Handbook of Surfactants

The worldwide consumption of surfactants now exceeds several million tonnes per annum. Six of the major types represent approximately 80% of the volume consumed, whereas the remaining 20% is made up of approximately 40 different chemical types. Commercially produced surface active agents are not pure chemicals, and within each chemical type there can be tremendous variation. Technical staff who are not familiar with surfactants are frequently bewildered by the enormous variety of different ...