Optimizing Branching in Alcohol Ethoxylates: Balancing Performance and Sustainability

Abstract: Branching in alcohol ethoxylates plays a critical role in determining their physical-chemical properties, performance, and environmental impact. In general, increased branching enhances cleaning performance—such as soil removal in laundry and dishwashing—and improves handling properties like reduced viscosity and pour point, but often at the expense of biodegradability, highlighting the need for optimized hydrophobe structures.



This study examines the structure-property relationships of linear, lightly branched, and highly branched alcohol ethoxylates through a detailed evaluation of their physical-chemical properties and cleaning performance. Key applications assessed include laundry detergency, hard surface cleaning, and hand dishwashing. Lightly branched ethoxylates exhibited superior wetting kinetics, enhanced soil removal, and improved handling properties compared to their linear counterparts, with performance more closely aligning to highly branched structures. Branching also influences foam behavior, with increased branching reducing foam height and stability, which may be advantageous in low-foam cleaning applications.



These results suggest that lightly branched alcohol ethoxylates offer an optimal balance of performance and biodegradability, providing a sustainable and high-performing alternative for surfactant formulations in home care applications. These findings provide a foundation for designing next-generation surfactants with optimized performance and environmental profiles, paving the way for further exploration of hydrophobe branching strategies.