Ethoxylates are produced by a process called ethoxylation where substrates such as alcohol, fatty amines, fatty acid, ethyl ester and others with ethylene oxide. Ethoxylates are second largest derivative of ethylene oxide after ethylene glycol. They are non-ionic surfactants used in wide range of products in personal care, household, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agrochemicals and oilfield chemicals. Alcohol ethoxylates is the second largest commodity surfactant by volume market and also the largest non-ionic surfactant. Excellent formulation, good rinsing ability and low aquatic toxicity of alcohol ethoxylates facilitate its use in industrial application.
Non-ionic Surfactants like ethoxylates are neutral, i.e. they contain no charge, unlike others which have either negative or positive or even contain both charge. Non-ionic surfactants are sugar-based products and their demand is expected to go northwards due to its low toxic property. They are the second largest type of surfactants by volume after Anionic surfactants and constitute around 35% of surfactants production. This type of surfactant has the widest range of properties depending upon hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB). HLB is basically a numerical system used to describe the relationship between water-soluble and oil-soluble parts of non-ionic surfactant. The heads of non-ionic surfactants contains multiple alcohols which helps them act as fat solvents in many applications such as laundry detergents, dishwashing agents, and domestic cleaning agents. They are less sensitive to water hardness and foams lesser compared to anionic surfactants.
Non-ionic surfactants have a broad spectrum of uses in cosmetics as they are excellent for solubilizing fragrances and other natural oils in formulation, used in gentle cleansers such as baby shampoos (the most common of which is PEG-80 sorbitan laurate). They are also used to thicken systems and provide a good conditioning effect. Also, they reduce skin irritation, are good foam enhancers (when used with anionic surfactants) and used as primary surfactant in the production of emulsions. Due to these properties, non-ionic surfactants are majorly used in cosmetics and personal care applications which drive the growth of this market. Rising population, increasing per capita income, and increasing lifestyle in the Asia-Pacific have fostered the adoption of surfactants in this region. China, Japan and India are the major countries in the region witnessing considerable growth in the non-ionic surfactants market. North America and Europe are the second and third largest regions respectively showing moderate growth rates for non-ionic surfactants market.
Non-ionic surfactants can be further classified according to types as:
Europe is the largest market for ethoxylates which is closely followed by Asia-Pacific region. Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing market on account of growing end-use industries like agrochemicals, textiles and personal care. Europe has imposed regulations on usage of ethoxylates due to its toxicity. This will lead to a shift in the market from Europe to Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the largest market in the long-term forecast. Global ethoxylates market is expected to grow at CAGR of XX% in the long-term forecast.
This report has been prepared focusing the ethoxylates market and forms a part of Prismane Consulting s Non-ionic surfactants 2018 strategy report.
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