2020 Volume 20 Issue 9 Pages 417-423
Global population growth and economic development are also predicted to affect the balance of supply and demand for detergents which have contributed to the development of the clean and comfortable life. The current way to use surfactants could lead to the short of supply in the future and raise the price of surfactants and detergents. In order for people all over the world to sustain a comfortable life in the future, the (1) bio-based, (2) excellently water-soluble, and (3) highly surface active surfactants might be required as sustainable ones. Because, in particular, (2) and (3) are generally considered to be properties that are not compatible with each other, the achievement of “sustainable surfactant” has been regarded to be very difficult. Last year, we succeeded in producing bio-based internal olefin sulfonate salt (Bio IOS) industrially, which can satisfy the above three requirements at a high level and started actual use as a main surfactant of the laundry detergents. Moreover, Bio-IOS can also be produced from the surplus C16 and C18 vegetable oils that have been generally considered unsuitable as a raw material for surfactants due to decreased water solubility. Bio-IOS should be expected as a sustainable anionic surfactant.
