Market surfactants

For at least the next 25 years enough lauril (natural C12-C14) oil will not be available to replace petrochemical-based surfactants even if this were desired. However, the oleochemical share of the surfactant intermediate market will grow because a large portion of excess lauric oil (coconut and palm kernel) will be designated for the surfactant market and used to supply the fatty alcohol capacity that has been announced for startup in the coming years. 

From the esterquats introduced onto the surfactant market in the early 1990s, DEEDMAC, LEQ and EQ (Table 1.3) have gained widespread use [24-26]. 

At the end of the 1990s statistics show that the non-ionic surfactants achieved the highest growth in production rates world-wide, though anionic surfactants (anionics) maintained the dominant position in the surfactant market. Today they are produced in a larger variety by the petrochemical industry than all other types of surfactants. Their production spectrum covers alkyl sulfates (ASs), secondary alkane sulfonates (SASs) and aryl sulfonates and carboxylates via derivatives of partly fluorinated or perfluorinated alkyl surfactants to compounds with an alkylpolyglycolether substructure combined with an anionic moiety such as alkylether sulfates (AESs), phosphates, phosphonates or carboxylates. 

Alcohol sulfates (AS) are usually manufactured by the reaction of a primary alcohol with sulfur trioxide or chlorosulfonic acid followed by neutralization with a base. These are high foam surfactants but they are sensitive to water hardness and higher levels of phosphates are required. This latter requirement has harmed the market for this type of detergent, but they are 2% of production for the major household surfactant market. Sodium lauryl sulfate (R = Cn) is a constituent of shampoos to take advantage of its high-foaming properties. 

They have high foam for shampoos and are kind to the skin. They are also used in light duty products such as dishwashing detergents. It is the least sensitive of the anionics to water hardness and therefore has benefited in the trend away from phosphates. They have 25% of the production for the major household surfactant market. 

LAS detergents made from the chlorination route have lower amounts of 2-phenyl product. Use of the a-olefms gives greater 2-phenyl content, which in turn changes the surfactant action somewhat. LAS detergents for many years had the highest percentage of the market, but now they own 19% of production for the major household surfactant market. 

Surfactant Market Overview Importance in Different Industries... 

Regionally, the market for surfactants (not including soap) can be broken down into four main regions with Asia accounting for the largest market with a 31% share. In 2003, the global surfactant market had a value estimated to have been worth 14.3 billion. 

During the 1970s and early 1980s, many European countries saw rapid expansion of their surfactant markets as laundry soap was displaced by detergents. The use of detergent builders to sequestrate calcium ions in the washwater was very important to the effective functioning... 

The worldwide consumption of surfactants in 2003 is shown in Table 36.5. In many parts of the world, soap is still the primary surfactant for textile washing and personal care. Synthetic detergents are widely used in the devolved regions of the world including North America, Western Europe, and Japan. Anionic surfactants dominate the world surfactant market. Common anionic surfactants include LAS, AS, and AES. The second largest class of surfactants is the nonionics of which AE and APE are most common. The use of APE is in decline because of concerns with biodegradability and endocrine disruption. Quats are commonly used in antibacterial formulations because of their ability to lyse the cell membrane of... 

Branna, T., Surfactant market update, Household and Personal Products Industry (HAPPI), 40, 67, 2003. 

Based on their chemical nature, organic surfactants with diphilic structures are classified as anionic, cationic, amphyphilic, and nonionic. Anionic surfactants are reasonably inexpensive and fairly universal, so they occupy a predominant place of about 60% in the world surfactant market. The contribution of nonionic surfactants to world production is about 30% and is growing cationics constitute about 10%, while synthetic amphyphilic surfactants account for only fractions of a percent. 

Although the interest in biobased surfactants has globally increased considerably in recent years, they still compete with difficulty against the chemically synthesized compounds on the surfactant market, due to their high production costs. 

Although very little methyl ester ethoxylates are produced at the present time they are included here because of their potential to have a significant impact on the nonionic surfactants market in the future. The general structure of these surfactants (9) is as follows ... 

Shaw, A., Surfactants Market Update, Soap/Cosmetics/Chemical Specialties, September, 1995, p. 34. 

Only time will tell if these new oil sources will bear fruit in the world of low cost and new alternatives for the fatty alcohol surfactant market. 

Karsa, D.R., Bailey, R.M., Shehnerdine, B. and McCann, S.A., Overview A decade of change in the surfactant market, in Industrial Applications of Surfactants IV, D.R. Karsa, ed.. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1999. 

Finally, Colonial Chanical has introduced anionic Suga Phos surfactants, marketed as a gemini surfactant with mild properties for use in personal care applications [110]. The surfactants (Figure 29.29) are apparently produced by linking alkylpolyglucosides with a hydroxypropyl phosphate spacer via a chlorohydroxypropyl phosphate intermediate. 

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