ABSTRACT
The hypothesized sustainable development of our civilization needs to slow down the consumption of nonrenewable resources, such as fossil fuels and minerals, to protect the resource base of mankind. In this case, biomass appears to have great potential as a raw material for the synthetic chemical industry. The main components of biomass are monosaccharides and polysaccharides, which are very flexible and adjustable chemical raw materials, which together constitute three-quarters of the world’s biomass. Sugar-based chemicals meet environmental requirements because they are biodegradable, biocompatible and will not cause significant harm to acute or chronic toxicity, so they meet the principles of green chemistry. To maximize the usage of renewable resources, sugar-based surfactants are conceptualized. In recent years, many sugars have been used to replace the structural part of synthetic surfactants. Alkyl polyglycosides (APGs), sorbitan esters, sucrose esters and their derivatives are the leading sugar-based surfactants. This chapter summarizes the latest developments in the use of mono-, di- and polysaccharide molecules to grow a new class of synthetic surfactants.
