Bd. Condon et Kl. Matheson, A COMPARISON OF SURFACTANTS DERIVED FROM ALCOHOLS BASED ON PETROCHEMICAL AND OLEOCHEMICAL SOURCES, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 71(1), 1994, pp. 53-59
Samples of lauryl range alcohols derived from palm kernel oil, coconut
oil and ethylene (Ziegler) were derivatized into alcohol sulfates and
alcohol ether sulfates (2 moles of ethylene oxide adduct). Physical p
roperties and perform ance characteristics for each surfactant were ev
aluated both individually and in light duty liquid (LDL) dishwashing f
ormulations. The slight differences observed in the physical and perfo
rmance properties of the surfactants and their formulations were assig
nable to slight differences the individual alcohol, alcohol sulfate an
d alcohol ether sulfate samples employed in this study. The magnitude
and type of variation found in the samples resulted from normal produc
tion variation and not from any properties inherent to the nature of t
he alcohol source. We therefore conclude that alcohol sulfates, alcoho
l ether sulfates and LDLs formulated from them exhibit identical physi
cal property and performance characteristics, regardless of whether th
e original alcohol was manufactured from petrochemical or oleochemical
sources.