Sulfosuccinates

What sulfosuccinates are

Sulfosuccinates are mild anionic surfactants: monoester or diester salts of sulfosuccinic acid, most often as sodium salts. They wet strongly, emulsify, foam and reduce surface tension at relatively low CMC. Dyna Glycols manufactures dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS / docusate sodium) and related di-alkyl and laureth sulfosuccinates to agreed active content, solvent and pH.

DOSS is a wetting and emulsifying diester used in coatings, inks, adhesives, fire-fighting foam, agro and, where the brief allows, selected food and pharma-adjacent wetting. It is not a drop-in for SLES in a shampoo. Laureth sulfosuccinate is the milder wash-product grade.

How Dyna Glycols manufactures sulfosuccinates

Maleic esterification of the named alcohol, followed by sulfonation and conversion to the sodium salt, is finished to the active and solvent window on the TDS (water, ethanol or propylene glycol cuts such as DOSS 70, 70 E, 70 PG, 75 E, 75 PG). QA follows active content, pH, colour and appearance.

Natural-alcohol dioctyl grades and custom fatty-alcohol or ethoxylated-alcohol sulfosuccinates are quoted when a catalogue diester is close but not exact.

Typical grades in this range

Name diester vs monoester, the alcohol, active content and solvent.

• Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS) 50–70% and DOSS 70 / 70 E / 70 PG / 75 E / 75 PG
• Di-sodium octyl sulfosuccinate 50–70%
• Dilauryl sodium sulfosuccinate 50–70%; diamyl 40–50%
• Disodium laureth-3 sulfosuccinate ~40%
• Di-octyl (natural alcohol), di-isotridecyl (~70%) and di-2-propylheptyl (~60%) sodium sulfosuccinates
• Other fatty-alcohol and ethoxylated-alcohol sulfosuccinates to order

Where sulfosuccinates are used

Coatings, pigment concentrates, inks and adhesives use DOSS as a wetting and dispersing aid so grind viscosity stays low. Textile, leather and paper wetting, agro EC and fire-fighting foam use selected diesters.

Personal-care and baby wash use laureth sulfosuccinate as a mild co-surfactant. Do not assume a 70% DOSS in PG is acceptable in a leave-on cosmetic without the INCI and residual-solvent brief.

Pharma-adjacent docusate and food-wetting uses need the documentation path stated on the enquiry. An industrial DOSS lot is not automatically that pack.

How to specify sulfosuccinates

Send diester vs monoester, alcohol, % active, solvent (water, ethanol, PG), pH and the application. For DOSS, say whether 70 or 75 and E vs PG. Share electrolyte and the oil or binder if used as a wetter.

If matching a competitor Aerosol OT-type grade, attach active, solvent and viscosity from that TDS.

Quality, documents and supply

Lots are released against active content, pH, solvent identity, colour and appearance. SDS and COA follow verification. Wetting (Draves or equivalent) should be confirmed in the customer system.

Keep containers closed. Ethanol cuts are flammable — follow the SDS and transport class. Protect from frost where water is the solvent.

Practical notes on sulfosuccinates

Hard-water tolerance and lime-soap dispersion of sulfosuccinates are generally good, which is why they appear in pigment and agro wetting. They are still anionics: cationics will crash them.

Related pages: sulphates and sulfonates, phosphate esters, paints, adhesives, personal care. Sample with the non-ionic partner if the grind uses a mixed surfactant system.

Natural-alcohol dioctyl is offered where a synthetic 2-ethylhexanol diester is being replaced. Run a paired wetting trial; spreading and odour can move.

Laureth-3 sulfosuccinate is a wash-foam co-surfactant, not a coatings wetter. Order by duty.

Active content on the COA is the identity test. Freeze 70 vs 75 and the solvent once a trial lot is approved.

English is the source language for active-content and solvent claims.

Ordering and evaluating sulfosuccinates

Dyna Glycols supports sulfosuccinates with laboratory samples, current SDS, TDS and COA from the Kandla SEZ manufacturing network. Tell us the intended application, the substrate, the required moles or molecular weight, and any limits on colour, odour, cloud point, hydroxyl value, pH or residual feedstock. A matching catalogue grade of sulfosuccinates in the Sulfosuccinates family can then be confirmed, or a custom batch can be planned on the ethoxylation, esterification or related plant.

When you evaluate sulfosuccinates, send the competitor grade if one exists, the bath or emulsion conditions, and the tests your receiving laboratory will run. Pack options for sulfosuccinates typically include drums, IBCs and bulk where the viscosity and melting point of the selected grade allow safe handling from the Sulfosuccinates manufacturing line.

A first order of sulfosuccinates is easier when the purchase specification lists identity tests, not only a local trade name. Hydroxyl value, saponification value, acid value, cloud point, pH, water, colour and appearance are the numbers the Kandla QA laboratory can lock. If your QC uses a different solvent or a different cloud-point electrolyte for sulfosuccinates, write that method on the order so the COA speaks the same language.

Custom lots of sulfosuccinates are quoted after the hydrophobe or acid/alcohol pair, the target analytical window, the annual volume and the pack. Pilot batches are available when a catalogue point in the Sulfosuccinates range is close but not exact. Once a trial lot is approved, that TDS should be frozen so the tenth delivery of sulfosuccinates matches the first approved drum.

Storage of sulfosuccinates should follow the SDS: keep containers closed, protect hygroscopic grades from moisture, and warm high-melt or high-mole grades until uniform before sampling. FIFO rotation protects colour and odour. If a drum of sulfosuccinates has frozen or separated in transit, homogenise it before charging a batch; do not decant only the liquid layer.

Application advice for sulfosuccinates is given against the process you describe, not as a universal recipe. Share machine type, temperature, pH, electrolytes, fibre or hide type, and any ban on APEO, formaldehyde or food-contact lists. Dyna Glycols can then sample sulfosuccinates alone or as a pair with a sister grade from the same Sulfosuccinates family so compatibility is checked in one evaluation.

Documentation for sulfosuccinates is issued after a short verification of the company and the exact grade name. SDS covers handling; TDS covers typical properties; COA covers the shipping lot. If a customer audit needs extra tests on sulfosuccinates (for example residual feedstock, peroxide, formaldehyde or a pharmacopoeia-style identity), list those tests at the enquiry stage so they are built into release rather than added after dispatch.

Export packing and labelling of sulfosuccinates follow the transport class on the SDS. Regular industrial shipments from the Indian manufacturing network can be scheduled once the grade is approved. For development quantities of sulfosuccinates, laboratory samples are the correct first step; they let wetting, emulsification, retanning, finishing or textile handle be proven in your own equipment before a bulk campaign is booked on the Sulfosuccinates plant.