Ashland is expanding its sustainable formulation technology platform in crop protection with the global launch of agrimer eco-disperse OD, a polymeric dispersant derived from transformed vegetable oils and designed for non-aqueous agricultural formulations. The Wilmington, Delaware-based specialty materials company said the new dispersant is part of its Transformed Vegetable Oils (TVO) technology platform, which it is scaling as a source of formulation technologies designed to combine performance with sustainability attributes.
The launch addresses a growing challenge for agrochemical formulators: improving formulation performance while responding to tighter regulatory expectations and increasing demand for alternatives to conventional formulation ingredients.
Agrimer eco-disperse OD is designed to stabilise and uniformly disperse water-insoluble active ingredients, helping formulators improve formulation stability and application performance. Ashland said the technology can enhance dispersion stability as well as leaf adhesion, spray coverage and rain fastness. The formulation technology is also intended to tackle practical problems encountered during product manufacture and application, including active-ingredient settling and nozzle clogging. These characteristics could be particularly relevant for formulators seeking greater consistency across storage, spraying and field application.
Ashland said the dispersant is nature-based, inherently biodegradable and microplastic-free, positioning it for formulators seeking to reduce the environmental footprint of crop protection products without compromising formulation functionality. The company is targeting applications including suspension concentrates and other non-aqueous formulations, where dispersant performance can directly influence the stability, uniformity and usability of finished products.
Another part of the commercial proposition is formulation flexibility. Ashland said agrimer eco-disperse OD offers broad formulation compatibility, ease of use and a competitive cost-in-use profile, potentially allowing manufacturers to incorporate the technology without significantly increasing formulation complexity. “Ashland is again converting sustainable science into differentiated commercial solutions that create value for our customers,” said Alessandra Faccin, senior vice president and general manager, Life Sciences, Ashland.
According to Faccin, the new product expands the company's TVO platform while helping formulators address both sustainability and performance requirements. Jean J. Gulka, global business director, Life Sciences, Ashland, said the launch demonstrates the scalability and versatility of the TVO technology platform and supports the company's strategy of investing in differentiated technologies aligned with global sustainability trends.
The approach reflects a wider shift in agrochemical formulation, where the sustainability profile of formulation ingredients is increasingly becoming part of product development alongside efficacy, stability, regulatory compliance and cost. That creates an opportunity for specialty chemical companies to compete not only on individual active ingredients but also on the formulation technologies that determine how those actives are delivered to crops.
Ashland said samples and commercial quantities of agrimer eco-disperse OD are now available globally. The commercialisation adds another product to the company's TVO platform while creating a pathway for further applications of transformed vegetable-oil chemistry in crop protection. The immediate commercial opportunity lies in helping formulators improve the performance and sustainability profile of non-aqueous crop protection products. The longer-term proposition is broader: turning a vegetable-oil-derived technology platform into a scalable pipeline of formulation innovations for an agrochemical industry under growing pressure to deliver more effective products with lower environmental impact.
