Improve the sustainability of your formulations

Added on 22 February 2021

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Improve the sustainability of your formulations

The challenge of maximizing crop production to support the world's growing population while minimizing environmental impact, decreasing operating costs and aligning with global regulations has become increasingly important for the commercial agriculture industry. Now, the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have heightened awareness of the need for responsible food systems based on sustainable agriculture. To solve these challenges, pine-based chemistry provider Ingevity continues to innovate and develop high-performing agricultural co-formulants made almost exclusively from renewable resources.

Ingevity's agrochemical products provide benefits beyond industry norms, including reduced energy consumption, less waste generation and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, 77% of Ingevity's revenue came from sustainable products in the fourth quarter of 2019¹ . The diagram below provides insight into some of the environmental benefits Ingevity considers when innovating sustainable products.

Courtesy of Ag News

Sustainable agrochemical solutions

Ingevity offers an array of sustainable co-formulants for various crop protection and plant health applications (see figure below). Many of these co-formulants are available for use in organic formulations and are United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) bio-preferred listed materials. Ingevity's plant-derived co-formulants help enhance the sustainability and performance of end formulations and are designed to protect growers and the environment. Ingevity co-formulants with excellent safety have no Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) usage limits and are fully REACH- and TSCA-registered. The excellent performance of these products also results in lower application rates and longer retreatment intervals, minimizing grower exposure.

Courtesy of Ag News

What makes Ingevity co-formulants so sustainable?

Ingevity's co-formulants are all derived from a renewable resource the pine tree. Ingevity's main raw materials are co-products from the kraft paper pulping process which utilizes sustainable forests to make highly recyclable paper products. In sustainable forests, more trees are planted than are used for raw materials and trees are young when initially harvested. Younger trees are extremely efficient at extracting carbon dioxide and purifying the air.

The components of the pine tree that can't be utilized for paper (lignin and tall oil) are derived to make a variety of high-performing, bio-based products. Lignin extracted from pine trees serves as the main building block for Ingevity dispersants and micronutrient complexing agents. Tall oil from pine trees can be used for adjuvants, solvents, fertilizer coatings, and oil-based stabilizers for oil dispersion (OD) formulations. These products are produced in an environmentally responsibly operated plant that utilizes solar power and exceeds the highest standards for recycling and emission control.

Ingevity's bio-based products offer high-performing solutions that improve the safety of agrochemical products and help reduce the impact on water, soil, air and wildlife. The low volatile organic compound (VOC) properties of Ingevity solvents and adjuvants help protect the air around us. In addition to the benefits above, Ingevity adjuvants protect waterways through runoff prevention from anti-leaching properties that retain pesticides and fertilizers in the soil near the plant root system.

How can Ingevity co-formulants improve the sustainability of your end formulation?

There are five key performance- and sustainability-enhancing benefits provided by Ingevity's co-formulants:
   Better field efficacy
   Excellent performance with high loading, multi-active premixes
   Less pesticide resistance
   Reduced pesticide application rates and longer retreatment intervals
   Excellent safety and performance with a wide range of biological actives