Talk:Surfactant

message: What about surfactants in the lungs? Huh?
:I believe lung surfactants are long-chain saturated phospholipids with melting points of around 42 celsius, but it would be helpful if the article contained some information about this... --Giftiger wunsch (talk) 16:32, 21 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: In the lungs?

message: I think it would be helpful if someone explained surfactants with a diagram. I feel that this article is really lacking without a picture, so someone please add one...
It would also be helpful if it explained how surfactants can remove oil and dirt.
Umm.. looks just fine to me.  If you need it dumbed down, try looking up some of the terms you are having trouble with.  Like "chemistry" and/or "ionic interactions".
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what else?
Is ethylene oxide a surfactant? EtO has only 2 carbons, a very short chain and don't seems to be hydrofobic. What's source?
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The article doesn't say ethylene oxide it says alkyl poly(ethylene oxide)... Maybe the article was changed to reflect this but alkyl poly(ethylene oxide) is a surfactant.
alkyl is a long chain hydrocarbon [-CH2-CH2-] and therefore hydrophobic
polyethylene oxide is [-CH2-CH2-O-] and therefore hydrophilic
:The above is an unnecessary and snarky comment.  When people like myself visit these pages, it's because we want to LEARN something.  I do NOT want to take yet another college course just to understand what a 'surfactant' is.  That is PRECISELY what encyclopedia articles are supposed to be for.  I grew up reading the World Book.  I could open it to any article or page and have it make sense to me.  Sure, there was always further reading to be done ... but it was optional.  This is a terrible article, as most are here at WP these days.  They are poorly worded and full of jargon - for no particular reason, except for the author's ego I'm guessing.  WP hasn't been of any real use to me in the last 4 or 5 years because of this, and yeah - I'm an engineer.  If I come here and read an article and just get more confused, then the article has failed to do its job.  I would strongly recommend that WP employ some professional editors to turn these word salads into something usable.  Cheers.  73.6.96.168 (talk) 00:10, 17 November 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Needs detergents 

message: Emulsifier goes to Emulsion, where it is treated as interchangeable with Surfactant.  This is a little confusing.  Should Emulsifier be separated, then combined with Surfactant? ENeville 23:18, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Emulsifier/Surfactant

message: Good article. Can somebody add some references?EAS 06:36, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  References 

message: Cocoyl TEA exists as a stable substance? If so, it should be listed as cationic, not nonionic. 216.179.3.141 18:12, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  A '''tri''' ethanolamide? 

message: Shouldn't this article be moved to Surface active agent, since 'surfactant' is really an abbreviation for the that? FerralMoonrender (MyTalk • MyContribs • EmailMe) 03:54, 29 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Sounds good to me. -Shootbamboo (talk) 23:13, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I disagree. Surfactant is now just another English noun (it appears in dictionaries) and is used way more often than "surface active agent". For similar examples of abbreviations or acronyms that evolved into normal English words, consider laser, radar, sonar, scuba... --Itub (talk) 15:34, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Good point. -Shootbamboo (talk) 02:34, 7 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Article Title

message: The last paragraph in the properties section launches into talk about using surfactants in agriculture rather abruptly.  It appears like it's just an orphaned idea in the wrong section. Funtaff (talk) 20:32, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree. I was just about to comment on that when I noticed your comment. It should be either removed or given a separate title. --Giftiger wunsch (talk) 16:28, 21 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Properties

message: Concering classification I think it is not neccesarily to have an exhausive list of all kinds of derivatives. Ito should be enough to describe anionic, non-ionic and cationic. Also HLB-value and other relevant parameters shuld be defined.  Langbein Rise (talk) 06:54, 29 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Classification 

message: The first paragraph has confused me.  The statement is made dividing surfactants into three categories: detergents, wetting agents, and emulsifiers.  There does not appear to be more information about the differences.  Also, wetting agent just links back to surfactant.  This doesn't make sense to me.
Thanks,
12.129.98.129 (talk) 14:41, 6 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  "detergent, wetting agent, or emulsifier" needs more. 

message: I recently purchased an allegedly "green"/"natural" shampoo for $5 (too good to be true, eh!) from a brand called Live Clean. I noticed it claims to be SLS-free, but it has one puzzling ingredient on the back: "sodium methyl 2-sulfolaurate/Disodium 2-sulfolaurate/sodium lauryl sulfoacetate." Now I'm an amateur when it comes to chemistry, but it sounds like they're misleading when they say it's SLS-free. Or is sulofacetate really different from sulfate? I ask here because I believe it would be worth mentioning in the article. --SweetNightmares (awaken) 06:05, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm not sure how much of the popular avoidance of "SLS" is based on any sort of research based chemistry or medicine, but from what I've seen the focus seems to be on avoiding specifically the sulfate "SLS" substances, in particular Sodium lauryl sulfate. Hence the switch to more exotic variants as you found in your shampoo. As to whether these alternatives are "milder" or otherwise preferrable for each specific application, I don't think solid research is available. But since some consumers prefer "SLS-free" products, the market delivers. "Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate" is chemically different from Sodium lauryl sulfate though, no doubt about that. But as to how different their properties are, you may want to ask at the Reference desk. Siawase (talk) 09:49, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ingredient in my "SLS-free" shampoo 

message: I propose merging biosurfactant into the main surfactant article. It is a stub that doesn't do well on its own, also it should be expanded to address the surfactant found in lungs Quickone (talk) 10:54, 23 July 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merger with Biosurfactant 

message: I have been doing some reference work on glyphosate formulations for purposes of evaluating commercial products for aquatic application. There is an annoying (to my mind disgraceful) tendency to withhold information on so-called inert ingredients. Notoriously in the case of glyphosate products, the active ingredient is less toxic to non-target organisms than the inert ingredients such as surfactants. One such is referred to as MONO 818 or MONO818. Articles (especially non-technical) generally refer grandly to it as the surfactant, and some ominously speak of its toxicity, but that is all hand-waving. I found one that refers to it as NOT being POEA and being one of Monsanto's standard glyphosate nonionic surfactants, which was the first helpful remark in a long google search. I would like to have either a stub on MONO 818, or some mention of its nature and function in the surfactants article, if only authoritative remarks on its generic nature, to assist anyone else searching in WP. Thanks for any info (or for helpful updates or redirs. JonRichfield (talk) 15:52, 1 August 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Henkel (an oil-seed company at heart) supplies "Lorol 818", which according to Ullmann's Encyclopedia contains a "wide range of C8 – C18 alcohols."  BTW, if you search for toxicity, you risk finding alarming prose written by scientifically illiterates.  Much of the tox information requires some sophistication to interpret.  Some surfactants can be bad for aquatic life, such as those produced by ethoxylation.  --Smokefoot (talk) 17:22, 1 August 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Any info MONO 818 ? 

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