Pittsburgh, PA, April 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Does your ethanol-based hand sanitizer have a bad odor? Our master perfumers have developed a number of additive solutions to reduce these odors.
In the words of Bryan Zlotnik, COO of Alpha Aromatics, “After recently being approached by many manufacturers who sought our help in creating new and effective hand-sanitizer fragrances using ethanol due to the shortage of Isopropyl alcohol, we addressed the problem of bad odors and found several workable solutions. Our team developed these additives, which reduce the odors associated with ethanol, and yet at the same time, leaves the hand-sanitizer with a pleasant, clean scent when applied to the skin. We went even further and created a selection of fragrances to add to the solutions, keeping in mind not only personal preferences but also the fact that ethanol’s smell can vary and is dependent on its natural source.”
Solving The Scarcity Of Hand Sanitizers
The coronavirus outbreak gripping the United States has brought out both the best and worst of the human condition, as do many catastrophes. Consumers rush to stock up on hand sanitizers and hoard supplies unless governed otherwise by sellers, and in the first week of March alone, according to the data measurement firm, Nielsen, sales of hand-sanitizer increased more than 470 percent.
With this sharp increase in demand came off-putting examples of price gouging. (One company that shall remain nameless listed the sale of a single bottle of hand-sanitizer on Amazon for more than $100!)
To minimize shortages, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has waived dozens of regulations to promote production of key medical supplies to combat Covid-19. These include: coronavirus tests, ventilators, gloves, and hand-sanitizers.
The latest FDA guidelines maintain standards for alcohol which require new producers to use alcohol that meets federal or international standards for use in either drugs or food products.
Supply and demand has literally forced the hand of manufacturers to use ethanol as a substitute for the current paucity of Isopropyl alcohol, a colorless, flammable chemical compound often used in hand sanitizers as a rubbing alcohol applied to the skin. Historically, isopropyl alcohol was the first commercial synthetic alcohol created by chemists at the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey back in 1920.
A massive scarcity has forced hand-sanitizing manufacturers, or those transitioning their manufacturing facility to make sanitizing products, to make their own version of ‘lemonade’ from those other types of ‘lemons’ that might be available. For many, this translates into the use of ethanol for hand-sanitizer production.
But there is a problem with using ethanol in sanitizers. Since ethanol is made from natural sources, like sugar or corn, the end product can end up having an odor, which can range from a very off-putting rotting garbage smell all the way to tequila or an herbal spirit. Understandably, this can be highly undesirable for a product consumers use by rubbing on their hands.
Substituting one alcohol for another or blending two of them together is very tricky business that can have dangerous results. This is because each alcohol is a distinct molecule with its own melting and boiling points, levels of reactivity and toxicity and other properties.
How Do You Solve This Problem?
Our master perfumers and odor control experts have developed a number of solutions that effectively combat odors present in hand sanitizers made with ethanol, leaving the sanitizer product with a pleasant clean smell as opposed to a rotten one so customers will prefer your product over any competition. Depending upon what natural source is used to make the ethanol, we have a vast array of fragranced additive solutions that will allow your sanitizing brand to project an image of clean as opposed to one of dirty.
These new odor control solutions include additives that aid in the dramatic reduction of odors that occur naturally from the source of ethanol; namely, raw materials such as corn, sorghum, barley, sugar cane, and sugar beets. Ethanol can also be a byproduct of grasses, trees, agricultural and forestry residues such as: corn cobs and stocks, rice straw, sawdust, and wood chips.
Bryan Zlotnik went on to explain, “Producers of hand sanitizers can utilize ethanol for their hand sanitizer products. They have only to send out small amounts of their samples to our perfumers who can analyze the product, asses the correct solution and then quickly supply several options for a fragranced odor control solution that will be suitable to a particular brand. While this new additive may not be a cure-all panacea, it will certainly aid in curtailing the deadly spread of this terrible virus.”
Contact Alpha Aromatics at (412) 252-1012, or submit a written inquiry.