New Focuses on Surfactants for Personal Care Products    

By Wang Yan, China Research Institute of Daily Chemical Industry   

Global output of surfactants is already more than 12 million tons a year today. There are more than 10 000 varieties in the portfolio. The total market sales value is over US$10 billion. The output of surfactants in China is more than 1.5 million tons a year in recent years. China can manufacture more than 3 380 varieties. The surfactant industry in China started its first developments with the promotion of detergent products. The consumption proportion of detergents in the daily chemical industry is roughly 41% for industrial and public facilities, 8% for personal care products and 51% for household detergent products.
   Surfactants for personal care products are key raw materials leading the development of the daily chemical sector. Functional, high-effect and biodegradable varieties are the development orientation of surfactants for personal care products. The development of new surfactants, in particular the development of functional surfactants, environment-friendly surfactants and surfactants using renewable resources, has become the focus in the demand for surfactants in personal care products.

1. New and practical functional surfactants
Functional surfactants with development priority include silicon surfactants with saccharide function group, Gemini silicon surfactants with saccharide function group, surfactants with complexing ability, new alcohol ether glucoside surfactants and Gemini pyrrolidinone.

2. Surfactants with specialty functions
With the development of the fine chemical industry, the growth of surfactants with specialty functions and their combinations through molecular design and structural readjustment according to features of application sectors is a mainstream trend in the development of the sector in the past two decades.

3. Environment-friendly and safe surfactants
The biodegradation of surfactants is an important factor for the benign cycle of ecological environment. Research activities on the biodegradation of surfactants and relevant regulations formulated by various countries have therefore aroused great attention.
   Besides, safe surfactants can also be developed from renewable resources. Typical products are N-acyl-N-methyl glucamine (MEGA) and alkyl polyglucosides (APG). Other products include N-acyl-glucamine (AGA), alcohol ether carboxylate (AEC), fatty acid methyl ester epoxidized (FMEE), and fatty acid methyl sulfonate (MES).

4. Special organosilicone surfactants
Organosilicone surfactants can be used in making various personal care products and also as emulsifiers used in fragrances and shampoos. It has the effects of emulsification, foaming, dispersion and dissolution aid. It can make shampoo rich in foam, fine and stable. It also has antistatic effect.
   The highlight in the research of organosilicone surfactants is on modified organosilicone surfactants today. Modified organosilicone surfactants refer to surfactants in which partial methyl function groups in the organosilicone molecule are replaced by modifying groups, and the property of modifying groups and the property of silicone have interactions.