Sodium myreth sulfate is a mixture of organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

s with both detergent

Detergent

A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with "cleaning properties in dilute solutions." In common usage, "detergent" refers to alkylbenzenesulfonates, a family of compounds that are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water...

 and surfactant

Surfactant

Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension of a liquid, the interfacial tension between two liquids, or that between a liquid and a solid...

 properties. It is found in many personal care products such as soap

Soap

In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...

s, shampoo

Shampoo

Shampoo is a hair care product used for the removal of oils, dirt, skin particles, dandruff, environmental pollutants and other contaminant particles that gradually build up in hair...

s, and toothpaste

Toothpaste

Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush as an accessory to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it serves as an abrasive that aids in removing the dental plaque and food from the teeth, assists in suppressing...

. It is an inexpensive and effective foaming agent

Foaming agent

A foaming agent is a surfactant, which when present in small amounts, facilitates the formation of a foam, or enhances its colloidal stability by inhibiting the coalescence of bubbles....

. Typical of many detergents, sodium myreth sulfate consists of several closely related compounds. Sometimes the number of ethylene glycol

Ethylene glycol

Ethylene glycol is an organic compound widely used as an automotive antifreeze and a precursor to polymers. In its pure form, it is an odorless, colorless, syrupy, sweet-tasting liquid...

 ether units (n) is specified in the name as myreth-n sulfate, for example myreth-2 sulfate.

Production

Sodium myreth sulfate is very similar to sodium laureth sulfate

Sodium laureth sulfate

Sodium laureth sulfate, or sodium lauryl ether sulfate , is a detergent and surfactant found in many personal care products . SLES is an inexpensive and very effective foaming agent. SLES, SLS and ALS are surfactants that are used in many cosmetic products for their cleansing and emulsifying...

; the only difference is two more carbons in the fatty alcohol

Fatty alcohol

Fatty alcohols are aliphatic alcohols consisting of a chain of 8 to 22 carbon atoms. Fatty alcohols usually have even number of carbon atoms and a single alcohol group attached to the terminal carbon. Some are unsaturated and some are branched...

 portion of the hydrophobic tail. It is manufactured by ethoxylation

Ethoxylation

Ethoxylation is an industrial process in which ethylene oxide is added to alcohols and phenols to give surfactants. The invention of the process is attributed to Schöller and Wittwer at I.G. Farben industrie.-Production:...

 (hence the "eth" in "myreth") of myristyl alcohol. Subsequently, the terminal OH group is converted to the sulfate by treatment with chlorosulfuric acid

Chlorosulfuric acid

Chlorosulfuric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula HSO3Cl. It is also known as chlorosulfonic acid. It is a distillable, colorless liquid that should be handled with care. It is a hygroscopic and a powerful lachrymator.-Structure and properties:Chlorosulfuric acid is a tetrahedral...

.

Safety

Like other ethoxylates, sodium myreth sulfate may become contaminated with 1,4-dioxane

1,4-Dioxane

1,4-Dioxane, often called dioxane because the other isomers of dioxane are rare, is a heterocyclic organic compound. It is a colorless liquid with a faint sweet odor similar to that of diethyl ether. It is classified as an ether. This colorless liquid is mainly used as a stabilizer for the solvent...

 during production, which is considered to be a Group 2B suspect carcinogen by the IARC.

External links

• Household product database at NIH web site.