Surfactants global production

From the anionic surfactants (Table 1.1) the most relevant is LAS with an annual global production volume of more than 3 X 1061 in 2001. LAS has a wide application because of its excellent detersive properties and cost-performance ratio. Commercial LAS is applied mainly in the formulation of powder and liquid laundry detergents. The calcium salts are used as an emulsifier in pesticide formulations their amine salts are used in dry cleaning and as degreasing agents in the metal industry [14]. 

Body washes are another more recent introduction into the marketplace. These products have become a mainstay in the global market. Body washes can be simple formulas similar to those used for liquid handsoaps or complex 2-in-l oil-in-water emulsion, moisturizing formulations. These products contain a wide range of synthetic surfactants not typically found in bar soaps or liquid handsoaps, such as sodium monoalkyl phosphate and alkyl aminocarboxylates. It is not uncommon to find over 20 different components in these formulations, with no less than six or seven different surfactants. These products can also contain skin benefit agents, such as cholesterol, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, cationic polymers, and emollient oils to provide even milder-to-skin cleansing and in-use moisturization. 

The Dow Chemical Co. has been producing the alkyldiphenyl oxide sulfonates since 1958 under the trade name of Dowfax Surfactants. These products have been distributed globally for over 35 years and have capitalized on the solubility, rinsibility, and stability of this family of surfactants. Alkyldiphenyl oxide disulfonates are also produced and sold by Kao, Pilot Chemical Co., Rhodia, and Sanyo. In addition, a number of smaller suppliers are located in China, India, and France. 

Recent figures have placed the value of the global cleaning product market at about 29 billion euro (U. Lehner, CESIO 2004). Surfactants play a critical role in carrying out domestic cleaning, chief of which is carrying soils away with washwater. Other tasks include... 

Linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS), alcohol ethoxylates (AEO), and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEO) are synthetic surfactants used in the formulation of detergents and other cleaning products and are widely applied in the dye and leather industry and other industrial processes. These compounds, considered as estrogenic, have aroused considerable interest due to the large quantities produced globally. Their low volatility and anionic form make LC-based methods the preferred approach [7]. Due to the presence of different positional isomers, to the biodegradation intermediates, and to the lack of reference standards, LC-MS, and in particular with ESI, is the only technique which enables their identification and quantification in environmental waters. 

The alkylation of benzene with linear olefins (Cj(,-Cj4) is largely used industrially to produce linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), precursors ofalkylbenzenesulfonates which are employed as surfactants and detergent intermediates. LAB global demand is about 2.7 million metric tons per year. Traditional processes are catalyzed by acid catalysts such as AlClj and mainly HF. The processes are designed to minimize skeletal isomerization of the linear olefins since high linearity is necessary to yield biodegradable products [31). In order to improve the sustainability of these processes, various solid acids have been developed. The use of ILs is one of the possibilities to consider. 

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. 

The world of fluorinated surfactants is full of many useful and unique products tailored for specific end users who take advantage of their exceptional performance properties. Recently, major global manufacturers have made commitments to work toward eliminating the manufacture of long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and substances that may break down to them in the environment [108-110]. As a result, commercial production has shifted to short chain alternatives [24] and new fluorinated moieties such as the per- and poly fluorinated ethers. Clearly, there remains a need for fluorinated surfactants in many industries to obtain the beneficial performance properties of these substances that cannot be achieved with other types of surfactants. 

The annual global consumption of surface active agents or surfactants in 2006 was estimated to reach 13 million metric tons, with the break up of regional sales as depicted in Figure 1.1. There are arguably five major participants in the surfactant supply chain including (1) basic raw-material processors, (2) feedstock and diversified chemical producers, (3) surfactant converters, (4) product formulators, and (5) distributors/retailers, some of which are listed in Figure 1.2. 

Globalization and consolidation of surfactant users have accelerated over the past 20 years, and have affected all of the major end markets. This has driven standardization of surfactant product composition and specifications turning them into commodity products that command lower margins. 

Even as early as 1939, the soap industry began to create laundry detergents using surfactants that were supplied to the soap manufacturers by the petrochemical industry. Because the cleaning formulations prodnced from these synthetic detergents were a substantial improvement over soap products in use at the time, they soon gave rise to a global surfactant industry based on branched alkyl benzene (BAB) derived from branched paraffins. 

The demand for amphoteric surfactants is expected to increase in step with the global growth of personal cleansing and home cleaning products. They provide mildness to formulations used in household applications, as well as foam stability and thickening properties. The challenges that will face amphoteric surfactant producers will include... 

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