Eco‑friendly, high‑performance odor control for home, vehicle, textile, and I&I cleaning
Consumers expect cleaning products that not only work, but also support wellbeing and deliver a reassuring “smell of clean” - free from lingering odors or unpleasant smells. Evonik’s TEGO Sorb® portfolio helps formulators meet these expectations with zinc ricinoleate–based technology that captures and permanently eliminates odor molecules. Our solutions are readily biodegradable, easy to use across a wide pH range, and fully compatible with fragrance systems.
How malodor forms and how to control it effectively
Malodor affects every environment - homes, textiles, kitchens, bathrooms, vehicles, carpets, pet areas, public spaces, workplaces, and industrial sites - making effective odor elimination essential across cleaning categories.
Malodor can be controlled in four ways:
- Mask: Uses fragrance to cover malodor or unpleasant smells - helpful shortterm, but odor molecules remain.
- Kill: Uses biocides or oxidizers to target odorcausing microbes, but cannot remove existing airborne odors.
- Capture: Cyclodextrins temporarily trap odor molecules, but the malodor can return.
- Eliminate: Zinc ricinoleate chemically binds and irreversibly neutralizes bad odor molecules. This solution readily biodegradable, fragrance‑compatible, and delivers permanent odor reduction.
Evonik focuses on elimination, the most effective long‑term approach. Evonik’s TEGO Sorb® products provide permanent malodor elimination, enabling formulators to build high‑performance, eco‑friendly, and fragrance‑stable cleaning solutions for multiple market segments.
Evonik’s TEGO Sorb® portfolio – Eco-friendly malodor eliminators enable permanent odor reduction
Evonik’s TEGO Sorb® products provide malodor elimination, enabling formulators to build highperformance, ecofriendly, and fragrancestable cleaning solutions for multiple market segments.
Why choose TEGO® Sorb:
- Eco‑friendly: readily biodegradable; supports sustainable formulations
- High performance: permanent chemical binding of malodor molecules
- Fragrance‑compatible: does not disrupt perfume profiles
- Formulation flexibility: solutions available for pH 3–10
- Broad application use: household, laundry, textiles, automotive, Industrial & Institutional (I&I)
Partner with Evonik to capture the stink!
Ready to create cleaning products that deliver true, long‑lasting freshness? Get in touch to explore how Evonik’s TEGO Sorb® solutions bring eco‑friendly, permanent malodor elimination to your formulations.
FAQ: Malodor control and consumers
Malodor control plays a powerful role in how consumers perceive cleanliness and wellbeing. Cleaning is increasingly tied to personal safety, mental comfort, and a sense of protection. The “smell of clean” is strongly connected to the “feel of clean,” making odor removal a key indicator of whether a product has truly worked.
Beyond eliminating bad smells, consumers now look for deodorizing products that deliver added value, including:
- Greater cleaning efficacy
- Natural or plantderived ingredients
- Sustainable, ecofriendly formulations
- Gentle and safe performance for people and surfaces
- Multipurpose use across the home or travel environments
- Timesaving convenience and simplified routines
Scents are processed through the olfactory bulb, which directly connects to the brain’s emotional (amygdala) and memory (hippocampus) centers - making smell one of the most emotionally evocative senses. Research shows that up to 75 percent of daily emotional reactions are influenced by smell.
