ethoxylation

An ethoxylation reaction proceeds under an inert atmosphere with an amount of heat depending on the starting material.

These compounds are produced by ethoxylation of alkylphenols.

One byproduct ethoxylation is 1,4-dioxane, which is carcinogenic .

Common surfactants produced by ethoxylation include alcohol ethoxylates and alcohol ethoxysulfates.

SLES is prepared by ethoxylation of dodecyl alcohol.

It is manufactured by ethoxylation (hence the "eth" in "myreth") of myristyl alcohol.

Ethoxylation is an industrial process in which ethylene oxide is added to alcohols and phenols to give surfactants.

The ethoxylation process makes the cleansing agents, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, less abrasive and offers enhanced foaming characteristics.

Barium oxide also has use as an ethoxylation catalyst in the reaction of ethylene oxide and alcohols, which takes place between 150 and 200 C.

Ethylene is oxidized to produce ethylene oxide, a key raw material in the production of surfactants and detergents by ethoxylation.

In industrial ethoxylation, an alcohol is treated with ethylene oxide and potassium hydroxide (KOH), which serves as a catalyst.

Alkylphenols are subjected to ethoxylation to give alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), which are widely used as industrial surfactants.

Nonionic detergents are produced by alkylation of phenol to give the alkylphenols, e.g., nonylphenol, which are then subjected to ethoxylation.

The related surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate (also known as sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS) is produced similarly, but without the ethoxylation step.

Alkylphenols may undergo synthetic ethoxylation to produce alkylphenol ethoxylate chains (APEs), surfactants with polar and hydrophobic characteristics that provide the effectiveness of the compound as a detergent.

PEG-80 Jojoba is the polyethylene glycol derivative of the acids and alcohols obtained from the saponification of jojoba oil with an average ethoxylation value of 80.

The amount of ethylene oxide and the reaction time determine the degree of ethoxylation (the value of n in the equation above), which in turn determines the surfactant properties of the ethoxylated product.

Ethoxylation is commonly practiced, albeit on a much smaller scale, in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to increase water solubility and, in the case of pharmaceuticals, circulatory half-life of non-polar organic compounds.

In this application, ethoxylation is known as "PEGylation", because poly(ethylene oxide) is also known as poly(ethylene glycol), abbreviated as PEG.

As a byproduct of the ethoxylation process, a route to some ingredients found in cleansing and moisturizing products, dioxane can contaminate cosmetics and personal care products such as deodorants, shampoos, toothpastes and mouthwashes.