The Industry of Bio-Based Cleaners in Quebec: Status and Outlook

The global cleaning market is valued at more than $44 billion. During the 1990s, various industrial and institutional establishments began using bio-based cleaners (≥ one ingredient based on microorganisms, plant extracts, etc.) to clean surfaces and instruments of all kinds, intended for industrial, medical or domestic uses. These cleaners, sometimes considered as green or environmentally friendly, offer an alternative to conventional solvents, disinfectants, surfactants, detergents and aqueous cleaners. They have spread rapidly in the workplace. Their safety in use has been assessed and their composition is increasingly documented.

Today, several Quebec companies are active in this sector and offer innovative and competitive products to local and global markets. The CRIBIQ considered it opportune to organize this conference on bio-based cleaners in order to bring together all stakeholders in the value chain of this industry that presents new technological challenges, but also market opportunities to seize.

Thus, the objectives of this conference are to highlight:

• The latest developments in innovation associated with the development of bio-based cleaners in Quebec and elsewhere in the world;
• Trends in the development of new cleaning products;
• The creation of collaborations between academic and industrial circles.