Analysis of surfactant mixtures. I

Summary Some data on the use of 93% phosphoric acid as a reagent for recovering the hydrophobic portion of surfactants are presented, and their application to the analysis of surfactant mixtures is discussed. Aromatic sulfonates, straight-chain alkyl sulfates, fatty acid amides, and fatty acid esters decomposed to give good yields of the starting hydrophobic materials. Dioctylsulfosuccinate gave a mixture of octyl alcohols and olefins while the ethylene oxide condensates of lauryl alcohol, tridecyl alcohol, and tertiary dodecyl mercaptan gave olefins derived from the starting hydrophobic materials. Diisobutylene phenol-ethylene oxide condensate decomposed to olefins, conjugated olefins, and alcohols formed by rupture of the aromatic ring. The products are characteristic of the hydrophobic oils, and in most cases products from mixtures of surfactants can be separated by known analytical methods.Alpha-sulfo fatty acids or alkane sulfonates do not give recoverable oils by this treatment.