Question

What industries and processes is Tween T-85 mainly used in?

Answer
2026-06-06 官方文档 吐温T-85

Tween T-85 is widely used in seven major industries including pesticides, cosmetics, food, textiles, metalworking, coatings, and petroleum extraction, primarily as an O/W type emulsifier, solubilizer, wetting agent, and dispersant.

Detailed Description

Tween T-85 (Polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan trioleate, CAS: 9005-70-3) is a nonionic surfactant, appearing as a light yellow to amber viscous liquid. Its molecular structure contains both hydrophilic and lipophilic groups, with a low HLB value (approximately 11), making it particularly suitable for preparing oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. This product exhibits good tolerance to acids, alkalis, and hard water, and is compatible with various ionic and nonionic auxiliaries, thus being extremely widely used in multi-industry formulation systems.

As one of the core surfactant products of Guoli Chemical, Tween T-85 plays a key auxiliary role in many industrial fields due to its excellent emulsifying stability, solubilizing capacity, and wetting dispersibility, especially in processes requiring uniform dispersion of the oil phase in the water phase.

Application Suggestions

Application IndustrySpecific Process/UseFunctional Role
Pesticide FormulationsProcessing of emulsifiable concentrates (EC), emulsions in water (EW), microemulsions (ME), etc.Emulsifier, wetting agent - disperses oil-soluble pesticides uniformly in water, enhances spreading and penetration on plant surfaces, improving efficacy
Cosmetics and Personal CareFormulations of creams, lotions, makeup removers, facial cleansers, etc.Hydrophilic emulsifier - helps form stable O/W systems, providing a light, non-greasy feel on the skin
Food ProcessingBaking fats, ice cream, salad dressings, non-dairy creamers, etc.Emulsifier, solubilizer - improves texture and mouthfeel, maintains system uniformity, food additive code E436
Textile AuxiliariesSpinning oils, dyeing and finishing auxiliaries, softener formulationsEmulsifier, antistatic agent - imparts smoothness and antistatic properties to fibers, promotes dye dispersion, improves dyeing uniformity
Metalworking FluidsSemi-synthetic cutting fluids, emulsified cutting fluidsEmulsifier - quickly emulsifies base oil in water to form a stable working fluid, providing lubrication and cooling performance
Coatings and InksEmulsion polymerization, preparation of water-based coatingsEmulsifier - promotes monomer dispersion and polymerization, enhances storage stability and film formation of coatings
Petroleum Extraction and ProcessingDrilling fluids, enhanced oil recovery fluids, pre-treatment for crude oil demulsificationEmulsifier - helps stabilize mixing of oil-based or water-based systems, improves drilling fluid rheology and cuttings carrying capacity

Technical Parameters

ParameterSpecification/Description
Ionic TypeNonionic surfactant
AppearanceLight yellow to amber viscous liquid
CAS No.9005-70-3
Flash Point>149°C (closed cup), non-flammable liquid
Food Additive CodeE436
Emulsion TypeO/W type (oil-in-water)

Precautions

  • Avoid contact with eyes during operation; may cause mild irritation, recommended to wear chemical safety goggles.
  • Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place, recommended temperature 5°C–40°C, keep container tightly sealed.
  • Keep away from strong oxidizers, heat sources, and open flames. Although non-flammable, combustion in a fire may produce toxic gases such as carbon monoxide.
  • The dosage for different application fields should be optimized through experiments based on the specific formulation system; generally recommended dosage is 5%–15% of the oil phase content in the system.