Surfactants

There are three main types of alkyl sulfonates – primary paraffin sulfates (PPS), secondary paraffin sulfates (SPS) or secondary alkyl sulfates (SAS), and alpha-olefin sulfates (AOS). The paraffin sulfonates are good foamers and good oil in water emulsifiers. They do not thicken with the addition of salt. I can’t find any examples of these surfactants. The...

Sulfonates are very closely related, but not exactly the same as sulfates. In a sulfate, the sulfur is linked directly to the carbon chain via an oxygen atom. In a sulfonate, the sulfur is linked directly to a carbon atom (the R in the picture). What difference does this make? Tune into the posts to...

Alkyl glyceride sulfates are produced by the transesterification of coconut oil, followed by sulfation with sulfur trioxide then neutralization with lye. They are great foam boosters and have similar foaming power to the amide ether sulfates. These are great combined with the alkyl polyglucosides, non-ionic surfactants derived from glucose. Alkyl glyceride sulfates will thicken with...

Amide ether sulfates result from the sulfation of ethoxylated amide and can be combined with sodium, magnesium, or ammonium to produce something like ammonium lauryl ether sulfide or magnesium PEG-3 cocamide sulfate. They have good skin compatibility and they are very mild cleansers to the point where they don’t remove a lot of the lipids...