What do your customers want most when it comes to a cleaning agent? Lots of bubbly suds? Easy rinsability? Tough, stain-fighting action? No matter what your target demographic is looking for, the process begins with ethoxylation. Learning more about this process and the benefits it provides can help you create a formula that includes the factors your buyers want most – at a price point you can afford.
What is Ethoxylation?
At the most basic level, ethoxylation combines several Ethylene Oxide (EO) molecules with an oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur atom (-OH, -NH or -SH) on the end of a hydrophobic molecule to create a surfactant. Surfactants are used in everything from laundry detergent to body wash to water-based lubricants to paint, primarily because of their dual nature.
From giving consumers the bubbles that say "it's working" to residue-free rinsing, you can't make an effective cleaning product without Ethoxylation.
Oil + Water Compatibility
The secret behind the most successful cleaning and detergent-based products is in their dual nature. Ethoxylation produces molecules with both oil-loving (hydrophobe) and water-loving (hydrophile) features, offering unlimited possibilities when it comes to product formulation. From creating a sink full of bubbles that rinse cleanly away to combatting a variety of tough laundry stains, surfactants are at the core of every successful detergent-based product sold today.
Put Ethoxylation to Work for your Brand
For over 50 years, Ethox Chemicals has been at the forefront of EO use and development, reacting ethylene oxide with hydrophobes from each of the following major chemical groups. Each of these compounds offers different benefits when combined with EO:
- FATTY ALCOHOLS
- FATTY ACIDS
- FATTY AMINES
- OILS (SUCH AS CASTOR or HYDROGENATED CASTOR, COCONUT, SOYBEAN)
- ALKYL PHENOLS
- GLYCERIDES
- BLOCK COPOLYMERS
Popular Ethoxylation Products
While individual compounds vary, the products created via ethoxylation enhance viscosity and prevent separation, resulting in smooth, appealing formulas that won't separate or break down over time. The components used in the ethoxylation process will determine what benefits the resulting product offers and how it can be used. Depending on the combination of EO and hydrophobe used, the results include:
Because the ethoxylation process can be used to create such a wide variety of end uses, the possibilities are limitless.
Get the Features and Formula your Customers Want Most
Your brand is unique – and your products should be too. Our current lineup of over 500 products includes many different surfactants designed for a variety of end uses and consumer demands.
Get in touch with one of our Ethoxylation specialists today to discuss your needs and to discover which product is right for your brand. If we don’t already have the right product for you, our extensive experience with EO and hydrophobic compounds means that we can help you create the exact formula your customers need – and make it truly your own. If you can dream it, we can do it.
