How modern disinfectant wipes can help save CO2 emissions Small wipe, big impact Surface disinfection is an important part of basic hygiene and essential for breaking chains of infection. Depending on the requirements and application, different products are used, e.g. concentrates, foams or ready-to-use solutions Pre-soaked disinfectant wipes are most commonly used, as they save time and increase compliance when disinfecting patientnear surfaces. Find out here how the CO2 footprint is made up in this product family and how modern materials can help to reduce CO2 emissions in hygiene. Not all alcohols are the same In everyday language, the term „alcohol“ is often used to sum up certain active ingredients. However, up to three different alcohols are used in surface disinfectants: ethanol, n-propanol (1-propanol) and isopropanol (2-propanol). And although these three alcohols have a similar chemical structure, they have significantly different CO2 footprints, as the starting materials and type of large-scale production have a considerable influence (Figure 1). Compared to n-propanol, ethanol causes only around 20% of CO2 emissions, isopropanol around 32%. The production of bioethanol (ethanol produced by fermentation of maize, wheat, or sugar cane) causes only 50% of the emissions compared to synthetic ethanol and only 10% compared to the production of n-propanol [1]. When considering bio-based substances, however, it is important that these substances originate from sustainable agriculture and that there is no competition for land with food. Regenerate instead of synthesise Until a few years ago, ready-to-use disinfectant wipes were made exclusively from synthetic fibres from fossil resources (usually PET or polypropylene (PP)), the production of which causes high CO2 emissions. Even a switch to bio-based fibres, e.g. made from polylactic acid (PLA), would only be a minor improvement (Figure 2). Only recently have cellulose-based, so-called regenerated fibres been used in disposable wipes for disinfection and the CO2 footprint can be significantly reduced [2]. 100 % 32% 20% 10% n-Propanol Isopropanol Ethanol Bioethanol rel. CO2-emissions (%) Figure 1: Relative CO2 emissions of different alcohols set in relation to n-propanol. KNOWLEDGE 22
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDU5MjM=