source:
http://apps.kemi.se/
Alcohol ethoxylates are clear to light yellow liquids or vaxes with a stale
odour. Melting point, viscosity and water solubility depend on both alcohol
length and the number of ethoxy groups that have been added. As the molecules
are big, vaporization is sparse.
An alcohol ethoxylate molecule contains a lipophilic (fat friendly) alcohol
part and a hydrophilic (water-friendly) ethoxy chain part, more ethoxy groups
enable more hydrogen bonding and thus generate better water solubility. To
render the molecule fully water soluble ca. 60-75 by weight of polyoxyethylene
content is needed. The water solubility decreases with increasing temperature as
the molecular heat movements obstruct hydrogen bonding. As it contains parts
that prefer different surroundings the molecule will arrange itself in the
interface between oil (fat) and water with the alcohol in the oil phase and the
ethoxylate in the water. Thus it is a surface-active agent, a surfactant. As it
is not charged it is called non-ionic. Solutions of surfactants have, depending
on the chemical design and concentration, a combination of cleaning (detergent),
foaming, wetting, emulsifying, solubilizing and dispersing properties. Often a
mixture of several surfactants is used to obtain optimal function.
Alcohol ethoxylates are produced by reacting alcohol with oxirane (ethene
oxide or EO). The alcohol could be made from cracked petroleum (via ethane,
propene and carbon monoxide) or from vegetable or animal oil and fats. These
sources do not give alcohols with just one carbon chain length and so alcohol
ethoxylates are reaction products of a number of alcohols with polyethene oxide
chains of varied length as well. They are heterogeneous in chemical composition
but homogenous enough regarding the desired technical properties. One
oxyethylene group –OCH2CH2- adds a little more to the hydrophilic properties of
the substance of that methylene group -CH2- in the alcohol chain to the
lipophilic. Mostly some percent of the original alcohol remains in the final
reaction product. Alcohol ethoxylate has been manufactured and used since the
40s and is also produced in Sweden.
Turn-over of all surfactants in the
USA was ca 5 million tonnes in 1993 and of those 1/3 was non-ionic. Then almost
50% of all surfactants were used in household products and almost 10% in
personal care products. 18 % of the American consumption in 1995 were alcohol
ethoxylates.
In Sweden appr. 5,000 tonnes of alcohol ethoxylates are
used annually in thousands of chemical products for households and industries.
They act as detergents, which means that they dissolve small amounts of dirt/fat
in much water, as emulsifiers as they help to build stable systems of more fat
in less water and as dispersants as a long ethoxy tail can form many hydrogen
bonds with the surrounding water in order to keep small particles in solution.
They have substituted nonyl phenol ethoxylates in most applications as they have
similar functions and prices but better environmental properties.
| CAS no |
Carbon Length |
Name, synonyms |
| 9002-92-0 |
12 |
Dodecyl ethoxylate, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether,
lauryl ethoxylate, Laureth |
| 9004-95-9 |
16 |
Hexadecyl ethoxylate, polyoxyethylene cetyl ether,
cetyl ethoxylate |
| 9004-98-2 |
18 |
Octadecenyl ethoxylate, polyoxyethylene oleyl ether,
oleyl ethoxylate, Oleth |
| 9005-00-9 |
18 |
Octadecyl ethoxylate, stearylalcohol ethoxylate,
stearyl ethoxylate, Steareth |
| 9043-30-5 |
13 |
Isotridecyl ethoxylate, ethoxylated isotridecanol,
isodekanol ethoxylate |
| 24938-91-8 |
13 |
Tridecyl ethoxylate, ethoxylated tridecanol,
Trideth |
| 26183-52-8 |
10 |
Decyl ethoxylate, decyl alcohol ethoxylate,
polyethylene glycol decyl ether |
| 27306-79-2 |
14 |
Tetradecyl ethoxylate, myristyl alcohol
ethoxylate |
| 34398-01-1 |
11 |
Undecyl ethoxylate, polyethylene glycol undecyl
ether |
| 61791-13-7 |
8-18 |
Coco oil alcohol ethoxylate, ethoxylated coconut oil
alcohols |
| 61791-28-4 |
16-18 |
Tallow alcohol ethoxylate, ethoxylated tallow
alcohol |
| 61827-42-7 |
10 |
Isodecyl ethoxylate, isodecyl alcohol polyethylene
glycol |
| 64425-86-1 |
13-15 |
Alcohols(C13-15)ethoxylates, ethoxylated C13-15
alcohols |
| 66455-14-9 |
12-13 |
Alcohols(C12-13)ethoxylates, polyethylene
glycol(C12-C13)alkyl ether |
| 66455-15-0 |
10-14 |
Alcohols(C10-14)ethoxylates, (C10-14)alcohol
ethoxylated |
| 67254-71-1 |
10-12 |
Alcohols(C10-12)ethoxylates, ethoxylated C10-12
alcohols |
| 68002-97-1 |
10-16 |
Alcohols(C10-16)ethoxylates, C10-16 alkyl alcohol
ethoxylate |
| 68131-39-5 |
12-15 |
Alcohols(C12-15)ethoxylates, linear primary (C12-15)
alcohol ethoxylate |
| 68131-40-8 |
11-15 |
Alcohols(C11-15-secundary)ethoxylates |
| 68155-01-1 |
16-18 |
Alcohols(C16-18-unsaturated
alkyl)ethoxylates |
| 68213-23-0 |
12-18 |
Alcohols(C12-18)ethoxylates |
| 68439-45-2 |
6-12 |
Alcohols(C6-12)ethoxylates |
| 68439-46-3 |
9-11 |
Alcohols(C9-11)ethoxylates |
| 68439-49-6 |
16-18 |
Alcohols(C16-18)ethoxylates, C16-18-fatty alcohol
ethoxylate |
| 68439-50-9 |
12-14 |
Alcohols(C12-14)ethoxylates |
| 68439-54-3 |
11-13 |
Alcohols(C11-13-branched)ethoxylates |
| 68526-94-3 |
12-20 |
Alcohols(C12-20)ethoxylates |
| 68551-12-2 |
12-16 |
Alcohols(C12-16)ethoxylates |
| 68920-66-1 |
16-18 |
Alcohols(C16-18 and
C18-unsaturated)ethoxylates |
| 69011-36-5 |
13 |
Branched tridecyl ethoxylates, isotridecanol
ethoxylates |
| 69013-19-0 |
8-22 |
Alcohols(C8-22)ethoxylates |
| 69227-20-9 |
16-22 |
Alcohols(C16-22)ethoxylates |
| 71060-57-6 |
8-10 |
Alcohols(C8-10)ethoxylates |
| 71243-46-4 |
8-16 |
Alcohols(C8-16)ethoxylates |
| 74432-13-6 |
|
Alcohol ethoxylate |
| 78330-20-8 |
9-11 |
Alcohols(C9-11-iso, C10-rich)ethoxylates |
| 78330-21-9 |
11-14 |
Alcohols(C11-14-iso, C13-rich)ethoxylates |
| 84133-50-6 |
12-14 |
Alcohols(C12-14-secyndary)ethoxylates |
| 97043-91-9 |
9-16 |
Alcohols(C9-16)ethoxylates |
| 106232-83-1 |
12-15 |
Alcohols(C12-15-branched and
linear)ethoxylates |
| 120944-68-5 |
14-15 |
Alcohols(C14-15-branched and
linear)ethoxylates |
| 127036-24-2 |
11 |
Branched and linear undecyl alcohol
ethoxylate |
| 157707-43-2 |
8-18 |
Alcohols(C8-18)ethoxylates, C8-18-fatty
alcoholethoxylate |
source:
http://www.heraproject.com
Alcohol
ethoxylates (AE) are a very widely used class of non-ionic surfactants.
Significant quantities of AE are converted to alcohol ethoxysulphates
(AES) with the remaining AE used primarily in household laundry
detergents. AE have many desirable characteristics such as rapid
biodegradation, low to moderate foaming ability, superior cleaning
of man-made fibres and tolerance of water hardness. AE are also
used in lesser quantities in household cleaners, institutional and
industrial cleaners, cosmetics, agriculture, and in textile, paper,
oil and other process industries. Uses in household cleaning products,
relevant to the HERA program of risk assessments, include laundry
detergents, hand dishwashing liquids, and various hard surface cleaners.
Chapter 5.1.1 details the household cleaning applications and typical
finished product concentration ranges of all AEs used in household
products.....
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