BASF's Care Chemicals Division announced that Trilon® M chelate has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) certification program. DfE is an EPA partnership program designed to improve the overall formulation performance of consumer and industrial products while reducing environmental risks.

Trilon M is the first product to meet the DfE criteria for chelating and sequestering agents. The criteria was developed by chelating agent manufacturers, cleaning product formulators, environmental non-governmental organizations, certification groups, academia, and industry associations.

"BASF is honored to be the first chelating agent certified by the DfE program" said Dirk Buengel, Senior Vice President, BASF Care Chemicals. "We are extremely proud of Trilon M's environmental benefits, product performance and efficiency as a cleaning alternative to phosphate."

Trilon M, methylglycinediacetic acid (MGDA) effectively binds calcium and magnesium ions and is readily biodegradable. The key advantage of Trilon M is its ability to be used as an eco-friendly builder, replacing phosphates in cleaning compositions, such as automatic dishwashing products. Phosphates were banned from consumer automatic dishwashing detergents in 16 states in 2010. Since being introduced to the market, many global manufacturers of automatic dishwashing tabs, powders, and sachets, have already replaced phosphates in their formulations with Trilon M.

"Trilon M contributes to our customers' long term success by offering an innovative solution for a very challenging market need," said Gary Dee, Director, BASF Home and Personal Care Division.

Trilon M is listed on CleanGredients®, an online database that provides formulators with information about the environmental and human health attributes of cleaning product ingredient chemicals. Trilon® M can also be included in cleaning products eligible for recognition under the DfE Safer Product Labeling Program. More about the EPA’s DfE program can be found on their website: http://www.epa.gov/dfe/index.htm.

Due to an increasing demand of Trilon M, BASF expanded production in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Recently BASF rolled out Trilon M Granules, Second Generation (SG), a new solid version with better handling and processing properties, especially for production of automatic dishwashing (ADW) tabs and powders. Trilon M is available globally in liquid and several solid forms.

BASF - Care Chemicals
BASF's Care Chemicals division offers a broad portfolio of products and solutions for personal care, home care, hygiene, industrial & institutional cleaning as well as a comprehensive spectrum of technical applications. Through the acquisition of Cognis, Care Chemicals has become the leading supplier to the cosmetics industry and has strengthened its number one position in products for the detergents and cleaners industry. The high quality product portfolio of the division mainly comprises surfactants, polymers, emollients, chelating agents, UV filters and biocides. Superabsorbents, developed for the requirements in all fields of hygiene applications, round out the offering. Care Chemicals operates production and development sites as well as sales offices all over the world and achieved sales to third parties of €2,755 million in 2010 (excluding Cognis).

BASF - The Chemical Company
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 16,400 employees in North America, and had sales of $17.7 billion in 2010. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us.

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, and agricultural products to oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com or in the Social Media Newsroom at newsroom.basf.com.

BASF Corporation

BASF Corporation

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals and oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €50 billion in 2009 and had approximately 105,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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