Energy Industry Analysis and Market Trends

Surfactants are generally known as surface active agents. Natural surfactants are directly taken from a natural source, which can be either plant or animal. They are obtained through some kind of natural separation methods such as extraction, precipitation, or distillation. Processing of natural surfactants does not include any organic synthesis, not even after treatment. Examples of natural surfactants include surfactants produced from bacteria and yeast, surfactants based on either sugar or amino acid as polar head group, and surfactants based on either fatty acid or sterol as hydrophobic tail. Natural surfactants produced though the methods mentioned above are well characterized and offer performance similar to that of conventional surfactants. The cost of biotechnologically produced surfactants is high due to the relatively low yield in fermentation and cumbersome work-up procedures. Surfactants based on either natural polar head group or natural hydrophobic tail exhibit...