Industrial Products

The textile industry has an ongoing demand for surfactant chemistries for applications throughout the textile production process. Stepan’s technical knowledge of textile and fiber chemistry makes us ideally positioned to supply the chemical ingredients used in the textile and fiber industry.

Commonly used surfactants for textile production:

• MAKON® 17R2 is a nonionic reverse EO/PO block copolymer that exhibits fast-breaking, low-foaming and defoaming properties.
• BIO-SOFT® D-40 is a sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate that provides excellent detergency, foaming, wetting and emulsification properties. 
• AMMONYX® LO is a lauramine oxide that offers foaming, viscosity building, emulsification and lubrication in textile applications. 

Stepan’s extensive range of chemistries make us an ideal ingredient supplier for the metalworking fluids market. Stepan’s ZELEC® and MERPOL® product lines have long provided solutions for our customers working with applications such as mold releasing agents, lubricants and emulsifiers. Stepan also offers a wide range of nonionic surfactants that can be used as cutting oils, metalworking cleaners and burnishing compounds.

Commonly used surfactants for metalworking:

• ZELEC UN is a phosphate ester that is an effective antistat and mold release agent for metal working and textile applications.
• MERPOL A is a polyethylene glycol phosphate ester that offers low foam, wetting and emulsification.
• NINOL® 11-CM is a cocoamide DEA that provides high detergency, moderate foam, excellent wetting, thickening properties and excellent lubricity.

Stepan supplies specific surfactant chemistries such as sulfates and sulfonates that are excellent foamers and are commonly used in Class A fire-fighting foams.

Commonly used surfactants for firefighting foam:

• BIO-TERGE® AS-40 is a sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate that provides excellent viscosity, foam characteristics and mildness.
• STEOL® CA-460 is an ammonium laureth sulfate that provides excellent foaming and foam stability properties for industrial foaming applications.
• ALPHA FOAMER® is an ammonium alkyl ether sulfate that functions as a foaming agent for firefighting foam applications.

Stepan Company started its legacy by selling calcium chloride to control dust on Illinois roads. Dust particles can be very difficult to settle and may have a negative impact on health. That is why Stepan’s surfactants are used to control dust in tunneling, quarries and mining.

Commonly used surfactants for dust control:

• BIO-TERGE AS-40 is a sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate that provides excellent viscosity, foam characteristics and mildness for dust control applications.
• BIO-SOFT D-40 is a sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate that provides excellent detergency, foaming, wetting and emulsification properties.