the world, specifically in Germany, USA, Brazil and China.

At our applied technology centers, we offer a range of capabilities and services, including formulation development, analytical services, regulatory and field trials support

What are the most significant formulation challenges currently faced in the development of agrochemicals/biologicals? How does your company overcome these challenges?

Nowadays novel formulation must be as sustainable as possible. This means that not only the additives should have a low or even no negative impact on the environment. In addition the formulation should be not dangerous to those who have to handle the product and in addition the formulation including the active component should not harm the environment.  Novel formulations should go to the target where they should be, this is possible by minimizing drift of spray droplet which appropriate additives. Novel additives ensures that he spray droplet stick on the surface without getting lost by run-off. Appropriate additives must help then to increase the biological performance of the active part of the plant protection product by spreading the active over the leaf or increasing the penetration and at the same time reducing the impact of hot - and rainy weather.

How is the formulation process designed to achieve a balance between efficacy, safety and environmental impact?

The question sounds that there is a compromise between efficacy and safety and environmental impact. The formulation can be designed to fulfil the modern needs but on the other hand the formulation becomes more complex and of course more expensive.

In the past many formulations were simple, the active component was dissolved in solvents which nowadays are forbidden like aromatic solvent or mineral oils. Those formulation were simple, the oil was emulsified and a surfactant gave some wetting performance.

Today formulations are based on more complex mechanism, the environmentally friendly oils are more complex to emulsify, often the actives are not soluble so complex milling processes have to be done which require sophisticated dispersants which work in oil and later on in the tank also in water. Some actives are capsuled which ensure an increased performance over time those CS – formulations require also complex dispersant and wetting agents, so the amount of additives in a formulation is increased compared to older formulation types.

For those novel formulations novel additives are required which should be as sustainable as possible, besides a high natural carbon content they should be also biodegradable. Those additives are not so easy to formulate as in the past, complex mixing and/or milling processes have to be done and the formulator must understand the multifunctional performance of the additives. Often the performance cannot be measured in the lab then the formulator sees the result in additional greenhouse tests. As a result the formulator work is nowadays more complex and also time consuming, but even better efficacy results are possible without compromising the safety or environmental impact.

In your opinion, what competitive advantages does your company possess compared to other companies offering similar adjuvants and formulation services?

Evonik has competitive advantages which in combination set us apart from other companies in the adjuvants and agro formulations areas. Some of these advantages include:

• Expertise: We have a team of experts with extensive knowledge and experience in developing and manufacturing adjuvants and formulations. Our team includes chemists, biologists, and agronomists who work together to create innovative solutions that meet our clients' needs.

• Technology: Evonik is one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies and our solutions for agricultural adjuvant are fueled by the companies huge network of technical and chemical competences. 

• Innovation: We are constantly innovating and developing new products and technologies to stay ahead of the curve. We invest heavily in research and development to ensure that we are at the forefront of the industry.

• Customization: We offer customized solutions that are tailored to our clients' specific requirements. We work closely with our clients to understand their needs and develop solutions that meet their unique challenges.

• Quality: We are committed to delivering high-quality products and services that meet our clients' expectations. We have rigorous quality control processes in place to ensure that our products meet the highest standards of quality and consistency.

• Global Presence: We have a global presence with operations in over 100 countries. This allows us to provide our clients with local support and expertise wherever they are in the world.

Overall, these competitive advantages enable us to provide our clients with high-quality, innovative solutions that meet their specific needs and help them achieve their business objectives.

In what ways can your company assist companies seeking tailored formulation solutions? What are the different collaboration models that your company offers?

Evonik has a collaborative approach to our customers, where our team of experts work closely with our clients to understand their requirements and develop solutions that meet their unique needs if it is not yet in our portfolio.

We offer different collaboration models, including  joint development agreements and strategic partnerships. Our team can work with companies to identify the best collaboration model that aligns with their business objectives.

Within agrochemical/biologicals, do you see a specific demand from your clients that stands out? What are the current trends and innovations?

The customers want additives which are sustainable and biodegradable. They want to have a low negative environmental impact of the formulations. When working with biological actives the shelf life should be similar to chemical actives.

Customer want to have the chance to supply their product global, so one must fulfil a variety of different regulatory requirements.

In the development and production of new adjuvants & formulation services ,does your company use advanced technologies such as Automation, AI, Machine Learning, High Throughput (HTP), Digitization, Design of Experiments (DoE) etc. to improve efficiency and service? If yes, can you share some successful cases?

We are using if possible Automation and mathematic modelling but also a design of experiments (DoE). But more important is that we work in the development together in team of chemists, biologists, biotechnologists and agronomists. The development is nowadays so complex that we need the synergies also from other groups outside from chemistry.

If you'd like to share your company's story and solutions or have any promotion demands, please contact Grace Yuan: grace@agropages.com