INFORM March 2025

30 • inform March 2025, Vol. 36 (3) EXTRACTS & DISTILLATES Surfactants & Detergents articles picked by researchers This column highlights articles from non-AOCS journals to complement the AOCS member benefit of access to full journal articles at www.aocs.org/stay-informed/journals.

ent, the vast majority of these are still produced from petrochemical resources. In order to explore more sustainable alternatives, in this work, we have synthesized, characterized, and tested a novel group of anti-redeposition and soil release polymers based on hydrophobi cally modified 2, 3-dihydroxypropyl chitosan (DHPCH), a highly water-soluble chitosan derivative. Chitosan was selected on the basis of its environmental profile. Our results suggest that hydro phobic moieties are essential to observe cleaning benefits on syn thetic based-textile. The level of modifications and the molecular weight of the unmodified chitosan were also shown to be decisive in conveying observable cleaning properties. This work is signifi cant because it illustrates that DHPCH is a valid biorenewable plat form for the development of new sustainable polymers for laundry detergents.

Ryan J. Stoklosa is a research chemical engineer and lead scientist for the USDA, Agricultural Research Service located in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. His research focuses on technologies to convert plant biomass into fuels and high value chemicals.

Bio-based surfactants and detergents (S&D) continue to be a rel evant research area for developing products with wide ranging applications. Within this field, particular attention is given to new bio-based feedstocks that can serve as a source for surfactants/ detergents and make an impact on chemical/physical functional ity. Chitosan derivatives were prepared that displayed good water solubility and cleaning performance (e.g. anti-redeposition and soil release) for use as sustainable polymers in laundry deter gents. Liquid residues comprised of saponins collected from suc culent plants of the genus Furcraea have also showed promise for household cleaning products due to favorable characteristics, such as vitamin E content and shelf life. For commercial applications, researchers targeted wastewater from industrial food production by recovering an oil fraction from crude olive pomace and convert ing it to a bio-based flocculant. When used in a coagulation-floc culation process the bio-based flocculant improved the reduction in chemical oxygen demand compared to commercially available flocculants. Dihydroxypropyl chitosan: A biorenewable platform for the design of novel fabric care additives D’Avino, M., et al. , Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research , 63, 49, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c03632 The design of more sustainable and eco-friendly solutions is one of the central challenges in the formulation of today’s laundry products. Water-soluble polymers are indispensable additives in laundry detergents as they play a wide range of functions. At pres

Chitosan

Dihydroxypropyl Chitosan

Hydrophobic Dihydroxypropyl Chitosan

Poor water solubility

High water solubility

Good water solubility

Poor fabric cleanability

Great cleaning performance (anti -redeposition, soil release)

Incompatible with fabric care applications

Saponins: Natural surfactants and their alternative sustainability in the formulation of bio-based detergents to mitigate environmental pollution Rojas, M., et al. , Waste and biomass valorization , 15, 5965, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-024-02549-6 Taking account, of the increasing environmental awareness, this study explores the potential of liquid residues from Furcraea sp. for the development of eco-friendly detergents, responding to the demand for sustainable household cleaning products. The research focused on stabilizing and characterizing these residues for bio-based detergent formulation, examining the effects of