SLES 70% (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate, 2EO and 3EO)

Sodium lauryl ether sulphate paste at 70% active, 2EO and 3EO, bought on active matter and 1,4-dioxane

Sodium lauryl ether sulphate is made by ethoxylating a C12-C14 fatty alcohol, sulphating it and neutralising with caustic soda, and it trades as a white to pale yellow paste at about 70% active matter. The EO number is the grade: 2EO is the market default for shampoo, shower gel and dishwash, 3EO is milder for sensitive-skin products, and 1EO is used in economy formulations. The alcohol comes from palm kernel or coconut oil in natural grades, or from petrochemical feedstock in synthetic grades, and SLES prices follow fatty alcohol and ethylene oxide. A typical sheet reads active matter 70% (68-72%), unsulphated matter 2.0% maximum, sodium sulphate 1.5% maximum and pH 7.0-9.5 in 1% solution. The number buyers now test hardest is 1,4-dioxane, a by-product of ethoxylation and sulphation: 30 ppm is a common commercial limit on the raw material, and low-dioxane grades are stripped to 10 ppm or less. The limits that drive it are on finished products: New York State caps household cleansing and personal care products at 1 ppm and cosmetics at 10 ppm, with no waivers after 30 December 2025, and in the EU 1,4-dioxane is an Annex II prohibited substance under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, tolerated only as a technically unavoidable trace, with the SCCS target of 10 ppm or less in finished cosmetics.

SLES sits in HS 3402.39, other anionic surfactants, a basket that also holds SLS and other sulphates. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under 3402.39 total USD 3.08 billion and about 1.80 million MT across 96 reporters, led by China at USD 646 million and 572,800 MT, Germany at USD 474 million, the USA at USD 305 million, Italy at USD 225 million, India at USD 109 million, Belgium at USD 108 million, Indonesia at USD 83 million, Malaysia at USD 77 million, Spain at USD 75 million, Egypt at USD 62 million and Türkiye at USD 32 million. Those are declared export values, not offers. KLK OLEO's Malaysian plant, KLKOM, has made SLES since 2021, integrated with palm-based fatty alcohol. SLES 70% is generally not classified as dangerous goods for sea transport, though it causes serious eye damage, so the producer's current safety data sheet is checked before booking. It moves in 170 kg drums (about 118 drums or 20 MT in a 20-ft container) or 1,050 kg IBCs, and must be diluted by adding the paste to water under shear, because between about 27% and 70% it passes through an unworkable gel phase. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers SLES against the producer's certificate of analysis per lot with the 1,4-dioxane result, safety data sheet, certificate of origin, and a halal certificate where the producer holds one, and REACH registration for EU imports, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms. Price is per MT on grade and pack; minimum orders are confirmed per product and pack. Send the EO grade, dioxane limit, natural or synthetic basis, packing, tonnage and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.