SURFOM^® SC 8155: ROBUST EMULSIFIER FOR CHALLENGING SYSTEMS

Collaborators: Maky Yudi

Contribute to the future of a sustainable agriculture and help to feed more than 10Bi people in 2050 is the challenge that drives the commitment of Oxiteno, a company part of Indorama Ventures, to develop solutions that enables the full potential of our customer’s formulations in the field. Therefore, Oxiteno has launched SURFOM^® SC 8155, a versatile surfactant that can be applied in a variety of water-based Agrochemical Formulations and Tank Mixes. Capable of emulsifying challenging systems, such as Microemulsions (ME), SURFOM^® SC 8155 can contribute to a potential reduction of almost 70% of the amount of surfactant required to stabilize a formulation, contributing to a more environmentally friendly agriculture.

ABOUT SURFOM^® SC 8155

Emulsifier for challenging situations, providing good emulsion stability in complex systems such as high electrolyte systems and achieving microemulsion equilibrium. SURFOM^® SC 8155 has good handling at a high temperature range and can be applied in crop protection, tank mix adjuvants and biopesticides.

ABAMECTIN MICROEMULSION 5%

The application of Abamectin in a microemulsion system can reduce the toxicity of handling, due to the amount of water presented in the formulation and SURFOM SC 8155 is a key component to stabilize the microemulsion. In the Table 01 it is possible to access the composition of Abamectin 50 as ME formulation, the presented formulation is demonstrated at Figure 01.

In Table 01 there is the studied composition for Abamectin 50g/L as a microemulsion formulation.

The common market concentrations for abamectin are 18 and 72g/L, in the studied composition it is possible to work with an average dose using less organic solvent as it is common in the market for Emulsifiable Concentrate formulation.

Due to the presence of anti-freezing agent, it is possible to work with this formulation under a broad spectrum of temperatures.

Table 01: Composition description for Abamectin 50ME formulation.

Due the presence of the tailor made SURFOM^® SC 8155 the composition has a high electrolyte resistance, according to the emulsion tests. The pH was evaluated for the formulation as is, due the presented amount of water, and 1% of dilution by the technical data there is no significant differences. The absence of phase separation provides the information of stability between the interface water-oil.

Besides to SURFOM^® SC 8155 it is important to highlight that the microemulsion developed has the solvent system based on a renewable solvent derived from sugarcane having favorable tox-ecotox profile what improves even more the handling regarding its safety.

Table 02: Stability results for Abamectin 50ME formulation.

It is possible to understand the importance of SURFOM^® SC 8155 as a robust emulsifying agent.

ESSENTIAL OIL MICROEMULSION

In the Table 03 is the studied composition for orange oil 60ME using SURFOM^®  SC 8155 as the emulsifying agent. The major compound present is water, the uses of microemulsion can prevent the phytotoxicity as provide in Figure 02.

Table 03: Composition description for Orange Oil 60ME formulation.

Figure 02: Poinsettia plant under phytotoxicity test with the (A) Orange Oil 60ME, (B) Citronella Oil 60ME and (C) control respectively under 20°C of 5 droplets of 0.02mL each were applied.

The technical data presented in Table 04 provides the formulation stability under temperature and time stress situation. The Orange Oil 60ME formulation using SURFOM^® SC 8155 provide stability at 54°C for 3 months.

Table 04: Stability results for Orange Oil 60ME formulation.

In the Table 05 there is the studied composition for Citronella Oil 60ME using SURFOM® SC 8155 at low dosage.

Table 05: Composition description for Citronella Oil 60ME formulation.

In Table 06 there is the results for stability of Citronella Oil 60ME. There are no significant changes in terms of pH, no phase separation or cream formation under emulsion test at a wild range of electrolytes system.

Table 06: Stability results for Citronella Oil 60ME formulation.

In order to prove the microemulsion state, the droplet size distribution at zetasizer data is provided at Table 07. The
analyses of Polydispersity index supply the homogenous system to work with, lower the valuer then 0.2 higher the grade of homogeneity of the sample [8]. The SURFOM^® SC 8155 formulation based provide the system homogeneity.

Based on the droplet size distribution [1] the studied formulations are categorized as microemulsion due the analysis of dynamic scattering of light of the sample as is at 25°C.

Table 07: Dynamic scattering of light data to determine droplet size of microemulsion.

CONCLUSION

Based on the technical data provided, SURFOM^® SC 8155 shows itself as a key additive for microemulsion preparations having the ability to reduce droplet size distribution inside the emulsion promoting high stability. Besides being a non-phytotoxic component, SURFOM^® SC 8155 has good handling at a wide range of temperature.

It is already listed at EPA, with available samples for shipment to test in your system. For further technical data and international inventory information, contact your local Oxiteno representative.