Alkylphenol Ethoxylate Applications

The commercial use of polyoxyethylene derivatives was first in the field of textile auxiliaries.

The wetting and detergent properties are important in many processing stages of cotton, such as prescouring, desizing, bleaching, kier boiling, and the application of resin finishes. The products are widely used for the alkaline or neutral scouring of wool as well as in acid carbonizing. They are useful in the processing of synthetics, especially in the formulation of finishes because of their antistatic, emulsifying and lubricating properties.

The major consumption of these nonionics is in domestic and commercial detergents. The domestic products are essentially all formulated products; in commercial application, a considerable volume of nonionic is purchased for direct use but may also be compounded by the user.

Liquid dishwashers, originally RIMPRO NP-9 with about 15% water, are today usually formulated products whose main detergent is an anionic such as alkyl benzene sulfonate, polyoxyethylene alkyl phenol sulfate, or both. A foam booster and stabilizer, usually lauric diethanolamine or dimethyldodecylamine oxide, is usually included; many formulations will also include about 5% of a water-soluble nonionic.

Heavy-duty products often contain about 15% nonionic; the solid carrier is a mixture of polyphosphates and silicates with a small amount of carboxymethyl cellulose as a soil-suspending agent.

Solvent-type cleaners containing 25% or more of refined kerosene are usually formulated with about 10% of the 9 mole adduct or with a combination of the 6 and 9 mole adducts. These products are popular for floors, woodwork, and general cleaning.

Other household products in which these nonionics are used include window cleaners, waterless hand cleaners, metal dip cleaners, bubble bath and hard-water bar soaps.

The higher adducts containing 20 to 100 moles of ethylene oxide are used in the emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate and acrylates. The water-soluble members of short-chain length act as dispersants and stabilizers in synthetic rubber as well as other polymeric latices. Emulsion-type floor polishes are prepared from both natural and synthetic waxes with the higher adducts.

Other industries consuming substantial amounts of these adducts include petroleum, for drilling and crude-oil-emulsion breaking; paper, for pitch control in pulp, felt cleaning and rewetting of paper towels; cosmetics, as an emulsifier; leather, for fat-liquoring; as a dust control agent in the coal, mineral and ceramic industries; and as wetting and foaming adjuncts in fire fighting.

The chemical industry itself is a large consumer of these materials as an intermediate in the production of sulfates, phosphates, and disinfectant iodophors.