A surfactant

is a compound that lowers the surface tension of a liquid,

increasing the contact between the liquid and another
substance. There are a wide variety of these compounds that
work with oil, water, and an assortment of other liquids. Many
companies manufacture a range of surfactants for various
purposes, ranging from soaps to inks. They are also sometimes
referred mto as wetting agents.
The term is a compound of surface acting agent, referring to
the fact that these substances interact with the surface of a
liquid to change its properties. They work through a process
known as adsorption, which means that they accrete on the
surface of a liquid, creating a film that reduces its surface
tension.
One of the most famous surfactants is soap, which is used to
break the surface tension of water so that it can penetrate more
fully. The foaming action of soap helps water get under dirt and
grease on surfaces like dishes, hands, and fabrics, allowing the
water to carry the dirt away. As anyone who has tried to wash
without soap knows, the high surface tension of plain water
makes cleaning very difficult
What is a Surfactant?
Surfactant is just a contraction of the phrase SURFace ACTive
Agent. What is it that makes a surfactant a surfactant? The
answer is surprisingly simple; much simpler than the multitude of
applications where surfactants play a critical role. In the
presentation linked below, with notes, you will discover that
surfactants go by many names. Those names often come from
the applications. In emulsion technology surfactants may be
called emulsifiers. In foams they may be called foaming agents. In
cleaning systems they may be called detergents or even soaps.

But in every application, the basic behavior of the surfactant is the

same, and it is this basic behavior that makes them useful in such
a wide range of modern technologies. And what makes them
surfactants is that they are active at interfaces (surfaces).
ANIONIC SURFACTANTS
An anionic surfactant is a macromolecule, usually in the
sulfonate or sulfate group of chemicals such as sodium laureth
sulfate, that acts as an active surfactant agent to lower the
surface tension of a liquids. This allows them to bind to
impurities and particles that are suspended in the liquid, which
makes them effective cleaning agents in water. In small
concentrations, they can also cause the foaming of compounds
in water by creating large numbers of small bubbles of gas, and
this makes them effective in cosmetics such as shampoo,
toothpaste, and in fire-suppressing agents.
Basic soap used to clean the human body is also a type of
surfactant or detergent made from natural fatty acids of plant or
animal origin. The difference with an anionic surfactant is that it
is largely a synthetic chemical, and it has been designed to act
not only as a surfactant that binds to oils and particulates in
water, but also as a denaturing chemical for proteins. Since
anionic surfactants break down proteins attached to clothing in
water, they are not recommended for ordinary soap use, as
human skin is also a type of protein
CATIONIC
Cationic surfactants are basically soaps or detergents, in which
the hydrophilic, or water-loving, end contains a positivelycharged
ion,
or
cation.
Typical
examples
are
trimethylalkylammonium chlorides, and the chlorides or
bromides of benzalkonium and alkylpyridinium ions. All are

examples of quats, so named because they all contain a

quaternary ammonium ion.

All soaps or surfactants, short for surface active agents, work by

the same basic principle, based on the fact that most substances
in nature are either hydrophilic, or water-loving, or lipophilic, or
fat-loving. Hydrophilic substances dissolve readily in water, and
lipophilic substances dissolve in hydrocarbons, which are
organic compounds containing a lot of carbon and hydrogen.
The usual job of these soaps or detergents is to make lipophilic
substances like oils, fats, and greases soluble in water, so
they can be washed away. Since water easily dissolves ionic
substances, or materials that contain one or more charged
atoms, and hydrocarbons dissolve oils, fats, and greases, a
detergent molecule has a hydrocarbon end and an ionic end.
The hydrocarbon end of the soap molecule dissolves in a particle
of grease or oil, leaving the ionic end exposed to the water.
When enough soap molecules have embedded their
hydrocarbon ends in the particle, the surrounding water
molecules attract the ionic ends of the surfactant. The particle
then becomes emulsified, or suspended in water. In this form, it
can be rinsed away
NONNIONIC
Non-ionic surfactants are chemically potent molecular
species that are becoming increasingly important as an
excipient component used in the formulation and delivery
of drugs and vaccines. These chemicals do not have
charge in their predominant working range of pH, yet
interact strongly with high energy structures such as

interfacial regions, phase boundaries and surfaces and

can cause dramatic changes in crucial properties of
molecular mixtures including solubility, dispersion
uniformity, viscosity, miscibility, phase and transport.
Non-ionic surfactants are used extensively in the
chemical industry in such areas as detergents, health and
personal care, coatings and polymers. Furthermore, nonionic surfactants, or surface active wetting agents, reduce
the surface tension of water, allowing the water
molecules to spread out. When applied to water-repellent
soils in high concentrations, surfactants can improve the
ability of the water to penetrate the soil surface and thus
increase the infiltration rate. This new book gathers the
latest research from around the globe in this field.
TECHNOLOGY PROCESS
Standard detergent powder manufacturing plant consists of mixing,
drying, after drying, packing and antipollution units. These units are
briefly described as follows:
Mixing unit: - Alkyl benzene sulphonic acid is neutralized and mixed
with builders such as sodium tri polyphosphate, sodium silicate, sodium
sulphate and other minor ingredients. This detergent slurry is transferred
to the top of the spray drying tower by high pressure pump
Drying unit: - The mixed slurry is sprayed from the nozzles at the top
of the drying tower.
The sprayed detergent slurry is dried by hot air coming from the furnace.
The dried detergent powder is taken out at the bottom of the tower, and
is transferred to the sieve by belt conveyor and air lift equipment.

After drying unit: - Fine shaped detergent powder is screened by the

sieve and stocked in baggies after being perfumed.
Packing unit: - The final product is packed here. Detergent powder is
fed into the packing machine from baggies.
Anti pollution unit: - Dust contained in the exhaust air, is washed and
separated by the spraying system. This water, containing detergent dust
is recycled to the mixing unit again