Nonionic surfactants - Industrial implementation

Non-ionic surfactants have been of industrial importance since the discovery, in the early 1930s, of ethoxylated derivatives produced by the addition of ethylene oxide to molecules with active hydrogens. Today, they are used in all industrial fields, from household detergents to textiles, pharmaceutical preparations and agriculture, to name but a few.

Their "good" toxicological properties, their advantageous position in relation to current regulations, their ease of supply, their cost-effectiveness, the wide variety of products available, their compatibility with other surfactants and the scope of their physico-chemical properties are all factors behind their ever-increasing use.

While recent years have seen the appearance on the market of new products such as alkylpolyglucosides, glucamides and ethoxylated fatty acid esters, recent developments have tended to focus on improving safety (with consequences for the number of units and production technologies), and sustainability, both in terms of environmental protection for future generations and the supply of basic raw materials. The main properties of non-ionic surfactants and the methods used to obtain them are presented in the following article [J 2266] , while the present article deals only with the industrial aspects of the problem.