TOPIC: SURFACTANT

DOA: 9/06/2010
DOS: TILL 5/11/2010
SUBMITTED TO: MRS MITHU MAITI JANA
SUBMITTED BY: ANKITA GOYAL
ROLL NO: RG6005B46
REG.NO: 11000442
SEC: G6005
ROLL NO: 46
GROUP: 2
CLASS ROLL NO: RG6005B46
TITLE:
SURFACT
ANT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As usual a large number of people deserve my thanks for the help
they provided me for the preparation of this term paper.
First of all I would like to thank my teacher MRS. MITHU MAITI
JANA for her support during the preparation of this topic. I am very
thankful for her guidance. I would also like to thank my friends for
the encouragement and information about the topic they provided
to me during my efforts to prepare this topic. At last but not the
least I would like to thank seniors for providing me their experience
and being with me during my work and my parents for providing
me with all possible resource to prepare this term paper.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:-
CONTENTS
1) INTRODUCTION ABOUT SURFACTANT
2) HOW DOES IT WORK?
AND ITS PROPERTIES….

3) APPLICATIONS AND SOURCES

4) CLASSIFICATION
4.1) ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION OF
THEIR TAIL.
4.2) ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION OF
THEIR HEAD.

4.2.1) ANIONIC SURFACTANTS

4.2.2) CATIONIC SURFCTANTS
4.2.3) NONIONIC SURFACTANTS
4.2.4) AMPHOTERIC SURFACTANTS

4.3) ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION OF

THEIR COUNTER ION.

5) HARMFULL EFFECT OF SURFACTANTS

6) REFERENCE

1) INTRODUCTION:-
The term surfactant is a blende of a surface active agent.
Surfactants are usually organic compound that are amphiphilic. It
contains both hydrophilic and hydrophobic group. Therefore a
surfactant is a both water soluble and water insoluble compound.
Therefore it can greatly reduce the surface tension when used in
very low concentration. Surfactant molecule will migrate towards
the water surface, where the insoluble hydrophobic group may
extend out of the bulk water phase either into the air or, if water is
mixed with oil, into the oil phase, while the water soluble head
group remains in the water phase. This alignment or aggregation
of surfactant molecule at the surface, acts to alter the surface
properties of water at the water/air or water/oil interphase.

2) HOW DOES SURFACTANT WORK?

AND ITS PROPERTIES….
The term surfactant is a surface active agent. Surfactants provide
remarkable benefits in many textile factories. A surface active chemical is
one which tends to accumulate at a surface or interface. An interface is
the area of contact between two substances.

The surface tension of a liquid is an internal pressure caused by the

attraction of molecules below the surface for those at the surface of a
liquid. This molecular attraction creates an inward pull, or internal
pressure, which tends to restrict the tendency of the liquid to flow and
form a large interface with another substance.
The surface tension (or inter-facial tension if the interface is not a
surface) determines the tendency for surfaces to establish contact with
one another. Therefore, surface tension is responsible for the shape of a
droplet of liquid. If the surface tension is high, the molecules in the liquid
are greatly attracted to one another and not so much to the surrounding
air.
If the droplet of water is in contact with a solid such as a fabric, its shape
will also be affected by the surface tension at the solid/liquid interface. If
the surface tension in the liquid is lower, the droplet forms a more
ellipsoidal shape.

The following are the surface tensions for some liquid

substances:-

SUBSTANCE SURFACE TENSION

1. WATER 73 DYNES/CM
2. Mercury 480 dynes/cm
3. Benzene 28 dynes/cm
4. Ethanol 22 dynes/cm

Because of its lower surface tension, ethanol will flow and form a larger
area of contact with a solid than with water. Mercury, with its very high
surface tension, does not flow but breaks into droplets if given the
opportunity. Surface active agents interfere with the ability of the
molecules of a substance to interact with one another and, thereby, lower
the surface tension of the substance. Surfactants used in industrial
applications usually cause a dramatic decrease in surface tension when
used at low concentration.

A MICELLE— the lipophilic tails of the surfactant molecules

remain on the inside of the micelle due to unfavourable
interactions. The polar "heads" of the micelle, due to favourable
interactions with water, form a hydrophilic outer layer that in
effect protects the hydrophobic core of the micelle. The
compounds that make up a micelle are typically amphiphilic in
nature, meaning that not only are micelles soluble in protic
solvents such as water but also in aprotic solvents as a reverse
micelle.
Surfactants reduce the surface tension of water by adsorbing at the liquid-
gas interface. They also reduce the interfacial tension between oil and
water by adsorbing at the liquid-liquid interface. Many surfactants can
also assemble in the bulk solution into agregates. Examples of such
aggregates are vesicles and micelles. The concentration at which
surfactants begin to form micelle is known as the CRITICAL MICELLE
CONCENTRATION (CMC). When micelles form in water, their tails
form a core that can encapsulate an oil droplet, and their heads form an
outer shell that maintains favorable contact with water. When surfactants
assemble in oil, the aggregate is referred to as a reverse micelle. In a
reverse micelle, the heads are in the core and the tails maintain favorable
contact with oil.

Ordinary washing up will promote water penetration in soil, but the effect
would only last a few days. Commercial soil wetting agents will continue
to work for a considerable period, but they will eventually be degraded by
soil micro-organisms. Some can interfere with the life-cycles of some
aquatic organisms, so care should be taken to prevent run-off of these
products into streams, and excess product should not be washed down.

Chemically, surfactants are amphiphilic molecules. That is, they have two
distinctly different characteristics.
1. Polar
2. Non polar

Therefore, a surfactant molecule has both hydrophilic (water-loving) and

hydrophobic (water-hating) characteristics. Symbolically, a surfactant
molecule can be represented as having a polar “head” and a non polar
"tail" as shown below.

3) APPLICATIONS AND SOURCES

Surfactant plays as important role as:-

 Wetting
 Cleaning
 Dispersing
 Emulsifying
 Foaming
 Anti-foaming

Practically it also includes

 Detergents
 Fabric softeners
 Emulsions
 Paints
 Adhesives
 Inks
 Anti-fogs

 Ski waxes, snowboard wax

 Deinking of recycled papers, both in floatation, washing and
enzymatic processes
 Laxatives
 Agrochemical formulations
 • Herbicides
• Insecticides
 Quantum dot coatings
 Biocides (sanitizers)
 Cosmetics
• Shampoos

• Hair conditioners

• Tooth pastes
 Spermicides (nonoxynol-9)
 Fire fighting
 Pipelines, liquid drag reducing agent
 Alkali surfactant polymers
 Ferro fluids
 Leak detectors

4) CLASSIFICATIONS

4.1) ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION

OF TAIL
The tail of surfactants can be

 A hydrocarbon chain: achromatic hydrocarbons (arenes),

alkanes (alkyl), alkenes, cycloalkanes, alkyne based.
 An alkyl ether chain:
o Ethoxylated surfactants: polythene oxides are inserted
to increase the hydrophilic character of surfactant
o Propoxylated surfactants: polypropylene oxides are
inserted to increase the lipophilic character of a
surfactant
  A fluorocarbon chain: fluorosurfactants
 A siloxane chain: siloxane surfactants

Surfactants can have one or more tail (double chained

surfactants).

4.2) ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION

OF HEAD

CHARACTERSTICS OF TAIL GROUP:-

a). Weak affinity for bulk solvent
b). Strong affinity for air and oil
C). ADSORPTION AT AIR (OIL)-WATER INTERFACE

CHARACTERSTICS OF HEAD GROUP:-

a). Strong affinity for bulk solvent (water)
b). Weak affinity for air and oil
c). Charged (polar) or neutral
d). Adsorption at mineral-water interface.
Examples: sulphate, (SO3) amines.
Example of polar and non-polar molecule
The hydrophobic group in a surfactant for use in aqueous medium is
usually a hydrocarbon chain but may be a fluorocarbon or siloxane chain
of appropriate length. The hydrophilic group is polar and may be either
ionic or non ionic.

4.2.1) ANIONIC SURFACTANTS:-

In solution, the head is negatively charged. This is the most widely used
type of surfactant for laundering, dishwashing liquids and shampoos
because of its excellent cleaning properties and high potential. The
surfactant is particularly good at keeping the dirt away from fabrics, and
removing residues of fabric softener from fabrics
Anionic surfactants are particularly effective at oily soil cleaning and
oil/clay soil suspension. Still, they can react in the wash water with the
positively charged water hardness ions (calcium and magnesium), which
can lead to partial deactivation. The more calcium and magnesium
molecules in the water, the more the anionic surfactant system suffers
from deactivation. To prevent this, the anionic surfactants need help from
other ingredients such as builders (Ca/Mg sequestrants) and more
detergent should be dosed in hard water.
The most commonly used anionic surfactants are alkyl sulphates, alkyl
Ethoxylate sulphates and soaps.

 Sulfates
• Alkyl sulfates: ammonium lauryl sulfate,
sodium lauryl sulfate (sds)
• Alkyl ether sulfates: sodium lauryth sulfate,
sodium myreth sulfate
 Sulfonates

• Docusates: dioctyle sodium sulfosuccinate

Sulfonate flurosurfactant:
perflurooctanesulfonate
• Alkyl benzene sulfonate
 Phosphates
• Alkyl aryl ether phosphate
• Alkyl ether phosphate
 Carboxylates
• Alkyl carboxylates: fatty acid salts, sodium
stearate
• Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate
• Carboxylate flouro surfactants:
perflourononanoate, perflourooctaneote

4.2.2) CATIONIC SURFACTANTS

Cationic surfactants account for only 5-6% of the total surfactant

production. However, they are extremely useful for some specific uses,
because of their peculiar properties. They are not good detergents nor
foaming agents, and they cannot be mixed in formulations which contain
anionic surfactants, with the exception of non quaternary nitrogenated
compounds

 Ph dependent primary, secondary or tertiary amines: primary

amines becomes positively charged at pH < 10, secondary amines
become charged at pH < 4
 Octenidine dihydrochloride
 Permanently charged quaternary ammonium cation
  Alkyltrimethylammonium salts: cetyl trimethylammonium
bromide, trimethylammonium chloride
 Cetylpyridinium chloride
 Polyethoxilated tallow amine
 Benzalkonium chloride
 Benzethonium chloride
 5-bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane
 dimethyldioctadecylammonium chloride

 dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide

They exhibit two very important features:-

1. Their positive charge allows them to adsorb on negatively charged
substrates,as most solid surfaces are at neutral pH. This capacity confer to
them anantistatic bahavior and a softening action for fabric and hair
rinsing. The positive charge enable them to operate as floatation
collectors, hydrophobating agents, corrosion inhibitors as well as solid
particle dispersant. They are used as emulsifiers in asphaltic emulsions
and coatings in general, in inks, wood pulp dispersions, magnetic slurry
etc.

2.Many cationic surfactants are bactericides. They are used to clean and
aseptize surgery hardware, to formulate heavy duty desinfectants for
domestic an hospital use, and to sterilize food bottle or containers,
particularly in the dairy and beverage industries.
.
4.2.3) NON-IONIC SURFACTANTS
Non-ionic surfactants do not produce ions in aqueous solution. As a
consequence, they are compatible with other types and are excellent
candidates to enter complex mixtures, as found many commercial
products. They are much less sensitive to electrolytes, particularly
divalent cations, than ionic surfactants, and can be usedwith high salinity
or hard water. Non-ionic surfactants are good detergents, wetting agents
and emulsifiers. Some of them have good foaming properties. Some
categories exhibit a very low toxicity level and are used in
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food products effective than sulfonate
surfactants in removing s oil from hydrophobic fibers but are inferior to
anionic surfactants for soil removal from cotton.
  Fatty alcohol
• Cetyl alcohol
• Stearyl alcohol
• Cetostearyl alcohol
• Oleyl alcohol

 Polyoxythylene glycol: alkyl ether

• Octaethylene glycol monododecyl ether

• Pentaethylene glycol monododecyl ether
 Polyoxypropylene glycol
 Glucoside
• Decyl glucoside
• Lauryl glucoside
• Octyl glucoside

 Glycerol: glyceryl laurate

 Polyoxythylene glycol sorbitian alkyl ester: polysorbates
 Sorbitian alkyl ester
 Cocamide MEA
 Cocamide DEA

 Dodecyl dimethyl oxide

4.2.4) AMPHOTERIC SURFACTANTS

Amphoteric or zwitterionic surfactants have two functional group, one
anionic andone cationic. In most cases it is the pH which determines
which of the groupswould dominate, by favoring one or the other
ionization: anionic at alkaline pHand cationic at acid pH. Near the
socalled isoelectric point, these surfactantsdisplay both charges and are
truly amphoteric, often with a minimum of interfacialactivity and a
concomitant maximum of water solubility. Amphoteric
surfactants,particularly the aminoacid ones are quite biocompatible, and
are used inpharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
1.IMIDO PROPIONIC ACIDS:-
Their general formula is HOOC-CH2-CH2-RN+H-CH2-CH2-COO-.
Theirisoelectric point is around pH = 2-3. They are thus more water
soluble than theprevious ones. They are used as textile softeners.
Dicarboxylic compounds of alkylimidazole, in which the alkyl group is
located on the carbon placed between thenitrogen atoms, are used in
cosmetics and de luxe soap bars

UATERNIZED COMPOUNDS:-
Quaternized compound have similar structures. The most important are
betainesand sulfobetaines or taurines, which have a single methylene
group between theacid and the quaternary ammomium

R-N+(CH3)2-CH-COO- alkyl betaine

R-N+(CH3)2-CH2-SO3- alkyl sulfobetaine
These surfactants areamphotericat neutral and alcaline pH, and cationic at
acidpH (at which the carboxylic acid is not ionized). Since the nitrogen
atom isquaternized, these surfactants always display a positive charge.
They tolerate ahigh salinity, particularly divalent cations, e.g. calcium
and magnesium. They arethe most used class of amphoteric surfactants.
They are found in softeners fortextiles, hair rinse formulas, and corrosion
inhibition additives. They are goodfoam boosters because of their cationic
characteristics.

4.3) ACCORDING TO THE COMPOSITION OF

THEIR COUNTER ION
 Monatomic / inorganic
• Cations: metals: alkali, alkaline earth metal, transition metal
• Anions: non metals: halides: chloride, bromide
 Polyatomic / organic
• Cations: ammonium: pyridinium
• Anions: tosyls, triflouromethanesulfonate

5) HARMFUL EFFECT OF
SURFACTANT
Some surfactants are known to be toxic to animals, ecosystems and
humans, and can increase the diffusion of other environmental
contaminant. Despite this, they are routinely deposited in numerous ways
on land and into water systems, whether as part of an intended process or
as industrial and household waste. Some surfactants have proposed or
voluntary restrictions on their use. For example, PFOS is a persistent
organic pollutant as judged by the Stockholm Convention. Additionally,
PFOA has been subject to voluntary agreement by the US
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY and eight chemical
companies to reduce and eliminate emission of chemical and its
precursors.

6) REFERENCES:
BOOK
1. INDUSTRIAL SURFACTANTS - 2ND EDDITION- Ernest W. Flick
2. N.C.E.R.T CHEMISTRY
3. SURFACTANT AND INTERFACIAL PHANOMENA – 3rd
EDITION- JOHN WILLEY AND SON
4. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY – DILLON
PJ.
WEBSITE:-
http://docs.google.com/viewer?
a=v&q=cache:GRuHsFbjeDMJ:www.p2pays.org/ref/03/02960.pdf+PDF
+ON+SURFAC
TANTS&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShZ92xRqa2WCuoKYR
BNuptdnyGP3j
RhFVP8B87PBHCmmk_Rbti1Np8RCH-
biFcwfw7g8hCVum3CmyUTDaOquhyI0Z8BQ4Hnz7C5eqgICWjNOOm
O9H0hMCFsU
w4h8CrEOmJLConV&sig=AHIEtbQq55O8F52ihJclEyhJG91bQvmLaA