Introduction
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), also known as Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS), CAS 151-21-3, is a high-performance anionic surfactant widely recognized for its excellent foaming, detergency, emulsifying and dispersing properties. As a classic and versatile surface-active raw material, it plays an essential role in food processing, industrial manufacturing and pharmaceutical formulation.
Snowhite Chemical Co., LTD. is a professional manufacturer and supplier of high-quality sodium lauryl sulfate with strict quality control and complete grade specifications. This guide covers its core chemical nature, physical properties, standard grades and typical applications to help you select the optimal product for your formulation.
What Is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate?
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is an organic sulfate compound produced by sulfation of lauryl alcohol, followed by neutralization with sodium hydroxide. The final product is refined, dried and processed into white crystalline powder or needle-like flakes.
Chemically, it has the formula C₁₂H₂₅SO₄Na with a molecular weight of 288.38 g/mol. Its amphiphilic structure — a long hydrophobic alkyl chain and a hydrophilic sulfate group — gives it strong surface activity and stable emulsifying performance.
Key Physical & Chemical Properties
Core Specifications
|
Property |
Standard Value |
|
Appearance |
White to pale yellow crystalline powder / needle flakes |
|
Solubility |
Freely soluble in cold and hot water; slightly soluble in hot ethanol; insoluble in most organic solvents |
|
Active matter content |
≥ 92% (industrial grade); ≥ 95% (food & pharmaceutical grades) |
|
pH (1% aqueous solution, 25℃) |
7.5 – 9.5 |
|
Melting point |
Approx. 204 – 207 ℃ |
|
HLB value |
~ 40 |
|
Loss on drying |
≤ 5.0% |
|
Inorganic salt (Na₂SO₄ + NaCl) |
≤ 5.5% (industrial grade); ≤ 2.0% (food & pharmaceutical grades) |
Core Functional Features
Excellent foaming & detergency: Produces rich, stable foam even at low concentrations, with strong grease removal and cleaning performance.
Good biodegradability: Over 90% biodegradable under natural conditions (OECD 301D standard), meeting environmental protection requirements for industrial and daily chemical products.
Emulsifying & dispersing ability: Effectively emulsifies oily substances and disperses solid particles, widely used to stabilize emulsion and suspension systems.
Wide compatibility: Works well with most anionic and nonionic surfactants, adaptable to various formulation systems.
Standard Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Grades
All grades below are industry-standard classifications with clear regulatory standards and application boundaries.
1. Food Grade Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Manufactured in compliance with FCC (Food Chemicals Codex) and national food safety standards, this grade meets strict limits for heavy metals, arsenic and microbial contaminants.
Main applications: Foaming agent for baked goods and protein beverages, food processing aid, fruit and vegetable cleaning agent, and egg white processing aid. Usage follows local food additive regulations.
2. Industrial Grade Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
The most widely used general-purpose grade, optimized for cost efficiency and stable surface activity for high-volume industrial and daily chemical scenarios.
Main applications: Daily cleaning products, personal care base materials, industrial cleaning agents, textile printing & dyeing auxiliaries, concrete air-entraining agents, and pesticide emulsifiers.
3. Pharmaceutical Grade Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Produced under GMP conditions and compliant with USP/NF pharmacopeia monograph standards, this grade has the strictest purity and impurity controls for pharmaceutical excipient use.
Main applications: Wetting agent and lubricant for tablet formulations, emulsifier for topical creams and ointments, solubilizing excipient for oral preparations, and dissolution medium additive for poorly soluble drugs.
Why Choose Snowhite Chemical Co., LTD.?
Snowhite Chemical Co., LTD. focuses on the production and global distribution of specialty chemical raw materials, with sodium lauryl sulfate as one of our core flagship products.
Rigorous quality assurance: Every batch undergoes full testing for active matter content, pH, purity and impurity indicators, and is shipped with an official Certificate of Analysis.
Full grade coverage: We supply food, industrial and pharmaceutical grades in both powder and needle forms to match your exact formulation and processing needs.
Flexible supply options: Standard 25kg kraft bags with PE liners; custom packaging and bulk container supply are available upon request.
Reliable global delivery: Mature logistics networks ensure stable shipping to over 30 countries worldwide with competitive lead times.
Professional technical support: Our in-house technical team provides grade selection guidance and formulation suggestions to help you optimize product performance and cost.
Contact Us
Contact SNOWHITE CHEMICAL CO.,LTD now to get COA, free samples and the latest quotation.
Email: shirley@snowhitechem.com
Phone: +86-25-56215758
WhatsApp：+86-13776524331
