Linde announces environmentally friendly fumigant

Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, announced plans for a new fumigant in cooperation with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia. The new fumigant, to be marketed as EDN, will be used to limit the impact of pests and disease on timber and in agriculture. Based on ethanedinitrile, EDN is an ozone friendly alternative to methyl bromide (MeBr), which was banned in many countries in 1992 by the Montreal protocol due to its ozone-depleting effects. EDN surpasses the efficacy of MeBr, requires less dosage per crop, has a shorter fumigation period and has the additional benefit of leaving residues that degrade to become useful soil fertilisers.

Linde is constructing a new plant in the Czech Republic where it will produce up to 1,000 tonnes of the new fumigant by end of 2012. Linde has also begun the registration process in several countries, providing key information such as toxicology data and efficacy.

"EDN is a pioneering new product that will benefit both forestry and agricultural sectors and underlines Linde’s commitment to drive innovation and reduce environmental impact, lower costs and raise productivity," said Lex van Leeuwen, Global Manager New Product Commercialisation & Fumigation, Linde Gases Division."

In addition to protecting major agricultural and forestry industries from pests and diseases, EDN also has the potential for several important applications in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and chemicals where EDN is used as a chemical building block in synthesis.

CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences Chief Mark Lonsdale said, "ethanedinitrile presents a great opportunity to limit the impact of pests and disease in certain industries and is a viable alternative to the ozone-damaging methyl bromide. The new fumigant is the result of many years of research and is a patented technology of CSIRO’s Ecosystem Sciences Division using ethanedinitrile as the active constituent."

The search for MeBr alternative fumigants at Linde began several years ago when Linde subsidiary BOC Australia collaborated with CSIRO, one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world. MeBr had been used for decades as a universal fumigant to control pests across a wide range of agricultural sectors but was phased out in most countries in 2005 due to environmental concerns and international obligations under the Montreal Protocol and is due for total phase out globally by 2015. The new break-through technology highlights Linde’s growing importance in the world fumigant market.