About
Orbit Green Chemistry
"Green chemistry" is a term applied to processes that minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances. Such processes are desperately needed to replace methods which pollute our water, air, and soil. Our studies in synthetic methodology gave rise to three novel green processes which have proven to be preparatively viable routes to compounds useful in fragrance and other industries.
One method affords cinnamaldehyde and alpha-substituted derivatives. Another method affords catechol and certain aryl-substituted catechols. Finally, we have discovered a simple, inexpensive method for making certain nitriles. These novel green processes have advantages over existing methods which include safety, low cost, high yields, and simple workups.
Orbit Custom Blending
Essential oils find widespread use as fragrances, flavors, pesticides and homeopathic agents, but they are often costly or in short supply due to adverse weather conditions or instability/conflicts in the regions where they are produced. Even under ideal conditions, the composition of an essential oil from a given region can vary widely year to year. These problems make necessary the availability of reconstituted oils which contain all of the major components and simulate the natural odor.
Fragrance oils, in comparison, can be tailored for specific applications- for instance they can be formulated to resist degradation due to oxidation, light/heat exposure, or harsh chemical environments.
Orbit Custom Formulating
Essential oils are common components of aqueous formulations used as personal care products, pesticides, or simply as fragrant sprays for masking odors or creating a pleasant aroma indoors. Though insoluble in water, essential oils can be dissolved (actually emulsified) by employing one or more surfactants. Naturally occurring surfactants exist (and several are commercially available), but nearly all of those used in our modern world are synthetic. They may be petroleum-derived or made from oils or fat obtained from plants or animals. The latter type of surfactant is generally preferred as it is considered "renewable" or "sustainable."
We have developed numerous aqueous formulations using only surfactants made from vegetable/plant oils- these contain specific proportions of certain fatty acid salts (soaps) plus certain emulsifiers (also vegetable oil-derived) and are stable and clear with essential oils present at concentrations ranging from 15-50%. Some of these concentrates are designed for blending into soap formulations (ie. classical saponification or "melt & pour") while others are designed to be long-lasting fragrance sprays (and are simply diluted in water).
Soapmakers know that some essential oils- particularly those containing aldehydes, can be difficult to blend into soap formulations and/or have scents that quickly fade. We have successfully formulated many of them, however, using our concentrates or in some cases by including nitrile derivatives.