Surfactants are used throughout industry as components in a huge range of formulated products or as effect chemicals in the production or processing of other materials. A detailed understanding of the basis of their activity is required by all those who use surfactants, yet the new graduate or postgraduate chemist or chemical engineer will generally have little or no experience of how and why surfactants work.

Chemistry & Technology of Surfactants is aimed at new graduate or postgraduate level chemists and chemical engineers at the beginning their industrial careers and those in later life who become involved with surfactants for the first time. The book is a straightforward and practical survey of the chemistry of surfactants and their uses, providing a basic introduction to surfactant theory, information on the various types of surfactant and some application details. This will allow readers to build onto their scientific education the concepts and principles on which the successful use of surfactants, across a wide range of industries, is based.

Richard Farn is a Consultant working on the development of products formulated with surfactants. He was previously Technical Sales Manager at Lankro and Technical Manager at BP Detergents. He recently retired as Director of the British Association for Chemical Specialities and has sat on the Council of the Soap and Detergent Industry Association. He was awarded an MBE in the Millennium Honours for Services to the Chemicals Industry.

Contributors to the book are:

Mr Mike Bernstein
Dr Guido Bognolo
Philip E Clark
Dr Arno Driedger
Dr Richard Farn
Dr J F Gadbury Pr
Professor Hatice Gecol
Mr Yasuyuki Hattori
Mr Paul Hepworth
Mr J Hibbs
Dr. Randal M Hill
Dr Joel Houston
Dr John Issa
Dr D R Karsa
Dr Richard Otterson
Dr Peter Schmiedel
Dr Paul Slater
Dr Richard R Thomas
Dr W Von Rybinski