A patent is an official document giving the holder the sole right to make, to use or sell an invention and preventing others to copying it. This title deed is limited generally to 20 years. The patent is only valid on one territory determined by the holder. The invention is disclosed in public 18 months after registration. Consequently invention is known of all but still its exploitation is protected.

REALCO decide to patent its research results. Using enzymes and/or specifically selected microoganisms in water treatment is innovative and, deserve to be to patent. In detergency, the risk of anteriority makes the patent more difficult to obtain. Realco’s formulations based on a raw materials are innovative and have a higher effectiveness than existing products, this results leads Realco to patent the detergency formulations.
Water treatement and detergency sectors are competitive and holding patent brings an important competing advantage, particularly in term of formulation.

Moreover, Realco’s title-deed reinforce its credibility trowards customers, parteners, distributors, suppliers…

PATENTS

Since 1997, REALCO’s R&D department has filed 7 patents, the 4 main patents being:

• Patent PCT/BE98/00152 : The use of enzymes in cleaning improves waste water purification results. The enzymes remove detergent inhibition on the purifying micro-organisms => use of REALCO enzymatic products is more environment friendly due to improved biological waste water purification.
• Patent PCT/BE02/00020 : The use of bacteria that is not resistant to antibiotics produces results that are comparable to or better than the use of resistant bacteria. The problem of antibiotic resistance is a major problem for human and veterinary medecine. Many countries have launched national campaigns to limit antibiotic consumption and put a stop to the growing problem => REALCO uses only antibiotic-sensitive bacteria in its products. Use of REALCO products therefore does not contribute to spreading and increasing resistant microorganisms.
• Patent EP1693446 : Use of grease broken down using the LIPAMAX process as a source of carbon for de-nitrification. In a purification station, grease is a waste product that is difficult to eliminate. REALCO has developed the LIPAMAX process to rapidly break down grease using enzymatic means. R&D has also shown that LIPAMAX-treated broken down grease can be used to eliminate another pollutant, nitrogen, in a de-nitrification process requiring introduction of a carbon source => LIPAMAX-treated grease is an easily assimilable and recoverable source of carbon in the de-nitrification process.
• Patent PCT/EP2006/060244 : a detergent formula which combines the use of enzymes and renewable raw materials. Unlike raw materials of petrochemical origin, renewable raw materials are of vegetable, animal or bacterial origin. Their use is interesting in that they contribute to a sustained or long-lasting development by using renewable resources instead of fossil resources. Hence, the analysis of the product's life cycle shows a far better balance in terms of CO2 emissions. REALCO has been able to demonstrate that the combination of these renewable raw materials with enzymes allows us to get detergent products of a superior effectiveness as compared to similar products of petrochemical origin, or products which contain only renewable raw materials, as well as to improve the enzymatic stability.

CURRENT PROJECTS

• In-depth cleaning and elimination of bio-films: the NETZYM programme is part of a European project (EUREKA) in partnership with UCL and INRA in Lille (France). The project aims at developing an enzymatic solution for an effective cleaning of porous surfaces, for the elimination of sticky micro-organisms and of bio-films. The bio-films represent a permanent source of contamination which is hard to eliminate in any critical environment such as the food industry of the hospital environment. The solution which the programme is aiming at, should allow us to prevent the formation of these bio-films or to eliminate them, whilst guaranteeing the respect for the material, for the user and for the environment.
• MIRAGE: REALCO is participating in the Marshall Plan for the Walloon region, through its incorporation in the most important R&D programme ever, the MIRAGE project, which is launched in 2007. This project focuses on "the materials and the surfaces of tomorrow". In particular, REALCO is involved in the axis aiming at the development of self-cleaning and/or anti-bacterial glass or steel surfaces. REALCO's part is to assess the cleaning and disinfecting performances of these surfaces, as well as to develop a mixture between an anti-bacterial surface and the enzymatic cleaning. As a matter of fact, a synergy has already been demonstrated between these two processes.