Surfactants are widely used in household and industrial cleaning detergents, personal care and pharmaceuticals products. Due to their extensive usage, surfactants can be a possible toxicant when large quantity enters the environment via river and wastewaters. Therefore, it is important for all new surfactants to have product safety datasheet, which includes the environmental protection parameters, i.e. biodegradation and ecotoxicity. Some surfactants are poorly soluble in water and they are also discharged into the waterways just like other soluble surfactants. This means the ecotoxicological behaviour (biodegradability and ecotoxicity) of poorly water-soluble substances should be assessed and have the same product safety datasheet as soluble surfactants.

Main Researcher: Siti Afida Ishak
Email: siti.afida@mpob.gov.my