Surface Active Agent HLB Value
Publish Time: 2018-03-28 Origin: Horizon Chemical
Surface active agents play an important role as cleaning, wetting, dispersing, emulsifying, foaming and anti-foaming agents in many practical applications and products, including: paints, emulsions adhesives, inks, biocides (sanitizers), shampoos, toothpastes, firefighting (foams), detergents, insecticides, deinking of recycled papers, ski waxes, spermicides, etc.
In the bulk aqueous phase, surfactants form masses, such as micelles, where the hydrophobic tails form the core and the hydrophilic heads are immersed in the surrounding liquid. Other types of structures can also be formed, such as spherical micelles or lipid bilayers. The shape of the molecules depends on the balance in size between hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail. A measure of this is the HLB, Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance. Higher HLB surfactants (>10) are hydrophilic (“water loving”) and form O/W (Oil-in-water) emulsions. Lipophilic surfactants possess low HLB values (1-10) and form W/O (water-in-oil) emulsions. Dish detergents, surfactants for emulsion polymerization, and the following example (SLS = Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) are high HLB surfactants.
Shijiazhuang City Horizon Chemical Industry Co., Ltd can provide series surfactants, including AEO, PEG, Peregal, And Iso-Tridecanol Polyoxyethylene Ether Series.
Contact us if you have any demand on these items.