ABSTRACT
Nonionic surfactants are one of the most important classes of amphipathic materials, second only to the anionic surfactants in terms of volume consumed and certainly more widespread in terms of end uses and applications. Chemically the nonionic surfactants are esters, ethers, amides, amines, or amine oxides. Each of these classes generally includes several subclasses, depending on the nature of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic moiety. Nonionic surfactants are manufactured using raw materials derived from renewable resources as well as from fossil feedstock. Ethylene oxide is one of the major building blocks for nonionic surfactants. The fatty acids used in the manufacture of nonionic surface-active agents are virtually all of natural origin, an even-numbered series containing 8–22 carbon atoms. The principal raw materials from which they are derived are tallow, coconut, palmkernel, soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower oils, marine oils, and crude tall oil.
