Most modern surfactants are readily biodegradable and exhibit low toxicity in the aquatic environment, the two criteria for green surfactants. However the majority are synthesised from petroleum, so over the past decade the detergent industry has turned its attention to developing greener routes to create these surfactants via renewable building blocks.

Surfactants from Renewable Resources presents the latest research and commercial applications in the emerging field of sustainable surfactant chemistry, with emphasis on production technology, surface chemical properties,...