Surfactant applications Paints, inks, coatings, adhesives

Surfactants are used in a wide range of fields. By far the most important application is the washing and cleansing sector as well as textile treatment and cosmetics these use over 50% of the total amount of surfactants. Surfactants are also used in the food sector, in crop protection, in mining, and in the production of paints, coatings, inks, and adhesives. The basic manufacturing routes to important surfactants are laid out in Fig. 4.9. It is true that the most important surfactant from the amount produced apart from soap is still the petrochemical-based... 

MIBK is a highly effective separating agent for metals from solutions of their salts and is used in the mining industries to extract plutonium from uranium, niobium from tantalum, and zirconium from hafnium (112,113). MIBK is also used in the production of specialty surfactants for inks (qv), paints, and pesticide formulations, examples of which are 2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decyn-4,7-diol and its ethoxylated adduct. Other applications include as a solvent for adhesives and wax/oil separation (114), in leather (qv) finishing, textile coating, and as a denaturant for ethanol formulations. 

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