Adjuvants for High‑Performance Crop Protection
Crop protection formulators face increasing pressure to improve biological efficacy, reduce application rates, support sustainability goals and perform reliably under changing field conditions. Evonik helps address these challenges with advanced adjuvants and surfactant solutions for the agricultural industry, supporting both tank‑mix adjuvants and in‑can additives for conventional and biological crop‑protection formulations.
These specialty additives help optimise wetting, spreading, dispersion, stability and surface tension control, enabling improved on‑leaf deposition, enhanced penetration and more effective pesticide performance with smaller amounts.
With a strong focus on innovative agricultural solutions, Evonik offers advanced adjuvants and surfactants based on both siloxane and organic surfactant technologies under the BREAK‑THRU® brand. Our portfolio includes spreaders and penetrants, antifoams, dispersants, emulsifiers and carrier liquids, designed to enhance the efficiency and reliability of modern crop‑protection formulations. With these solutions we improve conventional crop-protection products, biological crop-protection solutions and microbial formulations.
Our experienced team of agronomists and interfacial‑chemistry experts bridges the gap between chemistry and agronomy – ensuring that every solution delivers measurable performance in field applications.
Improve Deposition, Retention and Uptake with our Spreaders and Penetrants
Poor leaf coverage, insufficient uptake and spray loss can significantly reduce crop-protection performance. BREAK-THRU® spreaders and penetrants reduce the surface tension of pesticide formulations, helping prevent spray droplets from bouncing off plant foliage. This effect leads to better deposition and retention enhancing on-leaf coverage, improving wetting and ensuring more uniform distribution, all leading to an improved performance of synthetic actives as well as biological and microbial crop‑protection solutions.
The BREAK-THRU® portfolio includes biodegradable siloxanes, biocompatible solutions, bio‑based products and biosurfactants, offering a range of options to meet sustainability and regulatory needs. Several products are also FiBL listed (The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) and OMRI listed (Organic Materials Review Institute), supporting organic farming and certified agricultural practices.
Antifoams
Excessive foam can lead to processing interruptions, inaccurate dosing and reduced operational efficiency. BREAK-THRU® AF products are 100% self-emulsifiable siloxane antifoams, designed to provide fast and reliable foam control foam during mixing, filling and application. They ensure stable processing and accurate dosing in a wide range of crop‑protection formulations, including water‑based, EC (emulsifiable concentrate) and OD (oil dispersion) systems.
| Silicone Oil | Organic Oil | BREAK-THRU® AF (Organomodified Siloxanes) |
|---|---|---|
| Highly efficient, low surface tension of ~22 mN/m | Less efficient due to high surface tension ~30 mN/m | Highly efficient, low surface tension of ~23-25 mN/m |
| Marginally compatible with concentrates | Highly compabtible with concentrates | Highly compabtible with concentrates |
| Insoluble in foaming media | Minimum influence on shelf life of dilutions | Minimum influence on shelf life of dilutions |
Dispersing Agents
High active ingredient loads often create challenges such as sedimentation, viscosity drift and poor long-term storage stability. BREAK-THRU® DA dispersing agents are designed for formulations with a high active-ingredients (AI) loads, providing excellent stability even in demanding suspension and concentrate systems. These innovative additives deliver 2-in-1 functionality acting as both emulsifiers and dispersants within a single molecule. This dual action helps minimize viscosity drift, reduce sedimentation, and maintain long-term stability in high‑AI crop protection suspensions and concentrates.
Emulsifiers
High active ingredient loads often create challenges such as sedimentation, viscosity drift and poor long-term storage stability. BREAK-THRU® EM products are nonionic organic surfactants, designed for the preparation and stabilisation of both oil‑in‑water (O/W) and water‑in‑oil (W/O) emulsions. By balancing hydrophilic and lipophilic properties, they allow formulators to fine‑tune emulsion behavior across a wide range of agricultural applications. The result is stable emulsions with predictable droplet size, consistent field performance and reliable handling characteristics.
TOMADOL® ethoxylated alcohol surfactants complement this portfolio by providing a dual benefit in agricultural formulations. They enhance blooming behavior of formulations in water, and improve wetting on hydrophobic leaf surfaces, supporting efficient spreading and active‑ingredient delivery.
