Alpha sulphonated methyl ester (SME) or commonly known to the industry as methyl ester sulphonates (MES), is an oleochemical-based surfactant that can be obtained by direct suphonation of palm methyl esters. Palm SME can be used to formulate detergent and cleaning products as an active ingredient. Thorough and dedicated research were conducted in order to study the performance of detergents formulated with SME and also to overcome some of the negative properties such as its rate of hydrolysis which is pH dependent and the effect of disalts in detergency. The research team has formulated three types of laundry detergents being powder, liquid and tablet.

Main Research: Zulina Abd Maurad