Surfactant

Surfactants are <a href="/facts/Chemical_compounds/37FXqqtv">chemical compounds</a> that decrease the <a href="/facts/Surface_tension/EuluYmSM">surface tension</a> or interfacial tension between two <a href="/facts/Liquid/t9GkLWzt">liquids</a>, a liquid and a <a href="/facts/Gas/hVVAoodV">gas</a>, or a liquid and a <a href="/facts/Solid/hj5UsXno">solid</a>. The word surfactant is a <a href="/facts/Blend_word/3bRveURF">blend</a> of "surface-active agent", coined in 1950. As they consist of a water-repellent and a water-attracting part, they enable water and oil to mix; they can form foam and facilitate the detachment of dirt. 
Surfactants are among the most widespread and commercially important chemicals. Private households as well as many industries use them in large quantities as <a href="/facts/Detergent/4FLKXR6p">detergents and cleaning agents</a>, but also for example as <a href="/facts/Emulsion/YMSqSCuH">emulsifiers</a>, <a href="/facts/Wetting/lGloJUzr">wetting</a> agents, <a href="/facts/Foaming_agent/YLTTrHMC">foaming agents</a>, <a href="/facts/Antistatic_agent/LLQ1lpDz">antistatic</a> additives, or <a href="/facts/Dispersant/EFI5dmry">dispersants</a>. 
Surfactants occur naturally in traditional plant-based detergents, e.g. <a href="/facts/Aesculus/quXr0lzN">horse chestnuts</a> or <a href="/facts/Sapindus/vdmKL7vz">soap nuts</a>; they can also be found in the secretions of some caterpillars. Today one of the most commonly used anionic surfactants, linear alkylbenzene sulfates (LAS), are produced from <a href="/facts/Petroleum_product/dngHXNJX">petroleum products</a>. However, surfactants are increasingly produced in whole or in part from renewable <a href="/facts/Biomass/4VHjaya3">biomass</a>, like sugar, fatty alcohol from vegetable oils, by-products of biofuel production, or other biogenic material.

Surfactant open-in-new

Surfactant