NextLab Low Carbon Available in North America
Cepsa Química, the global leader in linear alkylbenzene (LAB) production, has announced the availability of its new product, NextLab Low Carbon, in the North American market.
NextLab Low Carbon is manufactured using renewable energy instead of conventional fossil fuels, resulting in a more environmentally friendly product with reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Despite the shift in energy sources, NextLab Low Carbon retains the same technical characteristics as traditional LAB, but with a smaller carbon footprint.
Preliminary data from the ongoing Life Cycle Assessment indicates that this product can reduce the GHG footprint (cradle-to-gate) by 10-20% compared to the production of traditional LAB. This means that by simply using NextLab Low Carbon in detergent manufacturing, more sustainable products can be achieved without the need for reformulation.
The NextLab product platform, which includes NextLab Low Carbon, aims to support the home care industry, consuming approximately 7.7 million tonnes of surfactants annually, in achieving its sustainability goals while meeting consumers’ environmental demands.
NextLab Low Carbon will be supplied to the North American market from Cepsa Química’s plant in Bécancour, Canada. By 2023, this plant will be using renewable fuels instead of fossil fuels for production, making it an ideal production center for NextLab Low Carbon.
The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art Detal Plus technology, developed by Cepsa Química in collaboration with Universal Oil Products (UOP), ensuring a safer, more efficient, and sustainable production process. This technology optimizes the use of raw materials and electricity, reduces GHG emissions, decreases water consumption by 40% per year, and improves the quality and versatility of the LAB produced.
Linear alkylbenzene (LAB) is the main component of linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS), used in the production of numerous biodegradable detergents on the market. LAS is widely used in various detergent formats due to its excellent properties.
Cepsa is a leading international company committed to sustainable mobility and energy. With a strong technical expertise of over 90 years, the company has a world-leading chemicals business with increasingly sustainable operations.
Its strategic plan for 2030, Positive Motion, outlines ambitions to lead in sustainable mobility, biofuels, and green hydrogen in Spain and Portugal and become a benchmark in the energy transition.
The company’s focus on ESG criteria guides its actions towards achieving its Net Positive objective, aiming to reduce Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 55% and the carbon intensity index of energy products sales (including Scope 1, 2 & 3) by 15-20% within this decade, with the ultimate goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
Cepsa Química, a world leader in its sector, is driving the transition towards sustainable chemistry, committed to fighting climate change and transitioning to a circular, non-fossil economy.
The company is at the forefront of LAB production, a crucial raw material for biodegradable detergents, and is also a leading producer of cumene, an intermediate used in engineering plastics production. It currently operates in seven countries worldwide (Spain, Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia, and Nigeria) and employs over 1,000 people.
