Surfactants from fatty esters of polyalkoxylated polyol glycosides

The glycoside raw materials used to prepare the surfactants were mixtures produced directly from low cost starch and the polyols by transglycosidation. After alkoxylation with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, the glycosides were transesterified by the methyl esters of various fatty acids to yield the final products. Monolaurates of the polyalkoxylated glycosides containing a combination of 8 mol ethylene oxide and 4 mol propylene oxide per mole of glycoside showed detergency in an alkaline formulation comparable to two commercial detergents. An advantage in this application is the potential for complete biodegradation because of the fatty ester carbohydrate structures. The two monolaurates of glycerol glycoside polyethers containing 4.8 and 8 mol propylene oxide, in particular, produced oil-inwater emulsions of high stability. ARS, USDA.