Bio-Soft® N-Series: Linear Alcohol Ethoxylates
The Bio-Soft® N-Series from Stepan provides excellent wetting, emulsification and detergency with moderate foam production.
Stepan’s Bio-Soft line of linear alcohol ethoxylates are biodegradable, mild to the skin and easily colored and fragranced. Stepan’s LAEs range from clear liquids to semi-solids with relatively low melting points.
The Bio-Soft LAEs are named according to the alcohol chain length and the average number of moles of ethoxylation.
For instance, Bio-Soft N1-5 has a carbon chain length of 11 and 5 moles of ethylene oxide. Bio-Soft 23-3 has a carbon chain length of 12-13 and 3 moles of ethylene oxide.
These surfactants are used in numerous household, institutional and industrial cleaning and process formulations.
Functional Properties
- Emulsification
- Moderate foam production
- Detergent
- Excellent wetting agents
- Effective on greasy soils
- Solubilizer
- Use in conjunction with anionic, amphoteric and cationic surfactants
Applications
- Laundry Products
- Textiles
- Hard surface cleaners
- Paints
- Handwashing detergents
- I&I cleaners
- Low foam machine cleaning
BIO-SOFT N1, N23 and N91 series
BIO-SOFT N1, N23 and N91 series are high active nonionic surfactants. The BIO-SOFT N series products are stable in both aqueous acidic and alkaline solutions, allowing for application in a wide range of products.
The alcohol ethoxylates containing between one and five moles of ethoxylation are primarily useful in oil-based systems.