Surfactant Supplier (USA): Anionic, Amphoteric and Nonionic Grades from US Stock

The same CAS number covers a 27-28% activity and a 59-61% solids sodium laureth sulfate, so a price per pound means little until the content basis, the pH basis and the pack sit on the same line of both quotes. Compare any surfactant supplier’s quotes on those three terms.

Stocked surfactant grades

Quote by RS code so the grade is unambiguous; the last column opens its TDS and its quote form.

Typical values from each grade’s TDS; the certificate of analysis (COA) for the lot governs. Packaging as listed on each TDS (55-gallon drum, 275-gallon IBC tote, bulk). “Request quote” opens the product page’s quote form for that grade.

Anionic surfactants: SLES, SLS, ALS, ALES, sulfosuccinate and potassium cocoate

Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES, CAS 68891-38-3) is stocked in three strengths: RS-SLES_30 at 27-28% and RS-SLES_56 at 54-57% activity, and RS-SLES_60 at 59-61% solids with 13-15% free alcohol.

The RS-SLES_60 solids figure, measured at 160 °C, includes unsulfated matter (0-3%) and sodium sulfate (0-0.5%), so its activity can sit a few points lower. That test can also drive off some or all of the 13-15% free alcohol, depending on which alcohol it is; ask for its identity (section 3 of the safety data sheet, or SDS), flash point, VOC basis and activity before comparing grades.

Water is freight. At the midpoint of each range, 1 lb of active arrives in about 3.6 lb of RS-SLES_30 and 1.8 lb of RS-SLES_56, and 1 lb of solids in about 1.7 lb of RS-SLES_60: 1 ÷ 0.275, 1 ÷ 0.555 and 1 ÷ 0.60. Price each grade per pound of active, delivered.

Concentrates also change the dilution step. In a 2022 J. Phys. Chem. B study of a commercial ether sulfate paste (average 1 EO, 25 °C), solutions were micellar at 6.9-20.1 wt%, hexagonal and very viscous at 28.0-52.1 wt%, and lamellar at 59.9-70 wt%; a 58.6 wt% sample was too viscous to measure at low shear (Hendrikse, Bayly and Jimack, 2022).

The boundaries move with the EO number, so treat them as indicative. Without a stirred make-up tank, the 27-28% grade costs more in freight and less in handling.

On the SLES purchase order, name the content basis and its test method, the pH and its dilution (10% for all three grades), and, for personal-care or household-cleaning products, a 1,4-dioxane maximum worked back from your finished-product limit. ALES, also an ether sulfate, takes the same line. New York’s limits apply to the finished product, so ask for a lot 1,4-dioxane result on RS-DLSS_40 and RS-AE_91-6, the other ethoxylate-based grades, too.

Dioxane forms as a by-product when ethoxylates are sulfated: AICIS notes trace amounts in commercial ether sulfates, and HERA’s 2003 AES risk assessment (Human and Environmental Risk Assessment) reported 500 ppm on actives in the 1980s and typically 30-200 ppm under in-plant control.

State that maximum with its basis, as supplied or on actives. HERA’s figures are on actives, so an illustrative 100 ppm on actives is about 28 ppm in RS-SLES_30 as supplied (100 × 0.275, at the midpoint activity), less again once diluted into your product.

New York‘s 1 ppm limit for household cleansing and personal care products has applied since December 31, 2023, and its 10 ppm cosmetics limit since December 31, 2022, with no waiver past December 30, 2025. The household rule excludes cleansing products used primarily in industrial manufacturing. NYSDEC states that an SDS or a no-1,4-dioxane attestation letter does not on its own prove compliance, so keep the dated lot test.

EPA’s November 2024 revised TSCA risk determination (89 FR 89993) found that 1,4-dioxane presents unreasonable risk to human health, including through drinking water contaminated by down-the-drain disposal of products that contain it as a by-product. In a March 19, 2026 notice on drinking-water contaminants (91 FR 13235), EPA said it is administratively reconsidering that determination and the 2020 evaluation, focused on the cancer risk analysis; no TSCA section 6(a) proposed rule had appeared in the Federal Register as of 2026-10-16.

Ether sulfates hydrolyze under acid conditions, and the hydrogen sulfate that hydrolysis releases speeds further hydrolysis, so they are sold above pH 7, according to a 2015 patent (US patent 9,109,152). The three SLES grades run 6.5-8.5 to 7.0-9.0 in 10% solution, so RS-SLES_30 can sit just under 7; check the lot pH on the COA before long storage.

An ether sulfate inherits the distribution of the ethoxylate it was made from. HERA’s example distributions for base-catalyzed ethoxylates show 42.9% unethoxylated alcohol remaining at an average of 1.0 EO, 23.5% at 2.1 EO and 13.1% at 3.1 EO, and HERA notes that AES made from them carries a comparable amount of alcohol sulfate. Ask for the EO average on the COA when the ratio of ether sulfate to alkyl sulfate matters to your formula.

SLES (CAS 68891-38-3) is ACTIVE on the EPA TSCA Inventory, July 2026 file, flagged FRI and XU (exempt from Chemical Data Reporting, 40 CFR 711).

Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS, RS-SLS_30, PubChem CID 3423265) is the sulfate made without ethoxylation, at 28-30% solids with unsulfated matter at 1.5% maximum and sodium chloride at 0.5% maximum. The ammonium salts run lower in pH in 10% solution: 6.0-7.0 for ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS, RS-ALS_30, 27-29% solids, viscosity 3,000 cps maximum) and 6.0-8.0 for ammonium laureth sulfate (ALES, RS-ALES_60, 58-60% activity).

ALES is the one anionic grade regulated for US DOT transport; take its shipping description from the SDS. Disodium laureth sulfosuccinate (DLSS, RS-DLSS_40) runs 38-40% solids with a viscosity of 0-200 cPs; put both on the PO if your mixing depends on it. Potassium cocoate (RS-KCOCO_40) is a soap at pH 10.5-11.0 in 5% solution, the most alkaline of the anionic grades, so specify the pH basis with the solids.

SLS, ALS, DLSS and potassium cocoate are specified by solids; ask for activity before comparing them with activity-based quotes.

Amphoteric surfactants: CAPB, hydroxysultaine and lauramine oxide

Cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB, CAS 61789-40-0) is bought on activity. The 2012 CIR safety assessment defines cosmetic-grade activity as what remains once water (62-66%) and sodium chloride (4.6-5.6%) are accounted for, with 30% the typical raw-material activity.

The two 30% grades match on activity, salt and pH; RS-CAPB_30-H adds a color limit (below 1.5 Gardner) and RS-CAPB_30-P a free-amine limit (0-0.5%), so put both limits on the PO if your specification needs them.

On RS-CAPB_30-H, non-volatile content runs 34.00-37.00% against 28.8-31.8% activity, and the gap is mostly salt. CIR also notes that grades above 30% may contain solvents such as propylene glycol.

For personal care, set amidoamine and DMAPA limits and ask for both on the COA: the 2012 CIR assessment reports residual amidoamine at 0.3-3.0% and DMAPA at 0.0003-0.02% in commercial CAPB, varying by manufacturer, and identifies both as known sensitizers.

The same basis question applies to cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine (CAHS). RS-CAHS_45 runs 42.00-45.00% active, 49.00-51.00% non-volatile and 5.5-7.0% sodium chloride; RS-CAHS_50 is specified on solids only, at 48-51% with 6-7% sodium chloride. Ask RS-CAHS_50 for its activity before you choose. Lauramine oxide (LAO, RS-LAO_30, PubChem CID 15433) runs 29-31% amine oxide, with free amine at 1.0% maximum and residual peroxide at 0.25% maximum; carry those two maxima onto the PO.

A betaine’s charge depends on pH only at the acid end: HERA’s 2005 CAPB assessment describes a cationic character that dominates at very low pH and no anionic behavior in alkaline media, unlike true amphoterics. If the formula is strongly acidic, give its pH when you ask for compatibility data.

Nonionic surfactants: C9-11 Pareth-6, polysorbates, sorbitan esters and glucosides

The nonionic grade is a C9-11 alcohol ethoxylate, INCI C9-11 Pareth-6 (RS-AE_91-6, CAS 68439-46-3), at 100% active with a cloud point of 47-58 °C, a hydroxyl number of 116-139 mg KOH/g and moisture at 0.3% maximum. When you switch ethoxylates, match the hydroxyl number and cloud point, and confirm the cloud-point test method, since both move with the EO average. Ask for the EO average and free alcohol on the COA.

Polysorbates 20 to 85, sorbitan esters and alkyl glucosides are catalog products, not grades in the stocked table; quote them from their product pages below.

Polysorbates oxidize in storage. A 2023 review describes a radical chain reaction started by light, heat, metal traces or residual peroxides and fed by oxygen; the short-chain acids it forms can shift pH (Int. J. Pharm. X, 2023). Ask for the peroxide value on the COA; to choose among 20, 60 and 80, see the polysorbate 80 vs 20 vs 60 comparison.

To pair a sorbitan ester with a polysorbate for a target emulsion, see the HLB system and emulsifier selection guide. For food-processing defoamers, 21 CFR 173.340 lists sorbitan monostearate, polysorbate 60 and polysorbate 65 among permitted components; ask for the grade that meets it.

Coco glucoside cut the surfactant level needed to lift silicone in a 2025 artificial-skin study. Mixed 1:3 with coco glucoside, SLES or DLSS detached dimethicone drops at 1 wt% total surfactant; a 3:1 DLSS blend needed 3 wt% to bring the interfacial tension below 5 mN/m, against 5 wt% for DLSS alone (Molecules, 2025). For glucoside cleansing bases, see sulfate-free and mild glucoside surfactant bases.

Alkanolamides: which cocamide DEA grade fits your formula?

Cocamide DEA (CDEA) comes in two grades for institutional and industrial cleaning formulations, set apart by free amine (as DEA): 8% maximum for RS-CDEA_11 and 28% maximum for RS-CDEA_21.

Cocamide DEA and diethanolamine are both on California’s Proposition 65 list as carcinogens, listed June 22, 2012, so California sales need a warning determination. Where free DEA must stay low, take RS-CDEA_11 and put its 8% maximum on the purchase order.

A gap that wide can mean a different amide content, so ask for it and check viscosity in your own base before switching grades. Both grades run 99% minimum solids, moisture at 1% maximum and pH 9.0-11.0 in 1% solution, and both are regulated for US DOT transport.

Industries served

Packaging, documents and quotes

For wholesale and bulk orders, grades ship from US stock in 55-gallon drums, 275-gallon totes and bulk; for RS-CAHS_45, name the pack you need in the request.

RS-ALES_60, RS-CAHS_45, RS-CAHS_50, RS-LAO_30, RS-CDEA_11 and RS-CDEA_21 are regulated for US DOT transport, so take the shipping description from section 14 of the SDS; the other grades are not regulated per their SDS. Confirm the flash point and the shipping description for tote and bulk loads of RS-SLES_30 and RS-SLES_56 (see SDS sections 2 and 14) and RS-SLES_60 (13–15% free alcohol, no flash point given) before you book freight. Transport classification follows the current SDS; the shipper confirms it for the mode and the pack.

Download each grade’s TDS from the grade table; the COA comes with the lot and governs where it differs from the TDS. The SDS for each grade is available on request. Supplied for industrial formulation and manufacturing use; not for retail or consumer sale.

Send the RS code, the quantity and pack, and the delivery point for a quote. For a formulation or specification question, contact technical support.

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