Sustainable Production of Surfactants from Renewable Resources

Surfactants are important chemical products, serving as emulsifiers and interfacial modifiers in the household detergents, personal care products, paints and coatings, foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals industries. This review focuses upon recent advances in research and development to improve the ecological sustainability of surfactants throughout their life cycle, including derivation from renewable resources,production using green manufacturing principles, and improved biocompatibility and biodegradability during their consumer use and disposal stages. Biobased surfactants, derived from vegetable oils, polysaccharides,proteins, phospholipids, and other renewable resources, currently comprise approximately 24% of the surfactant market, and this percentage is expected to increase, especially in Asia. The use of renewables is attractive to consumers because of reduced production of CO2, a greenhouse gas associated with climate change. Enzymes can greatly increase process sustainability, through reduced use of organic solvent, water,and energy, and reduced formation of by-products and waste products. Among the enzymes being investigated for surfactant synthesis, lipases are the most robust, due to their relatively high biocatalytic activity, operational stability and their ability to form or cleave ester, amide, and thioester bonds. For enzymes to be robust catalysts of surfactants, further research and development is needed to improve catalytic productivity, stability and reduce their purchase cost.