Quaternized fatty acid triethanolamine esters or esterquats are cationic surfactants, nowadays preferred over the traditional quats because of their excellent biodegradability. The uniqueness of the esterquats molecule is due to the presence of at least one ester group between the long hydrocarbon chain and triethanolamine hydroxyl group (Figure 1). This ester linkage is easy to hydrolyse to give fatty acids and short chain quats. The palm-based esterquats developed by MPOB were readily biodegradable, reaching the 60% pass level in only three to four days. The biodegradability of palm-based esterquats is comparable to that of tallow-based commercial esterquats (Figure 2). Moreover, palm-based esterquats, derived from a vegetable and a renewable-based feedstock are more acceptable to many people than an animal-based raw material.

Main Research: Haliza Abd Aziz