care products division into a jointventure with an internationalcompany. Chemfab reported a netprofit of Rup 44.2 M for 3Q endedDec 2005 and a net profit of Rup139.6 M for the nine months endedDec 2005 (net profit of Rup 39.9 M in3Q ended Dec 2004 and Rup 90 Mfor the year 2004-2005).

Business Line, 8 Jan 2006, 13 (8), 2

SURFACTANTSTwo new ingredients for Asahi Kasei

The Asahi Kasei group has unveiledAMINOsurfact – A, a surfactantobtained from the combination of afatty acid and an amino acid (glutamicacid). The product is biodegradable,pure, stable, odourless and providesformulations with a surface feel andgeneral sensation of superiorfreshness. It improves the efficiencyof liquid and solid products, pastesand foams. The company is alsointroducing OligoGGF, a trisaccharidederived from D-galactose, D-glucoseand D-fructose. The crystal has a lowhygroscopicity threshold, is 99% pureand prevents thickening of thetextures compared to other sugars. Ithas applications in haircare, bathproducts, skincare and powders.

Parfums, Cosmetiques, Actualites, Dec 2005/Jan2006, (186), 75

New I&I ingredients from ISP

International Specialty Products (ISP)unveiled Easy-Wet 20 and PeroxydoneK-30, two new ingredients for industrialand institutional cleaners. Easy-Wet20 can be used as a wetter, spreaderand surfactant utilized in HI&Icleaners, pigments, textiles,agrochemicals and other industrialapplications. It has excellent wettingand spreading properties at very lowquantity and provides improvedcleaning performance on glass, soapscum removal and grease cleaning.The Peroxydone K-30, PeroxydoneK-90 solid polymer complex issuitable as a bleaching, cleaning andstain removing agent forpharmaceutical, oral care, drainopeners, personal care, mould/mildewremovers, cleaners and detergents.The product is safe to use and

imparts superb stability, solubility andfilm-forming characteristics in varioususes.

HAPPI, Household & Personal Products Industry, Dec2005, 42 (12), 121-122

Surfactant firms end a tough year

In 2005, for the second year in a row,the surfactants industry wassandwiched between sky-high rawmaterial costs and big customers thatwere inflexible on price. With littlechange in sight, companies thatproduce surfactants and theirintermediates are taking action. Thusin Aug 2005, Sasol announced it hadreversed strategy and was to sell themulti-billion-dollar olefins andsurfactants business it had boughtfive years earlier. Other companieshave also undertaken restructuring inthe last 18 months. The president ofHuntsman’s performance productsdivision, which includes the $1 bn/ysurfactants operations, says demandfor the surfactants industry’s productsis growing at several percentagepoints a year. Making a profit is theproblem, not selling. This is duemainly to higher prices for crude oiland its derivatives. Surfactantsproducers tried to increase prices butthe results have been mixed. Evenproducers of oleochemical-basedsurfactants, which are usually madefrom tropical oils, felt the effect ofhigher crude oil prices during 2005.Overall, however, the profits situationin 2005 was probably a little better foroleochemical-based surfactants thanfor those made from petrochemicals,and this was reflected in investmentin the business. P&G has a projectwith the Domba Mas Group that willadd 160,000 tonnes/y of detergentalcohol capacity in Indonesia, for late2006 or early 2007 [see Focus onSurfactants, Dec 2005]. Otherprojects in hand are EvergreenOleochemicals’ 60,000-tonnes/ydetergent alcohol plant in Indonesiaand Kao’s 100,000 tonnes/y alcoholplant in the Philippines.

Chemical and Engineering News, 30 Jan 2006, 84 (5),21-22 (Website: http://www.cen-online.org)

Albion bulks up UK SLES

Albion Chemicals’ bulk storage anddilution facilities for surfactant sodiumlaureth sulfate (SLES) in Liverpool,

UK have been expanded. Four 100cu m tanks that can store and handlenatural and synthetic SLES havebeen added with filling lines and twodilution impellers. The company hasalso added storage and packing forother major surfactants, includingcoconut diethanolamide, sulfonicacid, alcohol ethoxylates andchelates. Albion is UK distributor fordilute and concentrated SLES afterUK’s manufacturing capacity of highactive product declined. SLES is theprimary surfactant for personal andhome care markets, with a projectedgrowth potential of 20%. UK annualdemand for SLES is more than100,000 tonnes.

ICIS Chemical Business, 30 Jan 2006, (Website:http://icischemicalbusiness.com)

Russia proposes to decrease customsduty for fatty alcohols

The Russian Ministry for industry andenergy has proposed to decrease thecustoms duty for fatty alcohols from15% to 5%. In the Leningrad region,construction of the Nikol’skoe plantfor surfactants production by Laniteks-Optima is nearing completion. Afterstart up of the plant, demand for fattyalcohols on the domestic market willincrease by 3.5 times (to 7000tonnes/y) compared to 2004.

Vestnik khimicheskoi promyshlennosty, 30 Dec 2005,36 (4), 42 (in Russian)

USW launches second PFOA warningletter campaign

The United Steelworkers (USW)Union had written 4500 circulars tocarpet retailers nationwide regardingthe dangers of usingperfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), alsoknown as C8 [see also Focus onSurfactants, Jul 2005]. Letters werealso sent out to 35 carpetmanufacturing companies remindingthem of their responsibility to advisetheir customers about such possiblerisks posed by carpets that maycontain PFOA. The union clarifiedthat carpets were covered with Teflon-related chemicals calledfluorotelomers and fluorotelomers thatmay break down into PFOA.Previously, DuPont settled with EPAfor $16.5 M for allegedly withholdinginformation on the health andenvironmental hazards related to

MARCH 2006 3

F O C U S O N S U R F A C T A N T S