INFORM March 2025

YOUR AOCS COMMUNITY

inform March 2025, Vol. 36 (3) • 7

+

45

Years of experience

Surfactants and Detergents Surfactants : Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension between two substances, such as a liquid and a solid or between two liquids. Detergents : Detergents are a type of surfactant specifically designed for cleaning purposes. They are complex formulations that often include multiple ingredients to enhance their cleaning performance. Key Points Surfactants: Lower surface tension, interact with water and oils, used in cleaning, emulsifying, and foaming. Detergents: A type of surfactant for cleaning, complex formulations, break down and remove dirt and stains. Manufacturing Process: Involves formulation, preparing surfactant solution, mixing and blending, neutralization (for liquids), drying (for powders), and packaging.

+

550

Projects

+

25

Vegetable Oilseeds, Oils and Fats Oleo Chemicals Bio-Diesel Filtration Ethanol Pretreatment of Feedstocks for HVO HVO CBG

Customer Base in

Countries

Surfactant Solution

Builders, Enzymes, Additives, Fragrance

NaOH or Na2CO3

DRYING (Spray drying)

FORMULATION MIXING & BLENDING NEUTRALIZATION

PACKAGING

Mectech Process Engineers Pvt Ltd

info@mectech.co.in

www.mectech.co.in

sions, and serving as a reviewer, associate editor, and on the JSD advisory board, thereby increasing my exposure outside of P&G. INFORM: What do you see as the biggest challenge the industry faces in the future? Vinson: I think the biggest future challenge will be to balance cost, capital, and performance against new government regu lations and environmental sustainability. Doing this in a holis tic manner that takes the full life cycle, including the consumer use component, into account is complex and will require even greater partnership across industry, academia and government organizations. INFORM: What teacher or mentor has inspired your career the most and why? Vinson: It is hard to pick just one person as there have been many important inspirations along the way. My parents and other ancestors demonstrated how one can accomplish amazing things through hard work, deep thought, and creativity. My family, especially Jane, my spouse of 40 years, have always provided support and encouragement. My doctoral advisors at the University of Minnesota, Ted Davis and Skip Scriven, and associated mentors, Wilmer Miller, Jayesh Bellare, Ishi Talmon and Fennel Evans, introduced me to the world of surfactants and provided me with a deep techni cal foundation in colloid science. On occasion, Robert Laughlin, the first Rosen award recip ient, would visit our department at the University. In vari ous project discussions, he illustrated the important role that

surfactants and phase behavior play in P&G’s R&D and com mercial products. Early in my career at P&G, Steve Caravajal and Scott Cooper instilled in me the importance of thor oughly defining the problem to be solved and for building my network. Magda El-Nokaly “adopted” me (and many others) and introduced me to Communities of Practice, and Jeffrey Scheibel and Dan Connor (both former Rosen award recipients) introduced me to industrial processes and precursors import ant to surfactant design and manufacture. These early influ ences set the stage for much of the rest of my career. Along the way, tremendous inspiration—as well as a whole lot of fun—came from the numerous scientists that entered our team and brought with them new skills and perspec tives. Around 2015, William Scheper became the vice president of our organization. Bill worked with each of us to “raise the bar” and set high expectations for our deliverables, while also taking the necessary steps to enable and empower us. This was highly energizing to the organization and an important contribution to my successes over the past decade. INFORM: If you could offer one piece of advice to the new generation of surfactant chemists and formulators, what would that be? Vinson: Dream big and set a high bar for yourself, but also be pragmatic. Learn the science at a deep enough level that you can make wise decisions and recommendations. Create part nerships in order to maximize the opportunity, reduce risk, and facilitate communications. This will help turn your innovations into solutions that are a win-win for consumers, external part ners, and your company.