2-octanol ethoxylate - Bio-based low-foam surfactant

Abstract: Global laundry market has seen growing consumer awareness of bio-based raw material percentage in detergent formulations. C8 and C10 alcohol ethoxylates are used in some highly-concentrated formulations to reduce viscosity and aid cleaning. The most widely used C8 and C10 alcohols are Guerbet 2-ethyl hexanol and 2-propyl heptanol, both synthetic. One choice of bio-based C8 alcohol is 2-octanol, which is made from castor oil and cheap in cost. However, conventional ethoxylation technology fails to make meaningful conversion rate of the alcohol to ethoxylates, and the remaining 2-octanol has a unique strong unpleasant odor. 
This research presents a new technolgy to synthesize 2-octanol ethoxylates at high conversion rate, with low odor. This new series of bio-based C8 alcohol ethoxylates exhibit unique wetting and foaming properties compared with 2-EH alcohol ethoxylates. With lower cost and bio-base profile, 2-octanol ethoxylates makes a promissing alternative of nonionic surfactants in detergent formulations.