Industries | Clean & Disinfect

Clean, descale and disinfect with one molecule.

PureTech Scientific helps formulators build cleaners and disinfectants on glycolic acid for household, industrial, institutional and veterinary use. Choose Glyclean® for cleaning and descaling, or Glyclean® D when your product needs to disinfect. Both are made in the USA and backed by a technical team that helps you get to market faster.

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How it works

How it cleans: Glycolic acid is the smallest alpha hydroxy acid (molecular weight 76.05 g/mol). It complexes iron, calcium and magnesium, so rust, lime and hard water scale lift from the surface and rinse away.

How it disinfects: Glyclean® D uses that small size and dual acid and alcohol chemistry to act on microbes three ways at once: it penetrates the cell rapidly, attacks cell walls and membranes, and disrupts essential cellular functions. Because the attack is multi-modal rather than single-target, the chance of organisms developing resistance is minimized.

Applications

Where our customers use Glyclean®

Hard surfaces

Chelates iron, calcium and magnesium, so soil, rust and scale lift in the same pass

Bathroom & descaling

Toilet bowl, shower, calcium, lime and rust removers

Laundry & dairy

Laundry sours and dairy equipment cleaning (Glyclean®)

Wipes

Stays in solution rather than binding to wipe substrates (Glyclean® D)

Food & feed areas

Food and feed area disinfection, PT4 (Glyclean® D)

Veterinary hygiene

Animal housing and veterinary hygiene, PT3 (Glyclean® D)

Registration

Registered where you sell.

Market	Advantages
United States	Glyclean® D70 is the active in three EPA-registered formulations ready for sub-registration: Broad Spectrum Disinfectant & Cleaner (EPA Reg. No. 71654-31), Hard Surface Cleaner (71654-5) and Pine Cleaner (71654-30). You can sub-register, file a substantially similar registration, or build your own registration on Glyclean® D products.
Europe	Glyclean® D70E is supported under EU and GB BPR (PT2, PT3, PT4), and PureTech is on the ECHA and HSE Article 95 lists. Our Hard Surface Cleaner and Disinfectant, the representative product in the BPR dossier, is available for licensing.
Other markets	Talk to our team about registration support where you sell.

Data spotlight

Efficacy with a named standard behind it

Result	Test
99.999% or greater reduction of 8 bacteria, including E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, at 5.0% acid	AOAC 955.14; 964.02 (U.S. formulations)
99.99% or greater reduction of Herpes Simplex 1, Influenza A-2 and Rhinovirus Type 37	EPA DIS/TSS-7 (U.S. formulations)
99.9999% or greater reduction of poliovirus, adenovirus and murine norovirus, 5-minute contact, dirty conditions	NF EN 14476:2013 + A2:2019 (EU formulation)

Cleaning that keeps up: in soil removal testing with ASTM D4488 soils and residue testing per HSPA DCC-09A, Glyclean® formulations performed comparably to leading commercial ready-to-use and dilutable cleaners.

Why PureTech

What clean and disinfect formulators need from an active supplier, built in.

Supply you can plan production around

Our dedicated glycolic acid facility runs 24/7, and locally stocked inventory keeps product close to you. Plan production runs and launches with confidence.

Quality you can build a registration on

We make and purify our glycolic acid ourselves, under one ISO 9001 quality system across Belle, WV and Dayton, TN. Every shipment meets the same documented spec, so every batch you make starts from the same active.

A faster path from formula to market

Start from an EPA-registered formulation you can sub-register, or license our EU formulation. Our technical team helps you dial in pH, compatibility and scale-up along the way.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Glyclean® and Glyclean® D?

Both are built on PureTech glycolic acid. Glyclean® 70 is for cleaning and descaling products that do not carry disinfecting claims. Glyclean® D grades are disinfectant actives, the active in our EPA-registered formulations (Glyclean® D70) and supported under EU and GB BPR (PT2, PT3, PT4).

I don't need disinfecting claims. Which grade should I use?

Glyclean® 70. It works as a standalone descaler and chelator, or as a booster for citric, sulfamic and lactic acids, in hard surface, bathroom, laundry and dairy cleaning products.

What are my routes to market in the U.S.?

Three: sub-register one of our EPA-registered formulations, file a substantially similar registration, or build a registration you own on Glyclean® D.

What is the route to market in Europe?

The glycolic acid in Glyclean® D products is being reviewed as an active substance in the EU and GB BPR programmes for PT2, PT3 and PT4, with PureTech as the Article 95-listed supplier. Meanwhile, disinfectants containing Glyclean® D can be registered under national rules and benefit from the transitional period. License our Hard Surface Cleaner and Disinfectant, the representative product in the BPR dossier, or formulate your own.

Which surfaces are Glyclean® products suited for?

Hard, non-porous surfaces such as floors, stainless steel, bathrooms, counters, tile and granite. As with any organic acid, they are not appropriate for acid-sensitive surfaces such as marble, limestone or travertine.

Is Glyclean® biodegradable?

Yes. PureTech glycolic acid is readily biodegradable per OECD 301D (89.6% in 7 days), OECD 301B and 310.