A global chemical player, Arkema markets SCALEVA™, a new solution for detergent formulations for hygiene and cleaning in the food industry. SCALEVA™ ensures compliance with European directives on phosphorus emissions to water. SCALEVA™ is biodegradable within 28 days.

The result of its R&D, Arkema presents SCALEVA™, an alternative to phosphoric acid that provides efficient cleaning of molds, equipment and pipes used in the food industry, within the constraints of the European environmental directives on reducing phosphorus emissions to water.

An excess of phosphorus in waterways, which causes biological imbalances as well as the eutrophication¹ of rivers, has become a major concern at European regulatory level in recent years. Industrial cleaning is one major source of this presence of phosphorus, and so is faced in particular with the problem of controlling its emissions into the natural environment. In order to meet the constraints of increasingly stringent European directives, manufacturers are now required to massively cut down the phosphorus content by chemical means in their water treatment plants. These processes, which in some regions cannot technically achieve the required standards, generate huge amounts of sludge which can be difficult and costly to spread.
With SCALEVA™, an organic acid for phosphorus-free cleaning formulations, Arkema has developed an innovative and effective solution to replace the phosphoric acid formulations currently used by the food industry. SCALEVA™ helps reduce phosphorus emissions at source and so helps comply more easily with regulatory thresholds, while at the same time reducing chemical treatment costs and the volumes of sludge generated. SCALEVA™ is biodegradable in purification plants within 28 days, consistent with the OECD 301A guideline.

SCALEVA™ has also been shown to be barely corrosive to 316 L stainless steel pipes and to polypropylene molds used in industry² : following several years of research, Arkema can confirm the outstanding ageing performance of materials subjected to very frequent washing and major temperature constraints.

Extensive testing by Arkema has also shown that SCALEVA™ is more effective than phosphoric acid in dissolving scale (calcium carbonate and oxalate).

These various benefits combine to make SCALEVA™ a genuine alternative to phosphoric acid in acid solutions for industrial cleaning, in particular in the dairy-cheese, brewery and meat-curing industries.

A global chemical player, Arkema consists of 3 coherent and related business segments: Vinyl Products, Industrial Chemicals, and Performance Products. Present in over 40 countries with 17,000 employees, Arkema achieves sales of 5.7 billion euros. With its 6 research centers in France, the United States and Japan, and internationally recognized brands, Arkema holds leadership positions in its principal markets.

¹Eutrophication is a form of pollution of some aquatic ecosystems that appears in environments receiving excessive amounts of nutrients absorbed by algae, causing these to proliferate. The main nutrients causing this phenomenon are phosphorus (contained in phosphates) and nitrogen (contained in particular in the ammonium ion and in nitrates).

²Stainless steel strips immersed in a SCALEVATM 10 g/l or so aqueous solution exhibit a corrosion rate strictly below 20 µm/year at a temperature of 90°C.
For polyolefins, the surface condition of strips immersed in a SCALEVATM 10g/l aqueous solution maintained at 70°C for several days exhibits no damage.