Report
Description
Report Description
Surfactants are the organic compounds that can enhance cleaning efficiency, wetting,
dispersing, solvency, foaming and lubricity of water and water base substances. This
compounds can constitutes both lyophilic (solvent –loving) and lyophobic (solventfearing) group in its molecule. Surfactants lowers the surface tension of liquids and allow
chemicals to mix more easily.
Surfactants are traditionally being manufactured from the crude oil. Scarcity of crude oil
and growing environmental concerns are key drivers of bio surfactants manufactured by
using plants and natural substances like coconuts, soybean, grapefruit seed and pulp
extracts, corn etc. Methyl Ester Sulfonates (MES) is the largest consumed bio surfactant
derived from coconut and it is the perfect substitute to synthetics surfactants as
detergent feedstock.
Coconut derived surfactants is substitute for alkylbenzen products from crude oil. It is not
only ecofriendly but also tender for skin, it can be effectively applied under hard water,
for different types of cotton and fabrics. Many modern surfactants are made from
oleochemicals (vegetable derived) rather than petrochemicals (petroleum derived) and
are also biodegradable. Oleochemicals, or fats used to synthesize these surfactants
include palm and coconut oils. These surfactants include the anionic alkyl polyglucosides
(decyl, lauryl, and octyl), which are made from fatty alcohols from coconut or palm and
glucose from corn starch using green chemistry.