Biodegradable Ester-Amide Fabric Softeners

Abstract

Surfactants form a group of chemicals with considerable environmental importance due to their high volume consumption and widespread use as essential ingredients in most laundry and cleaning products. Since the major part of the biosphere is aerobic, so it is necessary that the surfactant must be biodegradable. Therefore, it is desirable to design new softener molecules, which will both perform in the washing machine or dryer and biodegrade better than current softeners once released to the waste streams. The present paper reviews the synthesis, properties and applications of biodegradable ester-amide fabric softeners. © 2006, Japan Oil Chemists' Society. All rights reserved.