Eco-Interfaces: Charting the Next Frontier with Natural Surfactants
Keywords:
Surfactants, Natural surfactants, Biosurfactants, Biodegradability, Eco-friendly, Emulsification, Microbial surfactants, Sustainable chemistryAbstract
Surfactants, or surface-active substances, are compounds that greatly reduce the surface and interfacial tension between different phases. This makes them useful in many everyday processes like spreading, mixing, wetting surfaces, and creating foam. Historically, synthetic surfactants have been used widely across various industries such as oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and farming. However, concerns have grown over their environmental impact because many of these chemicals do not break down easily and can be toxic. To address this, researchers are exploring eco-friendly alternatives like biosurfactants and natural surfactants. Natural options tend to be less harmful and break down more easily because they come from renewable sources such as plant oils, sugars, and fatty acids. Microorganisms like bacteria, yeasts, and fungi can produce biosurfactants too. These biological surfactants not only have similar physical and chemical properties but also bring added benefits, such as fighting bacteria and working well even in tough conditions.
Environmentally friendly and sustainable reinforcement of biodegradable surfactants, natural surfactants are being taken from organic and renewable materials such as plants, microorganisms, and animals. This paper has carried out a complete natural surfactants review, starting from classification, their physiochemical properties, the way they are produced, and to the range of industrial uses. The latest work in biosurfactants research will be discussed as well as possible future directions and hurdles to be overcome before commercialization. Like the approach taken in the paper, data from recent studies were summarized and put into flow charts, tables, and graphs for better understanding.
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