Due to its properties, the compound is mainly used in the cosmetic, chemical, textile and detergent industries. It features good cleaning, degreasing and emulsifying properties. It is a key ingredient in the ether sulphate production process.
It belongs to the group of ethoxylated fatty alcohols. Laureth-3 is the name according to the international INCI system. The following chemical names of this compound are also commonly used such as: polyethylene glycol dodecyl ether or polyethylene glycol ethylene ether. The CAS number for Laureth-3 is 68439-50-9.
As the pure compound, Laureth-3 is a liquid or paste (at the temperature of 20 to 25ᵒC) with a faint yet characteristics odour. The colour of the substance is often expressed in what is known as the Hazen scale (comparison of the colour of a sample against the platinum-cobalt standard scale) and for Laureth-3 it is stated as maximum 50 (at the temperature 40ᵒC). The molar mass of the surfactant is approx. 330 g/mol. Due to the chemical constitution of its molecule, this surfactant relatively poorly dissolves in water. It usually forms clouded solutions. On the other hand, it shows good solubility in low aliphatic alcohols such as methanol or ethanol. The density of Laureth-3 at the temperature of 25ᵒC reaches the value of approx. 0.93 g/mol. The reaction of a 1% aqueous solution of this substance varies from slightly acidic to neutral. The hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB), which is an essential parameter for surfactants, is equal to 7.8 for Laureth-3 (it forms W/O (water-in-oil) emulsions). As a surfactant, it is also resistant to oxidising or reducing media and hard water. It can be effectively used in acidic or neutral baths and in diluted alkalis.
Laureth-3 is an ingredient used in a range of products for personal care and hygiene. It mostly acts as an emulsifier, dispersant and solvent. It features the capacity to solubilise a broad range of perfumes and active ingredients. It acts as a thickener in shampoos and shower gels. It is commonly used in preparations used in skin care to mix water-based and oil-based ingredients. As a result, it allows to obtain the desired product consistency that would meet all the application requirements. As it has a wetting effect, it also facilitates the contact of the detergent with the surface to be cleaned, allowing for more effecting removal of impurities.
Similarly to many other surfactants, Laureth-3 is known as a component of cosmetics and products for personal hygiene. The other industries also show a relatively high demand for substances of this type. Due to the chemical constitution, which directly determines their properties, surfactants such as Laureh-3 are valuable substrates in many processes.
Laureth-3 is mainly used in the chemical industry for ether sulphate production processes. Moreover, it may be found in many detergents such as washing and cleaning liquids or laundry detergents. It is seldom used as a single ingredient. The best detergent performance is obtained when Laureth-3 is one of the formulation components. It is combined most frequently with other non-ionic, anionic or cationic surfactants. In the textile industry, Laureth-3 is used in fibre pre-treatment processes. It is used in compositions for removing oil stains (mainly from mineral oils) on woven/knitted fabrics that result from industrial knitting/weaving processes. It is also added during the final stages of textile treatments as an ingredient of preparations that improve the performance of woven/knitted fabrics.
The chemical structure of a molecule of this compound directly translates into a number of advantages that characterise Laureth-3. It is used in numerous applications primarily due to very good detergency, emulsifying and dispersing properties. It is suitable for use with other surfactants and under different environmental conditions. It is perfect for applications that require degreasing or emulsifying properties. Importantly, Laureth-3 is biodegradable in the natural environment, complying thus with the principles of green chemistry.
