ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants

New High-Performance, Seed Oil-Based

Nonionic Surfactants with Excellent
Environmental and Handling Properties

Seed Oil-Based Surfactants

Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow

®TM
2
 New, high-performance
nonionic surfactants
that address your needs
for more ecologically-
friendly products that
deliver excellent
performance

New ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants are

a new generation of patented,
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants biodegradable nonionic surfactants
that meet most environmental and
handling safety standards world-
wide, while offering excellent
performance and economics across
a wide range of parameters.
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants offer
significant advantages in handling, Based on Seed Oil High Performance
processing and formulation. And Hydrophobe Sources
they are based on seed oil. They While other environmentally-
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants are
are ideal candidates for a broad friendly surfactants may fall short
based on naturally occurring seed
range of applications. ECOSURF ™ of some performance benchmarks,
oil alcohols. These hydrophobe
SA Surfactants are effective in ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants come
sources can help address your
paints and coatings, and household with a surprisingly powerful array
need to formulate with functional
and industrial and institutional of capabilities. According to Dow
ingredients derived from plant
cleaners, especially hard surface internal studies, they provide
sources.
cleaners and low-foaming laundry excellent surface tension reduction,
products. Excellent Environmental no gel formation at any aqueous
Profile solution concentration, excellent
In today’s highly competitive wetting, and low foam. They provide
environment, where a single ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants excellent detergency. ECOSURF™
surfactant must address myriad are excellent candidates for use SA Surfactants also display very
requirements across the globe, in “green” products such as good solubility in a wide range of
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants are a environmentally friendly cleaners. common formulation electrolytes
natural choice. They are readily biodegradable, per and solvents.
the OECD 301 test. They do not pose
any requirement for environmental
classification or special labeling for
formulated products sold almost
anywhere in the world. ECOSURF™
SA Surfactants have an aquatic
toxicity range of >1 mg/L in the
most sensitive species. And they
are not a source of VOCs (Volatile
Organic Compounds).

™
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow 3
 ECOSURF™ SA-9
Surfactant
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactant
ECOSURF™ SA-9 Surfactant is
Products a water-soluble modified alcohol
ethoxylate based on seed oil alcohol.
Our studies show this surfactant
is the right choice for laundry
detergents, providing rapid wetting
and detergency comparable
The line of ECOSURF™ SA
to widely-used ethoxylated
Surfactants currently includes
primary alcohols and nonylphenol
two products, ECOSURF™ SA-7
ethoxylates. ECOSURF™ SA-9
Surfactant and ECOSURF™ SA-9
Surfactant has an excellent aquatic
Surfactant.
toxicity profile and is readily
biodegradable based on the OECD
ECOSURF™ SA-7
301 test. Its lower foaming profile
Surfactant
is ideal for front-loader fabric

ECOSURF™ SA-7 Surfactant is a detergents. ECOSURF™ SA-9 is

water-soluble modified alcohol even more electrolyte-tolerant than

ethoxylate that offers excellent ECOSURF™ SA-7, and offers the

performance in a variety of same excellent surface tension

applications and has good solubility reduction and pourability. Relevant

in a wide range of electrolytes and application areas include hard

solvents. This product, based on a surface cleaners, detergents, prewash

seed oil alcohol, has an excellent spotters, paper processing, textile

aquatic toxicity profile and is readily processing, and paints and coatings.

biodegradable based on the OECD

Table 1 – Typical Properties1 of ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants 301 test. Dow studies indicate that
it provides exceptional wetting and
ECOSURF™ SA-7 ECOSURF™ SA-9 detergency, excellent rinsability,
Actives Content, wt% 100 100 exceptional handling properties, no
Solvent None None aqueous gel range and low odor.
Appearance Colorless, Colorless, ECOSURF™ SA-7 is used in cleaners
clear to slightly hazy clear to slightly hazy and detergents, prewash spotters,
Cloud Point, 1% aqueous solution, ºC 37 57 paper and textile processing, and
HLB 10-12 11-13 paints and coatings.

Viscosity at 40ºC (104ºF), cSt 21.8 30.2

Density at 40ºC (104ºF), g/mL 0.9599 0.9831

Pour Point, ºC (ºF) 4 (39) 4 (39)

Typical properties, not to be construed as specifications

1

4
™
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow
 ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants offer an
extraordinarily well-rounded package
of performance properties compared
to many types of surfactants,
including most linear and branched
primary alcohol ethoxylates.

Dow internal studies show that

Performance of ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants provide
excellent surface tension reduction,
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants excellent wetting, and rapid
collapsing foam. These products do
not form gels at any aqueous solution
concentration, so they’re easier to
handle and formulate with across a
broad range of processing conditions.
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants provide
excellent detergency. They also display
versatile solubility characteristics in
a wide range of common formulation
electrolytes, solvents and other
surfactants, including anionic, cationic
and nonionic. These surfactants are
chemically stable in the presence of
many non-oxidizing acids and dilute
caustic solutions.

Table 2 – Performance Properties1 of ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants

ECOSURF™ SA-7 ECOSURF™ SA-9

Equilibrium Surface Tension,2 dynes/cm 29 29

Critical Micelle Concentration, ppm 17 22

o o
Draves 20 Sec Wetting Concentration, wt % at 25 C (77 F) 0.06 0.06
o o
Ross-Miles Foam Test, Initial/5 min, 0.1 wt% at 25 C (77 F) 100/20 100/20
1
Typical properties, not to be construed as specifications
2
Measured at 0.1 wt% and 25oC (77oF)

Table 3 – Electrolyte Solubility

Maximum Electrolyte Concentration (weight %) in which ECOSURF ™ SA-7 and SA-9 Surfactants
are Soluble (1% Surfactant in Water)

Na2CO3 NaOH Na2SO4 TKPP Na citrate Na2SiO3 NaCl H3PO4 Citric acid CaCl2

ECOSURF™ SA-7 2 2 2 4 5 6 5 >20 >20 >20

ECOSURF™ SA-9 5 6 7 10 11 14 15 >20 >20 >20

TKPP - tetrapotassium pyrophosphate

™
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow 5
 Fast Wetting Performance This fast wetting time is affirmed
by the greater spread index of
Dow tests show that ECOSURF™ ECOSURF™ SA-9 Surfactant versus
SA-9 Surfactant provides fast fabric the other surfactants shown in
wetting, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 2 (Dow internal test data).
ECOSURF™ SA-9 wets twice as
Excellent Detergent
Performance
fast as primary alcohol ethoxylate The dynamic surface tension data
surfactants and 25% faster than in Figure 3, generated by Dow internal
Figure 4 compares detergency
nonylphenol ethoxylates with similar studies, are further confirmation of
performance of ECOSURF™ SA-9
cloud points. This accelerated the excellent wetting provided by
Surfactant and a number of other
wetting can improve cleaning ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants. In
nonionic surfactants. In this Dow
performance, reduce cycle times for applications requiring fast diffusion
test, ECOSURF™ SA-9 Surfactant
manufacturing processes and reduce of the surfactant to surfaces,
shows very good detergency in
the amount and cost of surfactant ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants provide
comparison to nonionics recognized
used in a formulation. fast wetting relative to the
for this capability, and significantly
detergency range PAEs and NPEs.
higher detergency levels than
several other alternatives. The
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants offer
excellent removal of soils at low
concentrations.

Low Foaming Profile

ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants are

moderate foaming materials that
also feature very rapid foam collapse.
Figure 5 displays Ross-Miles foam
profiles obtained by Dow laboratory
testing for ECOSURF™ SA-7 and
SA-9 Surfactants as well as other
products. This foaming property
makes ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants
excellent candidates for front-loading
fabric detergents and hard surface
cleaners that must minimize both
foam generation and persistence.
The rapid foam collapse can also
improve rinsability. The foam profile
is even lower with more rapid
collapse at higher temperatures.
They can help improve formulation
efficiency and reduce or eliminate
the need for foam control agents.

™
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company
6 (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow
6
 Figure 1 – Draves Wetting Performance, 0.05% Aqueous Surfactant at 25°C

25

20
Wetting Time (s)

15

10

0
ECOSURFTM Nonylphenol Primary Primary Branched
SA-9 ethoxylate alcohol alcohol primary
ethoxylate ethoxylate alcohol
(narrow ethoxylate
distribution)
Surfactant comparison based on cloud point Figure 4 – Detergency of Nonionic Surfactants in
Model Laundry Evaluation
Tergotometer Delta Reflectance; Sebum/Pigment (STC EMPA 119)
Figure 2 – Spread Indices of Nonionic Surfactants, 0.1% Surfactant at 25° C 300 ppm actives, synthetic HDL Formula

2.2 14
Spread Index Ratio (Water = 1.0)

12
Reflectance, Delta T

10
1.8
8

4
1.4
2

1 -2
ECOSURFTM Nonylphenol Primary alcohol Primary alcohol Water ECOSURFTM Nonylphenol Primary Branched Tridecanol
SA-9 ethoxylate ethoxylate ethoxylate SA-9 ethoxylate alcohol primary ethoxylate
(shorter chain) ethoxylate alcohol
Surfactant comparison based on cloud point ethoxylate
Surfactant comparison based on cloud point

Figure 3 – Dynamic Surface Tension at 10 mSec Surface Age,

1000 ppm Aqueous Surfactant at 25°C Figure 5 – Comparative Ross-Miles Foam Profiles, 0.1% Surfactant at 25° C

57
140
56
Surface Tension (Dynes/cm)

Initial
55 120 5 minutes
54
100
Foam Height, mm

53
52 80
51
60
50
49 40
48
20
47
46 0
ECOSURFTM SA-9 Nonylphenol Primary ECOSURFTM ECOSURFTM Nonylphenol Primary Primary
ethoxylate alcohol SA-7 SA-9 ethoxylate alcohol alcohol
ethoxylate ethoxylate ethoxylate
(short chain)
Surfactant comparison based on cloud point
Surfactant comparison based on cloud point

™
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow 7
 Easy Handling: Low Pour Hard Surface Cleaning
Point, Non-Gelling, and Performance
Fast- Dissolving
Figure 8 provides comparisons of the
Figure 6 – Pour Points of Nonionics
Among nonionic surfactants, hard surface cleaning performance
25 ECOSURF SA Surfactants stand
™
of ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants to
out as easy to store, handle, and other nonionic surfactants. This
20
incorporate into formulations. These test, conducted by Dow, evaluates
products have improved handling the effectiveness of a surfactant
Temperature (°C)

15
due to their lower viscosity profiles, solution on vinyl tiles coated with
10
making them easier to pump, pour canola oil crosslinked with carbon

5
and blend. They are ideal choices for black. As shown, the ECOSURF™
concentrates and systems designed SA-7 Surfactant provides cleaning
0 for use with cold water or in cold performance equal or superior to
environments. the alternatives including the
-5
ECOSURF TM
Nonylphenol Primary Primary Branched Tridecanol tridecanol ethoxylates and the
SA-9 ethoxylate alcohol alcohol primary ethoxylate
ethoxylate ethoxylate alcohol ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants have primary alcohol ethoxylates.
(narrow ethoxylate
distribution) very low pour points and require
Surfactant comparison based on cloud point less heated storage than many Figure 8 – Cleaning Performance of
Surfactants on Vinyl Tile Coated with
alternatives. See the Dow test data Canola Oil Crosslinked with Carbon Black
in Figure 6. In addition, ECOSURF™
Figure 7 – Dissolution Times SA-7 and SA-9 Surfactants do
not form gels at any mix ratio of
20 surfactant and water.

The Dow test results seen in

15 ECOSURF™ SA-7
Figure 7 show that ECOSURF™ SA
Time (minutes)

Surfactants dissolve very rapidly.

10
This property speeds processing and
reduces mixing energy requirements.
5 These surfactants yield excellent
performance in bucket-dilutable
Primary alcohol ethoxylate
0
products.
ECOSURFTM Nonylphenol Primary Primary Branched Tridecanol
SA-9 ethoxylate alcohol alcohol primary ethoxylate
ethoxylate ethoxylate alcohol
(narrow ethoxylate
distribution)

Tridecanol ethoxylate

60 strokes, Gardner Scrubber

Surfactant comparison based on cloud point
8
Starting Cleaning Formulations

Formulations for ECOSURF™ SA-7 Surfactant

Hard Surface Cleaner Car Wash Detergent Carpet Cleaner

Ingredients Percent by Weight Ingredients Percent by Weight Ingredients Percent by Weight

DOWANOL PnP Glycol Ether
™
5.0 ECOSURF SA-7 Surfactant
™
4.7 ECOSURF SA-7 Surfactant
™
10.0
ECOSURF™ SA-7 Surfactant 5.0 TRITON™ H-66 Surfactant 7.7 Acetic Acid 5.0
VERSENE™ 100 Chelating Agent 4.0 K or Na silicate 4.7 DOWANOL™ PnP Glycol Ether 10.0
Monoethanolamine 4.0 Water balance Water balance
Water balance
Preparation: Dissolve silicate in Preparation: Add ingredients in
Preparation: Add ingredients in water. Add TRITON H-66 Surfactant
™
order listed to water. Add fragrance
order listed to water. Add fragrance and ECOSURF SA-7 Surfactant with
™
and dye as desired.
and dye as desired. gentle agitation. Dye and fragrance
may be added as desired.

Formulations for ECOSURF™ SA-9 Surfactant

Hard Surface Cleaner Car Wash Detergent Carpet Cleaner

Ingredients Percent by Weight Ingredients Percent by Weight Ingredients Percent by Weight

DOWANOL PnB Glycol Ether
™
5.0 ECOSURF SA-9 Surfactant
™
4.7 ECOSURF SA-9 Surfactant
™
10.0
ECOSURF SA-9 Surfactant
™
5.0 TRITON H-66 Surfactant
™
7.7 Acetic Acid 5.0
VERSENE 100 Chelating Agent
™
4.0 K or Na silicate 4.7 DOWANOL PnB Glycol Ether
™
10.0
Monoethanolamine 4.0 Water balance Water balance
Water balance
Preparation: Dissolve silicate in Preparation: Add ingredients in
Preparation: Add ingredients water. Add TRITON™ H-66 Surfactant order listed to water. Add fragrance
in order listed to water. Add and ECOSURF SA-9 Surfactant with
™
and dye as desired.
fragrance and dye as desired. gentle agitation. Dye and fragrance
may be added as desired.

™
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow 9
 Table 4 – Ecosurf™ SA Surfactant Performance in Formulated Paints

Performance in Paints Nonionic Surfactant ECOSURF™ SA-7 ECOSURF™ SA-9

and Coatings Gloss Film
Gloss, 60° 79.4 80.2 79.2
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants offer Gloss, 20° 33.2 34.1 36
a distinct combination of dispersing Flow & Leveling Excellent Excellent Excellent
and wetting properties with Tint Strength % 54.63/55.09 55.10/55.76 54.90/54.99
excellent handling performance Contrast Ratio, % 99.09 99.05 99.47
in a product based on seed oil.
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants have Semigloss Film
excellent wetting properties, with Gloss, 60° 43.3 40.3 47.8
low equilibrium surface tension Gloss, 20° 9.5 13.2 16.7
and rapid dynamic surface tension Flow & Leveling Excellent Excellent Excellent
reduction. These surfactants feature Tint Strength % 52.76/52.76 52.48/52.43 52.47/52.21
no aqueous gelling, rapid dissolution Contrast Ratio, % 99.14 99.2 98.89
even in cold water, fast foam
collapse and favorable formulating Flat Film
and handling properties, making Gloss, 60° 2.6 2.5 2.6
them ideal for many paint, coating Gloss, 20° 1.4 1.4 1.4
and ink systems. They are especially Flow & Leveling Excellent Excellent Excellent
suited to pigment wetting and Tint Strength % 33.25/34.44 33.18/33.31 33.10/33.51
stabilization. Contrast Ratio, % 85.85 86.18 85.68
Gloss - ASTM D-523-85
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants were Flow & Leveling - ASTM D4062-88
Tint Strength - Y Value / Y Rub-up
utilized in a gloss (Acrylic UCAR™ Contrast Ratio - ASTM D-2805-96A
LATEX Formulation E-2251C),
semigloss (Acrylic UCAR™ LATEX
Formulation E-2467), and flat (Vinyl The ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants,
Acrylic UCAR™ LATEX Formulation based on seed oil hydrophobes,
E-2284) paint formulation replacing show no loss in performance
conventional nonionic surfactants. compared to conventional nonionic
surfactants used in paints and
coatings. In fact, they have a positive
impact on minimum film formation
temperature. At the same time,
they reduce costs through faster
dissolution and reduced cycle times.
Since they are based on seed oil
alcohols and create no VOC emissions,
ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants also give
paint systems an improved overall
environmental profile.

10
Applications

ECOSURF™ SA-7 and SA-9 Surfactants are candidates for use in a

variety of applications including:

Agrochemicals
 Emulsification and dispersion in agricultural insecticides

and herbicides

Cleaning Products
 Hard Surface Cleaners

 All purpose cleaners

 Bucket dilutable cleaners

 Concentrates

 Disinfectants

 Janitorial products

 Transportation cleaners

 Metal Cleaners

 Laundry Products

 Pre-wash spotters

 Front loader laundry detergents

 Concentrates

Paints and Coatings

 Wetting agent

 Dispersant

Paper Processing

Textile Processing
 Emulsifier for fiber lubricants

 Wetting agent

Oil and Gas

11
 ECOSURF SA Surfactants ™

To Learn More…
To learn more about ECOSURF™ SA Surfactants,
and the full line of anionic and nonionic surfactants from Dow—
or to receive product samples—contact the Dow location
for your region, listed below.

The Dow Chemical Company

Midland, Michigan 48674 U.S.A.
In the United States, Canada, Mexico: call 1-800-447-4369 • fax 989-832-1465
In Europe: call toll-free +800-3-694-6367 • call (+32) 3-450-2240 • fax +32 3-450-2815
In Asia-Pacific: call +800 7776-7776 • call (+60) 3-7958-3392 • fax +800 7779-7779 • fax (+60) 3-7958-5598
Latin America: call (+55) 11-5188-9222 • fax (+55) 11-5188-9749

Or visit us at www.dowsurfactants.com

NOTICE: No freedom from any patent owned by Seller or others is to be inferred. Because use conditions and applicable laws may differ from one location
to another and may change with time, Customer is responsible for determining whether products and the information in this document are appropriate
for Customer’s use and for ensuring that Customer’s workplace and disposal practices are in compliance with applicable laws and other governmental
enactments. Seller assumes no obligation or liability for the information in this document. NO WARRANTIES ARE GIVEN; ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED.

Published November 2008

Printed in U.S.A.
®
™Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow Form No. 119-02222-1108 AMS