Surfactants Monthly - August 2025

What about Wilmar! They are a BASF-sized company (USD 67 Bn revenue last year) and have a huge role in surfactants and oleochemicals. Check out our 5 minute intro here:

By the way, we are in the heart of palm and surfactants country in November for our 11th Annual Asian Surfactants Conference . https://events.icis.com/website/14105/home/. Did I mention it’s HRD Claimable. [My Malaysian friends know what this means. Let’s Go!]

End of Commercial. Now the News:

I’ve always looked to Estee Lauder’s Aveda as a leader in sustainability, green considerations, bio-renewability – all that stuff. I count them as one company to take it seriously and walk the talk. I remember them as being among the first to adopt babassu oil derivatives and in fact they feature one such ingredient on their website. And so it was with interest that I read in Cosmetics Business about their new UK experiential pop-up in London. The ‘Aveda Miraculous Pod’ celebrates the launch of Miraculous Oil, a new plant-powered, high-shine hair concentrate.

“The Miraculous Pod is more than a launch moment – it is a celebration of everything we stand for as a brand [Wow OK]: nature-rooted, performance-led and deeply human in its connection,” Laura Maxwell, VP/GM Aveda, Bumble & Bumble and ELC Corporate Stores UK & Ireland, told Cosmetics Business. So let’s take a look at the ingredients in this miraculous oil. First thing to notice is it’s $42 for 1.7 fl oz. I can get a shot of Glenfiddich 18 yr for less. OK, OK Neil, but what about the ingredients? Aveda tells us the featured ingredients are tsubaki seed oil, daikon seed oil and camelina oil ferment. However the INCI lists goes as follows: Dimethicone, Isododecane, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Triheptanoin, Bis-Stearyl Dimethicone, C13-16 Isoalkane, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Yeast Ferment Extract, Camelina Sativa Seed Oil, Raphanus Sativus (Radish) Seed Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Linalool, Citronellol, Limonene, Geraniol, Benzyl Benzoate, Farnesol, Benzyl Salicylate, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tocopheryl Acetate - Silicones and alkanes – I mean they just work, they’re cheap and, well, they may not sound as exciting as Tsubaki seed oil (that’s Camellia Japonica in the list), but without them the product would be rubbish.

The China regulatory regime is increasingly important for all of us, especially regarding cosmetics ingredients and the new infamous CSAR list and the mad scramble (especially as regards biosurfactants) to get grandfathered onto it. But we’ve written and podcasted enough about that already. I just learned from my friends at China’s International Exhibition on Surfactant and Detergent about a new Natural Standard for washing products in China. It’s administered by the China Daily Chemical Industry Association and it’s called “Guidelines for Evaluating the Natural Source Index of Washing Product”. I don't have a link yet and so if anyone does – send it over and I’ll publish it next month. It’s based on four dimensions: raw material traceability, natural component proportion, performance, and environmental impact. The IES&D goes on to say credit the new guidelines with “completely ending the vague area of the concept of natural”. Great if true. Let’s see. Anyone with experience of these guidelines – the tip line is open.

Another intriguing snippet from the IESD. Dongming Jujin Chemical has apparently invented something they call “colored columnar sodium dodecyl sulfate” (it probably sounds snappier in Chinese). As far as I can make out these are colored SLS needles, made for laundry. They replace ordinary (colorless ) and inorganic salts (says the company) which are non -active and can fade. Is this legit? The products on the website certainly look cool. I know we have dry products makers reading the blog. Unger, Innospec - please comment. Our ever – open tip line awaits your call.

Cashew Nut Shells? Yes. While down the China ingredient rabbit hole, I came aross the company Nasurfar, who claims to be making surfactants from said shells and has integrated production back to plantations (is that the right word?) in Africa. The surfactants are based on the biophenols made from the CNS. Interesting right? What also interesting, is that this is not the first time, Cashew derived surfactants have been brought to my attention. There’s a company in the Netherlands called Cashew Shell BioRefinery CSBR BV, with nonionics and anionics based on the same feedstock. If anyone has had experience formulating with this type of surfactant, I would love to hear from you.

I’m usually a bit skeptical of re-brands and especially of renaming. Well Indovinya recently did a “rename” from Indorama Ventures Oxides (or something like that) and now they announced a re-brand. However, they have a a good reason – that is a reason I approve of. They are planning for an IPO, about which I am quite excited – as we will have plenty to read in the prospectus and all the filings. Anyway the rebrand – involves a new logo and website and a tagline – that’s “Your needs, our chemistry” What do you think?

Thoughts?

This month, Indovinya also published results as part of the parent Indorama. Key points relate to ongoing tough times, similar to what we see for BASF, below. Teasing out the relevant details on Indvinya from the report and the analyst call, we get the following:

Headline Financials (Q2 2025)

Revenue: $595 million, a decrease of 6% year-over-year (YoY) but a slight increase of 1% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ).
Adjusted EBITDA: $75 million, a significant decline of 24% YoY and 16% QoQ.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin: 13%, a decrease from 16% in the prior year quarter (Q2 2024).
Sales Volume: 0.32 million metric tons (MMT), down 7% YoY but up 4% QoQ.

Performance and Portfolio Breakdown

Business Definition: Indovinya is the "Integrated Downstream Surfactants" segment, serving four key end-markets: Home & Personal Care (37% of revenue), Coatings & Construction (32%), Crop Solutions (19%), and Energy & Resources (12%).
HVA vs. Essentials: The portfolio is split into two parts with different results:

High Value Add (HVA) Specialty Products: Accounted for 81% of revenue and all of the Adjusted EBITDA, with an HVA EBITDA margin of 17%.
Essentials Business: Accounted for the remaining 19% of revenue and posted a loss of $7 million.

Key Challenges & Headwinds in Q2 2025

Planned Turnarounds: A driver of the profit decline. Scheduled turnarounds and maintenance at the LAB (Linear Alkylbenzene – remember this plant in Chocolate Bayou, TX came with the 2020 Huntsman business acquisition) and Camacari plants negatively impacted Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $10 million.
Higher Feedstock Costs: The Essentials business was specifically impacted by lower oleochemical margins due to higher Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) prices.
Margin Pressure: The segment experienced softer and reduced integrated margins, partly due to tariff and trade discussion volatility.

Strategic and Operational Highlights

Strategic Financing: The company successfully raised $1.5 billion in long-term financing specifically to capitalize the Indovinya business.
Acquisitions in Energy Sector: Indovinya completed the acquisition of the KEMELIX and FLOWSOLVE brands from Cargill, targeting Demulsifiers and Flow Assurance products. These began contributing to earnings in Q2 2025.
End-Market Performance: Despite overall headwinds, the company increased market share in Home & Personal Care and saw double-digit volume growth in Crop Solutions due to strong demand and a favorable product mix.

And 100 years ago – check out this photo of the Servo Delden factory, now part of KLK Kolb (part of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad). The site started as a steam laundry and ironing facility. Very cool.

My well-thumbed copy of the New Zealand journal, Business Desk, lies open at the article featuring Dot Ingredients. It’s quite detailed and worth a read if you’re interested in the company. A brief quote: At the heart of Dot Ingredients’ IP is a way of making sustainable surfactants from wood pulp. The company said its technology could meet the entire world’s demand for surfactants, currently 17 billion kilograms a year, usinga fraction of the world’s pulp supply. I’ve written about this company before – their technology based on a small spheres rendered amphiphilic and surface active, is unique. Since then, Dot has received a $133,000 new-to-R&D grant from Callaghan Innovation. That closely followed a $350,000 early funding round led by Motion Capital and including the Climate Venture Capital. And your author has also since become a board advisor to Dot.

Ouch! Tough times for BASF. Not unexpected. They reported a 2.1% decline in sales for the second quarter of 2025, that is €15.77 billion, down from €16.11 billion in Q2 2024. This decline is attributed to currency effects and lower prices, particularly in the Chemicals segment. Net income dropped 82% to €80 million, from €430 million last year. Adjusted EBIT before special items decreased to €1.77 billion, down from €1.96 billion a year earlier. BASF has revised its full-year 2025 earnings forecast, now expecting adjusted EBIT to range between €7.3–7.7 billion, significantly below its previous estimates. Looking deeper into surfactants, the Nutrition and Care division saw EBITDA for the first half of 2025 off by Euros 20 Million to Euros 425Million despite a rise in prices. Tariffs took a chunk of the blame overall. Energy costs didn't get much of a mention. A quote re prices “Higher prices in the Care Chemicals division were primarily a result of increased prices in the oleo surfactants and alcohols business. This more than offset the negative price development in the Nutrition & Health division, particularly in the pharma business.”

Bloomberg does some good analysis of the palm markets and earlier this month they published a note which said that palm oil inventories in Malaysia climbed to the highest level since December 2023. Stockpiles surged almost 10% from a month earlier to 2.23 million tons in July, a fifth month of gains. Production typically peaks in October and so this stock rise could weigh on prices, although demand, particularly in Indonesian biodiesel is robust. Of course this is just a little snippet – a little teaser. For the full authoritative picture on palm and PKO, I listen pretty much solely to Glenauk Economics and the great Julian McGill and Peter Smith. You can meet and mingle with Peter at my conference in November (see how I snuck that little commercial message in there?)

Notwithstanding the near-term palm trend, Reuters, in an article, this month characterized the longer term as “Old trees and ageing farmers worsen outlook for top palm oil exporters” The article goes on to say that In Malaysia and Indonesia, aging trees and farmers are threatening supply, with combined exports projected to drop by 20% to 37 million metric tons by 2030 from 2024 levels, according to industry estimates. Over one-third of oil palms are past their peak productivity, with Indonesia's trees older than 21 years set to increase by 11% in 2026, as only 10% of a 2016 target to replant 2.5 million hectares by 2025 was met by October 2024. Reduced replanting, driven by economic concerns and lower government subsidies, combined with Indonesia's increased biodiesel mandates, is expected to drive up global palm oil prices in the next five years. And so must go PKO surely? And then there’s tariffs as noted below. Man – there’s a lot to keep on top of here. Interesting times.

HAPPI Magazine reported on a patent granted to Ecolab for an extended chain surfactant. Hmm Wot’s that then? Apparently the patent covers a cleaning composition with a surfactant package comprising: i) an extended chain nonionic surfactant comprising a C10 or C12-[PO]8-[EO]y guerbet alcohol, wherein y is the average degree of ethoxylation ranging from 3 to 10; and ii) an additional surfactant having an EO/PO block copolymer, wherein the ratio of extended chain nonionic surfactant to EO/PO block copolymer is about 5:1. I pulled up the patent. It’s US12338413B2. Only 8 claims based on C10 and C12 Guerbet (means branched ) alcohols with the chains extended by 8 or 10 POs and then ethoxylated (does this make sense?). Linear alcohols is claimed also but it seems like the bulk of the work was done on branched. These things are good for removing oily and greasy stains. Has anyone used anything like this? Or at least the concept noted? Tipline is open.

And then there’s this patent from P&G US12,338,412 B2 . It covers a detergent built on alcohol ether sulfates where the alcohol chain length is C14 plus (no C12!). Hmm. The patent says linear and branched alcohols can be used but they spend a heck of a lot of time talking about branched. Also a lot of focus on alkoxylated polyamines as antiredeposition agents. So… C14 branched – interesting. Tipline remains open.

OK, so the tariff rates on Indonesia and Malaysia settled out at 19%. That’s a chunk. I reckon almost all fatty acid and alcohol coming into the US comes from those two countries. And of course the PKO. There’s got to be about 100 – 150 KMT/ yr of detergent range alcohosl imported. It will take a while for the pricing effects to work their way through the supply chain, but this has to be fairly positive, to say the least, for demand for US produced petrochemical alcohols. Branched C14’s maybe. I know there are some readers who know more – get thee to the tipline. !

In this month’s Lubes and Greases magazine, which I still dip into despite not having a lot to do with that market, I read that Chevron Phillips Chemical has completed an expansion of its low-viscosity polyalphaolefins (PAO) facility in Belgium, nearly doubling its annual production capacity to 120,000 metric tons from 63,000 t/y, making it Europe’s largest decene-based low-viscosity PAO plant by volume. CPC, the world’s third-largest PAO producer, now has a total capacity of 187,000 t/y across its Beringen plant and two U.S. facilities, narrowing the gap with ExxonMobil, the second-largest producer, which operates three plants (one in France, two in the U.S.) with a combined capacity of 301,000 t/y. Ineos, the leading supplier, has a total capacity of 355,000 t/y from two U.S. plants and one in Belgium, and is currently expanding its La Porte, Texas facility. Of course, we like to keep an eye on alpha olefins in general here at the blog due to the recent strongly increased interest in AOS (alpha olefin sulfonates) which we written and podcasted about in detail.

It's been a while since we’ve had news from Holiferm. They are partnering with the wonderfully named Cosy Cottage, to commercialise Mannosylerythritol Lipids (MEL’s) in a range of personal care and pet care products. I think they’ve primarily focused on sophorolipids to date and so that’s interesting, right?

In C&E News this month, an article detailed the turnaround activities at Sasol under the relatively new chemicals leader, Antje Gerber. Full disclosure, I am quoted in it also, but it’s still a good read. A key point for me – to which I reacted in the article is as follows: Another change underway at Sasol is a shift in the way it handles some large-volume chemicals such as LAB, a related detergent called linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), and the workhorse cleaning surfactant sodium laurel ether sulfate (SLES). Such products are commodities that are essentially the same from one supplier to another. They get sold to big cleaning-product companies like Procter & Gamble and Henkel based on price, not chemical differentiation or customer service. The article also talks about the possible divestiture of the Sasol chemicals division, which we have noted in the blog previously. Check it out.

Speed laundering. It’s a thing, as confirmed by Electrolux. I heard about this earlier in the year from Unilever at their event in London. As noted their it provides challenges and opening for surfactant and polymer suppliers. The report, based on 22.6 million wash cycles and 6 million drying cycles in 2024, plus a survey of over 15,000 adults across 14 European countries [man that’s a lotta data], reveals a shift toward "speed laundering" driven by busy lifestyles and demand for convenience. A third (33%) of washes now take under an hour, with 25% completed in 1 to 1.5 hours, while 24% of tumble-drying cycles finish in under 90 minutes and 47% in under two hours; 54% of Europeans prefer morning laundry. Energy efficiency influences 53% of appliance purchases, though 43% of tumble dryer owners limit use due to energy costs, and shorter cycles could extend clothing life by over 50%, reducing the environmental impact of the fashion industry, which generates 16kg of textile waste per person annually, with 88% landfilled or incinerated. Phew!

We’ve written about the massive overcapacity for surfactants in China. Well, I read Bloomberg something that may signal some remedy. The Chinese government is set to launch an overhaul of its petrochemical and oil refining sectors to reduce overcapacity in lower-value products. The plan involves phasing out smaller, outdated facilities and retrofitting older ones to improve yields. A major concern highlighted is a looming glut of ethylene. Whether this will trickle downstream to surrfactants.. let’s see.

More dioxane news: One of our readers and listeners sent this to me from the ECHA (Europe) Link here. Germany has withdrawn its intention to restrict dioxane in surfactants under EU REACH. Details on reasons for withdrawal and what the potential alternative proposal (if any) will look like not yet know. Stay tuned. This is positive.

And finally, in this section, Kao has opened their new tertiary amines plant in TX. The new plant, with an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons, will go into surfactants. Until now, Kao has had the world’s largest production capacity, with three production sites in Japan, the Philippines and Germany. Kao uses tertiary amines in its own products and has also supplied industries around the world through its Chemical Business. Its new U.S. plant will create a three-production-site system with plants in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Market News:

In detergent range alcohols, elevated feedstock palm kernel oil (PKO) prices are creating strong cost pressures across the global fatty alcohols market, resulting in divergent regional dynamics. In Asia, this is driving up offers for mid-cuts and short chains, which are seeing strong demand, particularly for export to the US, EU, and Mexico, although spot availability is limited by upcoming plant shutdowns. Conversely, long chains in Asia are facing downward pressure due to a slump in demand and lower-cost feedstock substitution. In the US, producers and buyers face squeezed margins from high feedstock costs and evolving trade policies, including new tariffs on certain derivative products, prompting cautious purchasing. Significantly, talks are underway to potentially exempt Indonesian palm oil from an import tariff, while upcoming contract negotiations are already facing upward pressure. European spot prices are also firming, driven by tight supply and the bullish feedstock trend, with upward pressure anticipated in early fourth-quarter contract discussions. This follows a recent third-quarter contract settlement that was stable-to-soft, marking a temporary softening due to earlier feedstock cost movements.

The Asian fatty alcohol ethoxylates market is experiencing upward price pressure, with spot offers rising due to the erosion of margins from the relentless upward trajectory of feedstock fatty alcohol mid-cut costs, noted above. Along with higher offers, demand remains tepid amid a lack of consumer confidence, and buying interest is limited, with most spot trades being for small parcels. Buyers are cautious due to macroeconomic uncertainties and tariff turmoil. The market outlook suggests that elevated feedstock costs will continue to support FAE prices, but consumer demand will likely remain subdued amid fears of recession. In China, spot prices were assessed slightly higher, tracking feedstock costs, but domestic prices were flat amid sluggish demand.

The Asian linear alkylbenzene (LAB) market has eased, with some sellers lowering offers to attract buyers after a prolonged period of tight supply was somewhat relieved by the restart of a regional plant. The slower season has also dented buying appetite, leading to a widening buy-sell gap. In India, tight spot conditions persist but are expected to ease as new offers from Asia and the Middle East emerge. The downstream LAB sulfonate (LAS) market remains slow, with sellers finding it difficult to raise prices. The market outlook is for further easing, with Asian and Chinese suppliers considering lower offers as supply tightness in the region and India potentially improves.

Spot LAB prices in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and India all showed a softening trend compared to four weeks prior. In Northeast Asia, Chinese domestic prices were unchanged, but there was talk of potential downward revisions. Buying impetus in Southeast Asia has tapered off. The LAS market in Southeast Asia remains weak, with suppliers in Northeast Asia seeing lukewarm response to offers, and some Asian producers are focusing on export markets outside of Asia. Upstream, benzene prices were flat in South Korea and up in China. In production news, the ThaiOil LAB plant has restarted after maintenance.

The Next Section

Stop reading here if you’ve come only for the news. You’ll learn nothing further about surfactants in the rest of this month’s blog.

Following Unilever’s incredibly propitious landing of a collab with the ever more viral Sydney Sweeney, via their purchase of Dr. Squatch, L’Oreal said hold my beer. Actually no, the famously French company probably said something like hold my perfectly chilled Sancerre from the Loire Valley. However they did go on to retain an individual who has been referred to as a pornstar, as a spokesperson for their aptly named brand, Urban Decay. Surely not, I said to myself, especially as I first heard of this from the notoriously furrowed-brow Grauniad newspaper. Surely the blue haired pearl clutchers are over-reacting to an exuberant young lady who may have been caught in an inadvertent wardrobe malfunction. Well. Nope. After conducting 40 plus hours of research, I can confirm that the lady in question, Ari Kytsya, is indeed a pornstar. Well, what do you mean? I hear you ask. I mean that she practices traditional pornography, for pay, of the type that the better known, Ms. Daniels and er.. Debbie who did Dallas…er did. Am I being clear? I dunno what else to tell you. Do you need a picture..? Well – no. You’re just going to have to take my word for it. The Grauniad went on to express concern that the girls who use Urban Decay will look to those products to make them appear such that they too can earn a recurring revenue stream in lots of $7 monthly increments from blokes in basements on OnlyFans.

I’m not unsympathetic to this view, but what I really want to highlight is the juxtaposition (you know we love those here at the blog) between this (“this” being Ms. Kytsya’s dayjob in front of the camera) and L’Oreal’s value charter, which predictably virtue signals about a bunch of things but also prohibits their influencers from posting… er pornography. Of course when I say juxtaposition, that’s just a nice, I think humorous, way of saying hypocrisy. As an ingredient supplier, what are you to think or do? That’s a tough one. I’d be interested to hear your opinions.

You may not recognize her with clothes on.

Music Section

I got a lot of interesting feedback on last month’s War Pigs covers and so I thought I’d dig out some additional hard rock covers for your delectation.

Joan Baez – remember her? I actually didn't mind her music back then. She inspired many covers. Here are two of my favorites. We’re doing it original then cover.

Diamonds and Rust (1975) – Original

Here’s Judas Priest’s live version. I saw this at a quite unusual concert in Newcastle, I wanna say around 1979, that makes a lot more sense now..

Now, Youtube tells me that this was written by Anne Bredon in the 50’s so not sure if it truly counts as a Joan Baez song, but I love hearing these back-to-back. Babe I’m gonna leave you.

Oh yeah! and here’s Zep with an absolutely monstrous version from their first album

These next two are quite close. Fleeetwood Mac’s Green Manalishi

As covered by, again, Judas Priest

Interestingly, Iron Maiden used to sneak in covers on their B sides. Jethro Tull? Yep. Here’s the original of Crossed Eyed Mary.

And a reasonably faithful version off the B Side of The Trooper by the Irons

The song, Alone Again Or by Love, has spawned a lot of covers, for some reason. So here we go

UFO gave it a go on their Lights Out album. Very faithful. I didn't know what to make of it at the time, I must say.

And of course, the Damned in 1987. Not bad.

Metallica have done a number of covers and we’ve featured a few of them on the blog including of course, the great Am I Evil, by Diamond Head and Breadfan, by Budgie. Here’s a couple of lesser-knowns.

There’s been a multidecade love affair between Motorhead and Metallica with mutual covers going back and forth. Here’s Overkill from 1979 by Lemmy and the boys.

And a live tribute by Metallica 9 years later

And in the other direction, Metallica’s Whiplash

Motorhead’s Tribute

Here they are (Metallica and Lemmy) onstage together covering Motorhead’s Damage Case and Too Late Too Late. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I know, but I think it’s nice to see the genuine affection there.

That’s it. See you very soon for Asian Surfactants XI (that’s Eleven) https://events.icis.com/website/14105/home/

Surfactants Monthly - August 2025

Surfactants Monthly - July 2025