LF

ECOSURF™ LF Specialty Surfactants

Alkylphenol Ethoxylate (APEO)-Free, Low Foam Surfactants
Offering Excellent Wetting and Easy Handling
 ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants

Readily Biodegradable* Low Foam Alternatives to Alkylphenol Ethoxylate

(APEO)-based Surfactants
ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants are non-Alkylphenol Ethoxylate ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants – Typical Physical Properties1
(APEO)-based nonionic materials that offer excellent ECOSURF™ ECOSURF™ ECOSURF™
wetting and a low foam profile in a readily biodegradable LF-20 LF-30 LF-45
surfactant. They are an easy-to-handle alternative to Actives, wt % 100 100 100
APEO-based surfactants in applications including paints Solvent None None None
& coatings, textiles, pulp & paper, inks & adhesives, and Appearance Pale yellow Pale yellow Pale yellow
other applications. Liquid Liquid Liquid
Cloud Point, 1%
Aqueous (°C) 17-24 26-34 40-49
Included are three product grades—ECOSURF LF-20, ™

HLB 10-11 11-12 12-13

ECOSURF™ LF-30 and ECOSURF™ LF-45—all offering
similar or improved performance compared to APEO- Viscosity at 40°C
(104°F), cS 41 36 50
based surfactants and other low foam surfactants. Unlike
CMC, ppm 26 26 36
some low foam products, ECOSURF™ LF products have
Pour Point, °C -23 -7 6
no gel range, which makes formulation and handling
Density at 25°C 0.9931 0.995 1.0129
easier. ECOSURF™ LF-30 and ECOSURF™ LF-45 offer
(77°F), g/mL
rapid dissolution for additional formulating and
1
Typical properties, not to be construed as specifications
processing versatility.

Applications Performance Advantages**

ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants are excellent alternatives to As alternatives to APEO-based surfactants, ECOSURF™ LF
APEO-based surfactants and other low foam materials in Surfactants offer a number of favorable performance
applications including: properties.
• Paints & Coatings
• Textiles Dynamic Surface Tension Reduction
• Pulp & Paper ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants exhibit low dynamic surface
• Inks & Adhesives tension compared to APEO-based surfactants as well as
• Food & Dairy Cleaning Secondary Alcohol Ethoxylates (SAEs) as shown in Figure 1.
• Industrial Hard Surface Cleaning Lower surface tension can help reduce surfactant requirements.
• Rinse Aids
• Concentrate Formulations Figure 1 – Dynamic Surface Tension Reduction

L
Dynamic Surface Tension, 25°C, 0.1 wt%
50
48
46
Surface Tension (mN/m)

44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Bubble Frequency (/sec.)
Secondary Alcohol Ethoxylate
ECOSURF™ LF-30
ECOSURF™ LF-45
APEO Based Low Foam Surfactant
PO Capped Fatty Alcohol Ethoxylate

ECOSURF™ Surfactants are marketed under the TERGITOL™ brand in Canada and Japan *> 60 percent biodegradable within 28 days per OECD 301F
®™
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow **Tests referenced in Figures 1-8 were performed by Dow in a Dow Laboratory

2
 Excellent Wetting
Performance Advantages
Figure 2 – Draves Wetting Comparison
Wetting performance is also improved compared to of Common Low Foam Surfactants
0.05 wt%
common low foam surfactants as shown in Figure 2. 80 0.1 wt%
70
60
Low Foam/Defoamer

Wetting Time (s)

50
The low foam performance of ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants 40
30
compares favorably with traditional low foam surfactants 20
10
as demonstrated in the shake height comparison shown
0
in Figure 3. In addition, ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants

ECOSURF™ LF-45

ECOSURF™ LF-30

ECOSURF™ LF-20

APEO Based
Low Foam Surfactant

Alcohol Alkoxylate

Chlorine Capped Linear

Alcohol Ethoxylate

Linear Alcohol Alkoxylate

contribute to defoaming during pigment dispersion for
additional foam control.

No Gel Range
Unlike other ethoxylates, ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants do not
form gels when combined with water, which makes them Figure 3 – Shake Foam Height Comparison
of Common Low Foam Surfactants
easy to pump, pour and blend during formulation and 0 Sec
60 60 Sec
processing. Concentrates are also easy to formulate.
50

Foam Height (mm)

See Figure 4. 40
30
Rapid Dissolution
20
As shown in Figure 5, ECOSURF™ LF-30 and LF-45 dissolve 10
more quickly in water than Nonylphenyl Ethoxylates (NPE) 0

ECOSURF™ LF-45

ECOSURF™ LF-30

ECOSURF™ LF-20

APEO Based
Low Foam Surfactant

Chlorine Capped Linear

Alcohol Ethoxylate

Linear Alcohol Alkoxylate

and Primary Alcohol Ethoxylates (PAE), which can mean
faster processing and aid in the dissolution of concentrated
formulations.

Caustic Stability
Unlike some low foaming surfactants, ECOSURF™ LF
Surfactants are chemically stable in combination with caustic. Figure 4 – Gel Formation of Common Surfactants vs
ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants
Both cloud point and foam profiles remain constant in the
presence of caustic. % Surfactant 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
ECOSURF™ LF-20

Readily Biodegradable ECOSURF™ LF-30

ECOSURF™ LF-45
ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants are readily biodegradable
NPE
according to OECD 301F. All components of this product are PAE
on the TSCA Inventory or are exempt from TSCA Inventory TDAE

requirements under 40 CFR 720.30. This product contains

Liquid Thick Liquid Gel
a substance that is subject to a TSCA Section 5 (a) (2)
PAE = Primary Alcohol Ethoxylate

LF
Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) and export notification NPE = Nonylphenol Ethoxylate
TDAE = Tridecyl Alcohol Ethoxylate
under TSCA 12(b). Architectural coating formulation processes
that operate under zero discharge of wastewater should not
trigger the SNUR conditions but each user should assess Figure 5 – Dissolution Time
their operations to assure compliance. The SNUR limits 20 17
Time (minutes)

release to water to no greater than 14 ppb as calculated 15

10 9
after wastewater treatment. The total removal during
5
wastewater treatment is estimated to be > 90% based on .15 .15
0
Episuite models and demonstrated ready biodegradability.
ECOSURF™ LF-30

ECOSURF™ LF-45

NPE

PAE

In addition, the EPA does not expect significant adverse

PAE = Primary Alcohol Ethoxylate
environmental effects during the uses stated in the PMN NPE = Nonylphenol Ethoxylate
TDAE = Tridecyl Alcohol Ethoxylate
submission. These uses included formulation at less than
1% in industrial, commercial and consumer architectural
coatings. TSCA 12(b) export notification is not needed when
this substance is present in mixtures less than 1%.
3
 ECOSURF™ LF
Specialty Surfactants

Application Performance
Paints & Coatings Performance
ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants can provide excellent pigment wetting, dispersant, ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants further enhance low foam
improved color acceptance and improved flow in paint and coating performance during pigment dispersion through cloud point
formulations. Figure 6 illustrates rub up color acceptance for a defoaming. As shown in Figure 7, when vials of surfactants in
blend of phthalo blue and yellow oxide universal colorant. a solution of  TAMOL™ 731A dispersant were shaken and
photographed to measure foam height, ECOSURF™ LF-30
Delta E shows the color difference between the rubbed area and
had low initial foam after shaking and even lower foam above
Drawdown.  (Lower numbers indicate improved color acceptance.)
its cloud point.
ECOSURF™ LF surfactants give color acceptance that is similar or
improved as compared to the Alkylphenol Ethoxylate (APEO) low Hard Surface Cleaning Comparison
foam surfactant. ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants compare favorably to APEO-based
ECOSURF™ LF Surfactants effectively minimize foam during low foam surfactants as well as other surfactant materials as
pigment addition and dispersion. When matched with the correct shown in Figure 8.

Figure 6 – Color Acceptance of Low Figure 7– Surfactant Foam Test Figure 8 – Hard Surface Cleaning Comparison
Foam Surfactants 100
95

% Cleaned
1.5
90
20° C
Delta E

1.0
85
0.5
80

ECOSURF™ LF-20

ECOSURF™ LF-30

ECOSURF™ LF-45

APEO Based Low

Foam Surfactant

LAE

Alkoxylated
Linear Alcohol

Chlorine Capped LAE

0
No Surfactant

Acetylenic Diol/APEO

APEO Low Foam

Surfactant

ECOSURF™ LF-20

ECOSURF™ LF-45

ECOSURF™ LF-30

40° C
Surfactant
Surfactant
No Surfactant

APEO Low
Foam Surfactant

ECOSURF™ LF-30

Alcohol Ethoxylate E08

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and may change with time, Customer is responsible for determining whether products and the information in this document are appropriate for Customer’s use and for ensuring that
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Published August 2012

ECOSURF™ Surfactants are marketed under the TERGITOL™ brand in Canada and Japan
Printed in U.S.A. ®™
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow Form No. 119-02272-0812 AMS