Sustainably produced insect oil as an alternative to palm kernel oil: DR.SCHNELL is reshaping the professional cleaning industry with the launch of its award-winning product MILIZID ONE, a next‑generation sanitary cleaner developed in close cooperation with Sasol International Chemicals, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of surfactants. The collaboration brings together cutting‑edge surfactant innovation and application expertise with the goal of delivering high‑performance cleaning products made entirely from renewable ingredients.
At the center of this development partnership is LIVINEX IO 7, Sasol’s novel insect oil‑based nonionic surfactant (patent pending). Derived from sustainably produced insect oil, LIVINEX IO 7 enables MILIZID ONE to achieve the exceptional cleaning performance characteristic of DR.SCHNELL’s products, while significantly reducing the product’s and company’s carbon footprint and shortening supply chains.
“MILIZID ONE impressively demonstrates what becomes possible when strong partners across the entire value chain work together with a shared ambition,” said Dr. Axel Schloßbauer, Head of Product Development at DR.SCHNELL. “By collaborating closely with Sasol, we were able to completely eliminate palm kernel oil thanks to innovative biogenic raw materials and move closer to our goal of a European supply chain—without compromising performance, supply reliability or formulation. LIVINEX IO 7 plays a key role in this, as it replaces standard surfactants from other sources on a one-to-one basis.”
LIVINEX IO 7 is produced from insect oil obtained as a byproduct of a process to make more sustainable proteins for animal feed, transforming low-value organic side streams into a valuable, renewable chemical feedstock. Based on a cradle‑to‑gate approach that includes biogenic carbon uptake, the surfactant can deliver a significantly reduced, and in some cases negative, product carbon footprint, in line with DIN ISO 14067 (Scopes 1–3).
Beyond its sustainability profile, LIVINEX IO 7 meets the demanding requirements of professional sanitary cleaning, delivering strong grease and limescale removal, reliable foaming performance and broad material compatibility. Because the chemistry is comparable to conventional C12–14‑based surfactants, LIVINEX IO 7 can be integrated without reformulation—enabling faster adoption of more sustainable solutions.
The market relevance of this approach has already been recognized. MILIZID ONE was awarded the Purus Innovation Award 2025 in the cleaning products category at the prestigious CMS trade fair in Berlin, highlighting the product’s contribution to advancing sustainability and performance in professional cleaning. Following the success of MILIZID ONE as a pilot product, DR.SCHNELL is banking on this new technology and will integrate LIVINEX IO 7 into other products in its range. The biosurfactant is already included in ROBOLUTION, the revolutionary 2-in-1 floor cleaner for cleaning robots that cleans both surfaces and the robots themselves.
“We are very pleased to see LIVINEX IO 7 contribute to such a successful innovation,” said Louis Snyders, Vice President of Care Chemicals for Sasol International Chemicals. “MILIZID ONE demonstrates how innovation can move quickly from development to commercial reality when suppliers and customers work together. Seeing LIVINEX IO 7 incorporated into an award-winning product is an important validation of both the technology and the growing market demand for more sustainable surfactant solutions. Building on this collaboration, we are already advancing further developments based on this renewable feedstock, laying the foundation for continued innovation with partners such as DR.SCHNELL.”
“With MILIZID ONE and ROBOLUTION, we are not only introducing new products but also breaking new ground in innovation—through close collaboration, shared expertise, a clear focus on furthering the sustainability attributes of our products and reducing our carbon footprint—as demonstrated by our DIN ISO-certified carbon footprint calculator,” added Dr. Thomas Schnell, Managing Director of DR.SCHNELL. “This is an important step toward our long‑term goal—to make our world a little cleaner every day than we found it—and a strong basis for future joint developments with partners like Sasol.”