Nonylphenol Ethoxylates and Octylphenol Ethoxylates Testing

APEO is short for alkylphenol ethoxylates, which are the main representatives of non - ionic surfactants currently in wide use. APEO are synthesized by condensing ethylene oxide dropwise with alkylphenol as the starting material and KOH as the catalyst under certain pressure and temperature. Alkylphenol ethoxylates are a general term for a large class of products. Due to the differences in the length of the alkyl group and the number of ethylene oxide additions, they form a family of non - ionic surfactants with different surface - active properties. Among the APEO family, nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEO) are the most widely used, accounting for more than 80% of APEO, followed by octylphenol ethoxylates (OPEO), accounting for more than 15%. Some other alkylphenol ethoxylates are less used due to their special applications.

APEO have good wetting, penetrating, emulsifying, dispersing, solubilizing, and washing properties, and are widely used in the processing or manufacturing of products in industries such as detergents, personal care products, textiles, papermaking, petroleum, metallurgy, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, printing, synthetic rubber, synthetic resins, plastics, and even food. Their main applications are in washing products and textile auxiliaries. The ecological impacts of APEO can be summarized into four aspects: toxicity, biodegradability, environmental hormone effects, and the generation of harmful by products during the production process.