Surfactants from China
Anionic, nonionic, cationic, and amphoteric surfactants for detergents, personal care, oilfield chemicals, agricultural adjuvants, and industrial applications.
Surfactants are a workhorse category covering detergent manufacturing (linear alkylbenzene sulfonate / LAS, sodium lauryl sulfate / SLS, sodium lauryl ether sulfate / SLES), personal care formulations (mild surfactants, amphoterics like cocamidopropyl betaine), oilfield chemistry (specific nonionic and anionic surfactants for enhanced oil recovery and drilling fluids), and agricultural adjuvants. The Chinese factory base is large and competitive, surfactants are a high-volume, mature category with established export players.
Sourcing surfactants from China requires careful spec discipline. The same nominal substance, say SLES 70%, can vary materially in active matter, residual unreacted alcohol, dioxane content (a key impurity for personal care use), and color. Buyers serving regulated end-uses (cosmetics under FDA, personal care under EU Cosmetics Regulation, drinking-water-contact use under NSF) need producer-specific certification for those end-uses. A generic factory COA does not substitute.
REACH registration coverage is uneven across surfactant chemistry. Some surfactants have full registration in place under EU REACH; others (especially specialty or new-chemistry products) require importer-side OR coverage. Verify before EU shipment.
Documentation chain
Terms that come up on every surfactants shipment
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HS Code, Harmonized System Code
A six-digit international product classification code used by customs authorities worldwide to identify goods, assess duties, and apply trade controls. Countries extend the six-digit base with additional digits for tariff and statistical purposes (10-digit HTS in the US, 8-digit CN code in the EU, 10-digit AHECC in Australia).
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TSCA, Toxic Substances Control Act
US federal law that gives the EPA authority to track and restrict the manufacture, import, processing, distribution, and disposal of industrial chemicals.
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REACH, Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
EU chemical regulation requiring importers and manufacturers to register every substance manufactured or imported into the EU above 1 tonne per year. Registration is identity-based and dossier-based, not inventory-lookup-based, which makes it stricter than TSCA in the US.
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COA, Certificate of Analysis
A document issued by the manufacturer (or by an accredited third-party lab) certifying that a specific batch of a chemical or material meets the agreed specification. Lists tested parameters, results, the test methods used, and a batch number that ties back to production.
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FOB, Free On Board
Incoterm under which the seller delivers the goods on board the vessel at the named port of shipment. Risk and cost transfer to the buyer once the cargo crosses the ship's rail. The buyer arranges and pays for sea freight, marine insurance, and all destination-side costs.
Need surfactants from China?
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Product name, CAS number, HS code, or a rough description is enough to start. Our Shanghai team responds within 24 hours with factory-direct pricing, the documentation chain, and the duty stack quantified.
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