Sulfones Surface-active agent

Reactions of the hydrocarbon chain in alkanoic acids include a-sulfonation and halogenation (51—54). The a-sulfonated fatty ester salts have excellent lime-dispersing properties and are valuable surface-active agents. 

Surface active agents, finishing agents, sulfonated oils, and assistants... 

A. Cahn, H. Lemaire, R. Haass, Preparation of sulfonated fatty acid ester surface-active agents, US Patent 3 320 292 (1967). 

Fig. 3.6 Viscosities of cement pastes containing varying concentrations of surface active agents in the absence of entrained air (Bruere). 1 = sodium dodecyl sulfate 2 = sodium abietate 3 = petroleum sulfonate 4 = phenol ethoxylate.

Additional uses for higher olefins include the production of epoxides for subsequent conversion into surface-active agents, alkylation of benzene to produce drag-flow reducers, alkylation of phenol to produce antioxidants, oligomerization to produce synthetic waxes (qv), and the production of linear mercaptans for use in agricultural chemicals and polymer stabilizers. Aluminum alkyls can be produced from heavy olefin streams and olefin or paraffin streams have been sulfaled or sulfonated and used in the leather (qv) industry. 

The rubber particle size in the final product increases several fold if the prepolymerization is carried out in the presence of a dilute aqueous solution of an alkane sulfonate or polyvinyl alcohol in place of pure water. The addition of a surface-active agent converts the coarsely dispersed oil-water mixture—obtained as above in the presence of pure water—into an oil-in-water emulsion. In this case even prolonged stirring during prepolymerization does not decrease the rubber particle size appreciably in the final product. The stabilization of the droplets of the organic phase in water by the emulsifier obviously impedes or prevents agitation within the polymeric phase. Figure 1 shows the influence of these three prepolymerization methods (under otherwise equal reaction conditions) on the dispersion of rubber particles in polystyrene. 

A third class of industrial chemical biocides consists of agents with the ability to inhibit biological film formation, also called surfactants . The term surfactant originates from the phrase surface active agent. Surfactants fall into four broad categories anionic (e.g., soaps, alkyl benzenesulfonates, alkyl sulfonates, alkyl phosphates), cationic (e.g., quaternary ammonium salts), nonionic (e.g., alkyl polyglycosides, alcohol ethoxylates, alkylphenol ethoxylates), and zwitterionic. 

Oils and fats have been important throughout human history not only for food, but also as lubricants, polishes, ointments, and fuel. The reaction of oils and fats with alkali (saponification) produces soap (salts of fatty acids) and glycerin. This chemical process was known to the Romans and continues to be of significant commercial importance. Today, tens of thousands of tons of soap are produced annually from tallow and plant oils. Tallow is a by-product of the meat industry, while the principal plant oils are dependent on extensive plantations—palm and palm kernel oils from Indonesia, Malaysia, and India, and coconut oil from the Philippines and Brazil. Twentieth-century chemists designed more effective synthetic, crude-oil-based surface-active agents (surfactants, e.g., sodium linearalkylbenzene-sulfonate or LAS) for fabric, household, and industrial cleaning applications, and specialty surfactants to meet the needs of consumer products industry such as milder skin and hair cleansers. 

Petrowet R [Du Pont], TM for a surface-active agent composed of saturated hydrocarbon sodium sulfonate. A wetting and penetrating agent effective in high concentration of electrolytes and acids, suitable for use in acidizing of oil wells. 

Surface Active Agents, Finishing Agents, Sulfonated Oils, and Assistants... 

USE In organic synthesis for introducing the sulfonic acid group into a variety of molecules, especially surface active agents. 

A number of publications review sulfonation and sulfation primarily from the chemical standpoint regardless of product use. Other treatises discuss the process as applied to the manufacture of important products such as dyes and surface-active agents. ... 

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