PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING SURFACTANTS AND LUBRICANTS

• Main Authors: HOOK, Bruce D, YU, Wanglin, RAGHURAMAN, Arjun, WILSON, David R, HEATH, William H, MUKHOPADHYAY, Sukrit, SPINNEY, Heather A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 24.04.2024
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONSONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS; METALLURGY; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP

A method of producing an alcohol ethoxylate surfactant or lubricant, the method including reacting a low molecular weight initiator with ethylene oxide in the presence of a polymerization catalyst, the low molecular weight initiator having a nominal hydroxyl functionality at least 1, and the polymerization catalyst being a Lewis acid catalyst having the general formula M(R1)I(R2)I(R3)I(R4)0 or 1, whereas M is boron, aluminum, indium, bismuth or erbium, R1, R2, R3, and R4 are each independent, R1 includes a first fluoroalkyl-substituted phenyl group, R2 includes a second fluoroalkyl-substituted phenyl group or a first fluoro/chloro-substituted phenyl group, R3 includes a third fluoroalkyl-substituted phenyl group or a second fluoro/chloro-substituted phenyl group, and optional R4 includes a functional group or functional polymer group, R1 being different from at least one of R2 and R3. The method further including forming an alcohol ethoxylate surfactant or lubricant having a number average molecular weight of greater than the number average molecular weight of the low molecular weight initiator in the presence of the Lewis acid catalyst.