The NEODOL journey

From bulk petrochemicals to skin care products

NEODOL alcohols and ethoxylates for personal care are derived from a blend of primary alcohols manufactured using the Shell Higher Olefins Process (SHOP) and Shell Hydroformylation (SHF) proprietary technologies. These processes give them unique structures and a greater variety of carbon chains.

Thirty years ago Shell developed SHOP, a technology that converts ethylene, the basic building block of the petrochemical industry, into a range of higher carbon number (typically C6–C18) olefins and derivatives. This unique and flexible conversion technology unlocked manufacturing routes to a whole family of useful molecular structures, giving our customers access to unique molecules and a variety of carbon chain lengths. We can apply these in endless combinations to enable our customers to improve their formulations for products as diverse as drilling fluids for use in the oil and gas industry, household detergents and a range of personal care products such as shower gels, moisturisers and suncreams.

Quality and the personal touch

Shell Chemicals is the world’s largest producer and supplier of alcohols and alcohol ethoxylates sold under the NEODOL brand. We routinely supply NEODOL products to the world’s market leaders in shampoo, liquid soap and body wash categories. The combination of SHOP and SHF technology results in products that possess the levels of biodegradability and flexibility required for the formulation of personal care products.

The NEODOL PC 100 and 200 product lines are intended for shampoos, liquid and bar soaps and oral care products. They have similar viscosities, water hardness sensitivities and surfactant properties to other commonly used ingredients such as palm or coconut oil derived alcohols (oleo-alcohols). We designed them this way to help the customer to improve formulations without changing the whole composition. In fact, they could potentially save money by being able to reduce the amounts of higher-priced ingredients, such as fragrances, while formulating products of equal or superior quality.

Shell chemists also played with the chemistry so as to give a clean and luxurious feel in shampoos, soaps, moisturisers and similar products. To do this, we had to work on such properties as foam and lather quality in hard or soft water, viscosity, fragrance, compatibility with other ingredients and, of course, gentleness to the skin.

For certain skin care leave-on products such as body lotions and sunscreens, our chemists had to go a step further. They found a way to make a fluid C16–17 alcohol with mono-methyl branching instead of the normal linear structure. This gives just the right viscosity-building and skin-feel properties required for skin leave-on products. Our customers can use this product, branded NEODOL PC 600, to formulate creams that are gentle to the skin and have a moisturising, luxurious feel without stickiness – a real benefit to sunscreen users. It can also be used in rinse-away products such as shampoos and conditioners.

NEODOL’s clean sweep

A leading personal care products manufacturer wanted to test a NEODOL-based surfactant combination for use as a replacement to oleo-chemical surfactants in a conditioning shampoo that it sells in South America. The Shell technologists formulated and produced samples that the customer tested for viscosity as well as making foaming and hair conditioning measurements. The NEODOL product was preferred to the alternatives in both consumer and lab tests, and the reformulated product is now available in the shops.

The NEODOL success story did not happen overnight. Shell has been engaged in the surfactants business since 1942, investing significant time and capital to ensure that its alcohol and ethoxylate products meet both the technical challenges demanded by formulators and the ever-growing supply demands of the surfactants industry.

JanElsa Carty needs to know a lot about bubbles. The size and density of bubbles created by different NEODOL PC products can be key factors in helping customers to develop more successful shampoo and soap formulations. Her work involves not only laboratory and desk studies at Shell’s Westhollow Technology Center in Houston, but also takes her frequently to customers’ laboratories around the globe, to provide training or work through specific formulation challenges. “In our global product support team, we’re fully committed to helping our customers to grow, and so building the strength of our own business. One way we do that is by leveraging our technical expertise,” JanElsa says. For her contributions and her efforts to inspire others, JanElsa was named “Chemist of the Year” in 2005 by the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Organisation for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers.