http://www.beamreach.org/data/101/Science/processing/Nora/Papers/Fate,%20behavior%20and%20effects%20of%20surfactants%20and%20their%20degradation%20products%20in%20the%20environment.pdf

Fate, behavior and effects of surfactants and their degradation products in the environment

The biodegradation of surfactants in the environment

Castor oil is, as many other plant oils, a very valuable renewable resource for the chemical industry. This review article provides an overview on this specialty oil, covering its production and properties. More importantly, the preparation, properties and major application possibilities of chemical derivatives of castor oil are highlighted. Our discussion focuses on application possibilities of castor oil and its derivatives for the synthesis of renewable monomers and polymers. An overview of recent developments in this field is provided and selected examples are discussed in detail, including the preparation and characterization of castor oil-derived polyurethanes, polyesters and polyamides.

Castor oil as a renewable resource for the chemical industry

The technical and economic aspects of using vegetable oils as alternative sources for diesel fuels have been studied extensively during the past two decades. Although much of the recent research and development on the production and use of diesel fuel substitutes has been carried out in developed countries, the need for such substitutes and the potential for their production is much greater in developing countries. This report will review some of the results obtained from using vegetable oils and their derivatives as fuel in compression ignition engines and examine opportunities for their broader production and use. It will include some historic background, as well as current and potential yields of candidate crops, the technology and economics of vegetable oil conversion to diesel fuel, the performance of various oils, the potential inherent in diesel fuel coproduction, environmental considerations, and other research opportunities. Vegetable oils will not entirely displace petroleum as a source of diesel fuel. There are, however, technical, economic, and environmental considerations that can lead to their wider use in this application.

Diesel fuel from vegetable oils: Status and opportunities

Surfactants form a unique class of chemical compounds. This review provides an introduction to the nature and physical properties of surfactants, emphasizing their ability to radically alter surface and interfacial properties and to self-associate and solubilize themselves in micelles. These properties provide the means to apply surfactants in wettability modification, detergency, and the displacement of liquid phases through porous media on one hand, and to stabilize dispersions (including foams, froths and emulsions), or to destabilize dispersions (again including foams and emulsions) on the other hand. These in turn lead to a vast array of practical application areas which are illustrated in terms of mineral and petroleum processing, biological systems, health and personal care products, foods, and crop protection.

http://www.beauty-review.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Surfactants-and-their-applications.pdf

2 Surfactants and their applications

Even chain sodium alkanesulfonates from the Strecker reaction, odd chain sodium alkanesulfonates from the alkaline decarboxylation of α-sulfo acids, and sodium 1-hydroxy-2-alkanesulfonates from the reduction of esters of α-sulfo acids were compared with respect to Krafft point, critical micelle concentration, detergency and foam height. Sodium alkanesulfonates and crude fusion products from the α-sulfo acids (mixtures of alkanesulfonates of one less carbon atom with a lesser amount of a soap of two less carbon atoms) are more soluble and have better detergent and foaming properties. Sodium 1-hydroxy-2-alkanesulfonates resemble monosodium salts of α-sulfo acids. Alkanesulfonic acids and 1-hydroxy-2-alkane-sulfonic acids obtained from the sodium salts by ion exchange have lower Krafft points and are more readily soluble. The critical micelle concentrations of 1-hydroxy-2-alkanesulfonic acids and α-sulfo acids are nearly the same and about equal to those of alkanesulfonic acids of one less carbon atom.

Long chain alkanesulfonates and 1‐hydroxy‐2‐alkanesulfonates: Structure and property relations

A series of amphoteric surfactants was prepared by the reaction of 1,3-propanesultone with fat derived primary amines, N-methylalkylamines, N,N-dimethylalkylamines, and N-acyl-N′,N′-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamines. Both mono- and disulfopropylated derivatives of the primary amines were synthesized. All compounds were found to be excellent lime soap dispersing agents. The quaternary sulfobetaines were found to possess the best detergency properties both by themselves and when formulated with tallow soap with or without sodium silicate builder. The detergency performance of such formulations is ca. the same as that of a commercial phosphate-built detergent.

Soap based detergent formulations. V. Amphoteric lime soap dispersing agents

A series of esters of the general formula RCH(SO3Na)-CO2R′ of 14–19 carbon atoms prepared by the α-sulfonation of propionic, butyric, pelargonic, lauric, myristic, palmitie, and stearic acids and esterification with normal primary alcohols were compared for critical micelle concentration, surface and interfacial tension, Ca++ stability, wetting properties, foam height, detergency, and lime soap dispersing properties. Comparison of position isomers showed that as the hydrophilic portion moved from the center toward either end, cmc and wetting efficiency decreased, surface and interfacial tension increased, and Ca++ stability and lime soap dispersing properties improved.

Sodium salts of alkyl esters ofa-sulfo fatty acids. Wetting, lime soap dispersion, and related properties

Tallow alcohol sulfates. Properties in relation to chemical modification

High purity alkanolamides were prepared by the sodium catalyzed reaction of methyl stearate, methyl palmitate and methyl laurate with ethanolamine, 2-hydroxypropylamine, 3-hydroxypropylamine and N-methyl N-hydroxyethylamine. The effect of structure on the surface active properties of the sulfation products was investigated. Stability studies showed that sulfated N-methyl N-hydroxyethylstearamide hydrolyzed rapidly by first order kinetics in acid or base. Sulfated hydroxyalkyl primary amides hydrolyzed slower in basic media following second order kinetics. Methyl groups attached to the N atom or to C in the short aliphatic chain improved solubility but had little effect on critical micelle concentration. The alkanolamides of palmitic and stearic acids were good detergents and lime soap dispersing agents.

James K Weil

Papers

Long chain alkanesulfonates and 1‐hydroxy‐2‐alkanesulfonates: Structure and property relations

Soap based detergent formulations. V. Amphoteric lime soap dispersing agents

Sodium salts of alkyl esters ofa-sulfo fatty acids. Wetting, lime soap dispersion, and related properties

Tallow alcohol sulfates. Properties in relation to chemical modification

Synthesis and properties of sulfated alkanolamides