Lightly branched C18 alcohol hydrophobe for nonionic and anionic surfactants

Abstract: In alcohol-derived surfactants such as nonionic alcohol ethoxylates, anionic alcohol sulfates and alcohol ether sulfates, the carbon chain length and branching pattern of the alcohol hydrophobe play a key role in their properties, performance, and final application. Detergent range alcohols from synthetic and natural routes are critically important to the surfactant industry and have an estimated global demand of 3.23 million metric tons in 2022 with an anticipated 3.1% annual growth rate¹. While natural alcohols are fully linear, synthetic alcohols can be designed to produce various branching patterns like oxo alcohols, ethylene/propylene/butene oligomers, and Guerbet alcohols.

At the top of the detergent alcohol range, C18 alcohol hydrophobes in the industry are largely derived from natural sources and are thus linear. The long, linear hydrophobe in a natural C18 alcohol ethoxylate limits its use to emulsification and dispersing functions and, as such, it is not widely used in cleaning. Due to synthesis challenges and scarcity of cost-competitive raw materials for high MW Guerbet alcohols, branched C18 alcohols are less well studied than branched C8-13 alcohols. Here we will present the synthesis and characterization of a lightly branched C18 alcohol which is derived from an industrial waste stream that can be used for ethoxylation to nonionic surfactants as well as sulfated to anionic surfactants. We will present the properties of such surfactants and potential benefits the branching structure provides including enhanced surface tension reduction and wetting. Additionally, the performance will be compared with competitive products to demonstrate the value and utility of this hydrophobe for surfactant development. Lastly, the waste stream raw material source could enable this hydrophobe to replace existing C18 Guerbet alcohols to gain a potential sustainability advantage.

(1) Greiner, E.; Bland, A.; Zhang, E; Toyama, M.; “Detergent Alcohols” IHS Markit, 2022.