What is ethoxylation of alcohol?

Alcohol ethoxylates belong to the class of compounds which are synthesized via the reaction of a fatty alcohol and ethylene oxide, resulting in a molecule that consists of two parts one a carbon-rich, fatty alcohol and the second part a hydrophilic, polyoxyethylene chain.

This dual structural aspect of ethoxylated alcohol containing a hydrophobic portion (water-hating) with a hydrophilic component (water-loving), enables them to mix and solubilize oil and water by lowering the interfacial energy associated between them. These properties of ethoxylated alcohol gives them the general connotation of Surfactants or surface active agents.

The surfactant action of these ethoxylated alcohol is seen whenever oily substances are exposed to water or any surface. These alcohol ethoxylate have different properties, like excellent detergency, high and low-foaming, as well as, ethoxylates that are rapid surface-wetting agents. These Ethoxylated alcohols find use in many industrial practices as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, degreasers and emollients in many lines of commercially available products. These ethoxylated alcohol also serve many commercial markets, like Home & Personal Care products, Agrochemicals, Paints & Coatings, Oil & Gas and Industrial & Institutional Cleaning.

Natural fatty alcohols, differs in its distribution of carbon chains and hence can provide different ethoxylated alcohol structures and properties depending on the plant from which they were extracted. Fatty alcohol ethoxylate are surfactant, which are commonly used as components of cleaning detergents and formulation in the industrial, commercial, and domestic markets. FAEs find large-scale applications in detergents (wetting agents, emulsifiers, personal hygiene products (shampoos, emollients, foam boosters, Viscosity builders), leather (degreasing, wetting), textile paints and agriculture (emulsifiers, dispersion) process.

Example of natural fatty alcohols are lauryl alcohol ethoxylates (CAS Number: 68439-50-9).

Venus-Goa manufactures a wide variety of non-ionic lauryl alcohol ethoxylate tailor-made to suit customer requirements for specific moles & products.

Traditionally, Lauryl Alcohol Ethoxylate (LAE, CAS Number: 68439-50-9) function as a foaming agent in personal care products such as shampoos and bath gels. The effective wetting property of LAE finds use in household cleaning products including detergents, laundry pre-spotters and hard surface cleaners. While in industrial settings like textile and leather processing the wetting property effectively helps, reduce surface tension. The natural source and biodegradable nature of lauryl alcohol ethoxylate prompts their use in shampoo and liquid detergent formulations for personal care segments. Several laurylalcohol ethoxylate find use in personal care and cosmetics as emulsifiers in creams, cleansing agents in shampoos and liquid detergents, solubilizers for fragrances. Venus-Goa manufactures carboxylates, sulfosuccinates, sulfonates, and phosphates using LAE, which function as anionic Surfactants.

Lauryl alcohol alkoxylates (EO-PO) are low-foaming surfactants and Venus-Goa manufactures and market them for suitable applications/customers. Similary lauryl alcohol ethoxylates NR (narrow range) are alternate examples of low foam ethoxylates. These NREs are readily biodegradable and have better low-foaming, foam collapse, and wetting properties compared with their broad range counterparts and are manufactured at Venus-Goa. Cetyl (C16), Stearyl (C18) and oleyl [C18(1)] natural alcohols are also converted to their respective alcohol ethoxylates. Ethoxylated Alcohol from commercially available natural cetostearyl alcohol, oleylcetyl alcohol and behenyl alcohol are also produced at Venus-Goa.

Synthetic alcohol ethoxylate:

1) Tridecyl alcohol (TDA) ethoxylates (CAS Number: 24938-91-8) are biodegradable nonionic Surfactants derived from a branched C13 alcohol and ethoxylated with different moles of ethylene oxide. They provide efficient wetting, good detergency, APEO-free alternatives, relatively low foaming, and exist in liquid form at room temperature (TD alcohol ethoxylate containing upto 10 moles EO). They are widely used in a variety of applications as a biodegradable emulsifier, dispersant, wetting agent, in oilfield, emulsion polymerization, personal care, and inks and coatings applications.

2) Oxo alcohols like 2-ethyl hexanol (CAS Number: 26401-35-8), 2-propylheptanol and isodecyl alcohol are also manufactured at Venus-Goa to their corresponding alcohol ethoxylate.

3) Venus-Goa also produces C9-C11 alcohol ethoxylate (CAS Number: 68439-46-3), C12-15 alcohol ethoxylate (CAS Number: 68131-39-5), C12-C13 alcohols ethoxylate, C14-C15 alcohol ethoxylate.