Note

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experience. In view of the many factors that may affect processing and application,
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Version: December 2005

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Helping Make Helping Make

Products Better™ Products Better™
Lutensol® XP
Lutensol® XL
Nonionic Surfactants for Household
and I&I Cleaners Formulations
 X L
Lutensol XP types

L U T E N S O L
BASF’s Lutensol XP surfactants are alkyl polyethylene glycol ethers based on C10–Guerbet
alcohol and ethylene oxide.

Lutensol XL types
BASF’s Lutensol XL surfactants are alkyl polyethylene glycol ethers made from a C10–Guerbet
CONTENTS Alcohol and alkylene oxides.

Introduction 1

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Product line 2

S U R F A C T A N T S
Ross Miles foam profile 3

X P
Cloud point 3

Dynamic wetting 4

L U T E N S O L
Lime soap removal 4 Product line
Gel formation 5

Formulating with builders 5

Lutensol XP Surfactants
Degreasing formulations 6
(all values approximate) Unit 30 40 50 60 69 70 79 80 89 90 99 100 140

Market offsets 6
Percent active % 100 100 100 100 85 100 85 100 85 100 85 100 100

Ecology profile 6

F O R
Degree of ethoxylation 3 4 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 14

HLB 8 9 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 14.5 16

Hydroxyl Number 195 170 150 135 135 125 125 110 110 100 100 90 75
Lutensol® XP and Lutensol® XL:

C L E A N E R S
Cloud point
Surfactants for I&I and Household Cleaners Formulations
1% aqueous °C - - - - - - - 56 56 69 69 80 96

Superior wetting and dynamic properties 10% in 1:3

°C 41 52 60 66 66 70 70 75 75 78 78 81 82
BDG/water solution
In household and I&I formulations, Lutensol XP surfactants are fast-acting due to superior wetting and dynamic
properties. In most cases, performance is comparable to that of C9-C11 ethoxylates and decyl alcohol ethoxylates.

Enhanced emulsification of oils and soils Lutensol XL Surfactants

Lutensol XL surfactants offer the same superior wetting and dynamic properties found in Lutensol XP surfactants
(all values approximate) Unit 40 50 60 70 79 80 89 90 99 100 140
with enhanced ability to emulsify common soils

F O R M U L A T I O N S
Percent active % 100 100 100 100 85 100 80 100 80 100 100

Degree of ethoxylation 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 14

HLB 7 9 12 12.5 12.5 13 13 14 14 15 16

Hydroxyl Number 150 130 115 100 100 95 95 90 90 75 65

Cloud point

1% aqueous °C - - - - - 56 56 69 69 80 96

10% in 1:3
°C 54 64 72 71 71 75 75 78 78 80 85
BDG/water solution

1 2
X L

X L
Ross Miles foam heights Excellent wetting properties
L U T E N S O L

L U T E N S O L
Slightly lower foam profiles compared to market alternatives Lutensol XP and XL surfactants Although having a slightly higher critical micelle concentration
(CMC) compared to C9-C11 alcohol ethoxylates, the branched
offer enhanced wetting proper- structure of the alcohol used in the Lutensol XL and Lutensol XP
The foam profiles for the Lutensol XP and Lutensol XL surfactants have been measured using the Ross Miles
standard test method. In comparison to C9-C11 EO at the same degree of ethoxylation, the Lutensol XP
ties that improve spreading on a types plays an important role in the fast wetting these surfactants
and Lutensol XL type surfactants exhibit significantly lower foam profiles both initially and after 5 minutes. hard surface provide. The wetting power of surfactants on hard surfaces can
If surfactants are compared using cloud point, then the Lutensol XP and Lutensol XL surfactants have slightly be assessed by measuring the contact angle between the surface
lower foam profiles (Lutensol XP 80, Lutensol XL 80 and C9-C11 6EO have similar cloud points). Wetting on glass and the surfactant solution. Comparative tests have shown that
Time C9-C11 Lutensol® XP ‡ there is a direct correlation between decrease in the contact
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Ross Miles foam heights (0.1 wt % @ 122 deg F) (sec) ethoxylates ‡

S U R F A C T A N T S

S U R F A C T A N T S
angle and the performance of surfactants as wetting agents.
180
X P

X P
0 CMC vs. EO content in mol
160
10
L U T E N S O L

L U T E N S O L
140
1
Foam Height (mm)

120 1 Lutensol XP
C9-C11 EO

cmc in g/l
100
Lutensol XL
5 0.1
80
Nonylphenol EO
60 0.01
10
40
0.001

F O R

F O R
20
2 7 12 17
0 60 EO content (mol)
Initial 5 min Initial 5 min Initial 5 min Initial 5 min
XP 80 XL 80 C9-C11 6EO C9-C11 8EO
‡ samples with 8EO

C L E A N E R S

C L E A N E R S
Cloud point Lime soap removal
Cloud points of Lutensol XL and Lutensol XP types fall between The Lutensol XP and
Lutensol XL surfactants
nonylphenol ethoxylates and C9-C11 ethoxylates A comparison of cloud point (1 exhibit lower dynamic Contact angle over time
Cloud point vs ethylene oxide content % aq.) with EO content (mol) for contact angle values (theta) 65
C9-C11 ethoxylates, nonylphe- than other surfactants on
100
nol ethoxylates and the lime soap. A low contact
60
90
Lutensol XP and Lutensol XL angle indicates the ability to
Lutensol XP/
C 9-C11 Lutensol XL series of surfactants indicate F O R M U L A T I O N S wet the surface (in this case, Nonylphenol 9EO

F O R M U L A T I O N S
Contact angle, theta (degrees)
80 Lauryl alcohol
ethoxylates the following general trend in a surface which is coated 55
ethoxylates Nonlyphenol
ethoxylates cloud point at the same degree with a synthetic lime soap).
Cloud point in °C

70
of ethoxylation: NPE< Lutensol
XP/Lutensol XL< C9-C11 EO. 50
60
This plot is useful for determin-
50
C 9-C 11 6EO
ing offsets. Note that the aque- 45
ous cloud points for Lutensol
40
XP 80 and Lutensol XL 80 fall in Lutensol XL 80
30 the range of 50 to 60 deg C. 40
This cloud point range fits well
20 Lutensol XP 70
with the cloud point ranges for
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 35
the C9-C11 6EO and nonylphe-
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
EO content in mol nol 9EO.
time (sec)
3 4
X L

X L
Gel formation Degreasing formulations
L U T E N S O L

L U T E N S O L
Viscosity profile favorable to market alternatives Lutensol XP and Lutensol XL offer superior performance in degreasing formulations
Gardner Scrubber Results - ASTM SOIL (vinyl tiles):
A highly viscous gel phase Performance evaluations in % Clean for Degreaser Formulations @ 1:10 dilution (23 deg C).
can form when nonionic Viscosity vs. water concentration degreaser formulations have 80 1:10= 9.1% active or 0.40 % surfactant
surfactants are diluted with demonstrated that the
Nonylphenol 70
water. The increase in Lutensol XP and Lutensol XL
6EO 9EO
viscosity is due to the surfactants exhibit superior 60
120,000
formation of emulsions as performance to other alcohol
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50

S U R F A C T A N T S

S U R F A C T A N T S
the result of insufficient ethoxylates such as C9-C11

% Clean
miscibility. It can also be 100,000 6EO, C12-C14 7EO and 40
X P

X P
attributed to the formation C13-C15 8EO. These results 30
of cubic or lamellar phas- also indicated that Lutensol
Viscosity (mpas)

80,000
20
es. These phases are XP 80 and Lutensol XL 80
L U T E N S O L

L U T E N S O L
formed when surfactants exhibited comparable 10
60,000
are formulated, i.e. when performance to nonylphenol 0
they are mixed with water 10EO. XP80 XL80 C9-C11 6EO C13-15 8EO C12-14 7EO NP 10EO
C 13-C15 8EO
or aqueous solutions. The 40,000

chart shows viscosity ver-

sus water content for com- 20,000
mon nonionic surfactant Lutensol XP 80 Market offsets
types. The Lutensol XP 0
and Lutensol XL types 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Common Alcohol Ethoxylates
have a lower tendency to
% Water Lutensol XP/XL C9-C11 C11 NPE C10
form gels compared with types

F O R

F O R
nonylphenol or longer
30*
chain alcohol ethoxylates.
40 91 – 2.5 UD 030 DA – 4
50 NP6

C L E A N E R S

C L E A N E R S
60/69* 91 – 4 UD 050 DA – 6

Cleaning formulations contain 70/79 91 – 5

builders which tend to depress 80/89 91 – 6 UD 070 NP9/10
the cloud point for nonionic 90/99 91 – 8 UD 080
surfactants. A hydrotrope can
Formulating with builders be used to mitigate this prob-
100
lem. Lutensol XP and Lutensol 140
XL surfactants exhibit the same
Similar stability profile compared to C9-C11 ethoxylates *30 and 69 available only in Lutensol XP product line.
properties as other short chain
alcohol ethoxylates in regard to
5% surfactant in 5% sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) solution
stability in the presence of F O R M U L A T I O N S Ecology profile

F O R M U L A T I O N S
70
electrolytes and builders. Both
65 Lutensol XP 80 and C9-C11 Test Measure / Species Method Result Units
6EO, as shown in the chart, Analyzed
60
Cloud Point ( °C )

XP 30 to XP 50 XP 60 to XP 100
require the addition of 6 % XL 40 to XL 50 XL 60 to XL 100 XP 140
55
sodium xylene sulfonate to Acute toxicity
50 raise the cloud point of a 5 % to aquatic Daphnia magna EC 50 1-10 10-100 >100 mg/l
invertebrates (48 h)
surfactant solution to 65 deg C
45
XP80 in the presence of 5 % sodium Toxicity to Green algae EC 50 10-100 10-100 >100 mg/l
40 C9-C11 6EO
tripolyphosphate. These data aquatic plants (72 h)
NP10
35 NP9 indicate that Lutensol XP and
Biodegradation CO2 formation OECD > 60 > 60 > 60 %
XL80 Lutensol XL surfactants have a
30 relative to the 301 B (28 d) (28 d) (28 d)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 similar stability profile to theoretical value
C9-C11 ethoxylates.
% SXS
5 6