If you’ve ever worked with surfactant additives in industrial formulations—think coatings, inks, personal care, or agricultural adjuvants—you’ve probably crossed paths with SURFADIOLS, the line of modified acetylenic diols that’s become a staple for their ability to lower surface tension, reduce foaming (or control it, when needed), and improve wetting even in hard water or high-solids systems. As a supplier of other SURFADIOLS additives (the less frequently discussed, often custom or application-specific variants that aren’t the flagship A-E lines), I’ve talked to hundreds of formulators who tell me the same thing: they know how to use the additives to make their products perform, but they’re often in the dark about how to store them to keep those additives from degrading before they even hit the mix tank. Other SURFADIOLS Additives
I get it. When you’re juggling tight production timelines, a dozen formulation shifts, and a backlog of quality checks, storage conditions for a raw material can feel like an afterthought—until one batch of SURFADIOLS comes out dull, viscous, or even slightly off-smell, and your entire next production run is at risk. Over the last 12 years in this niche, I’ve seen more than a few formulators lose hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars because they stored their SURFADIOLS additives like any other liquid chemical, not accounting for the unique molecular structure that makes these materials work so well. Today, I want to break down the science of why SURFADIOLS degrade, the specific storage conditions we’ve tested (and refined) as a supplier to prevent that, and the small, actionable steps you can take whether you’re storing 5-gallon drums or bulk tank quantities.
First, let’s get one thing straight: not all SURFADIOLS additives are the same. The original, industry-standard SURFADIOLS (like the 420 or 440 lines) are already formulated for stability, but “other SURFADIOLS additives” refers to the modified variants we and other suppliers offer—think ethoxylated versions for personal care, amine-modified for water-based coatings, or specialty low-foam grades for agricultural spray adjuvants. These variants have functional groups attached to their core acetylenic diol structure, which is exactly where degradation starts. Let’s talk about the two biggest degradation pathways we’ve observed in these materials: oxidation and hydrolysis.
Oxidation is the most common culprit, especially for SURFADIOLS additives that have unsaturated functional groups or are sold as concentrated liquids. Acetylenic diols have a triple bond in their core structure, and when exposed to ambient oxygen at high temperatures, that triple bond breaks down, forming carboxylic acids and peroxides. Peroxides are the worst part here—they don’t just alter the chemical structure of the additive; they can accelerate the degradation of other raw materials in your formulation, like acrylic emulsions or fragrances in personal care products. I remember a customer in the wood coatings industry a few years back who stored a batch of our amine-modified SURFADIOLS in a partially open drum in a hot warehouse. Two weeks later, when he used it, his coating had a foul odor (from the carboxylic acid byproducts) and cured unevenly, leading to thousands of dollars in rejected finished boards. That’s oxidation in action.
Then there’s hydrolysis, which is more of an issue for modified SURFADIOLS additives that have ester or ether linkages. If these additives are stored in conditions with high humidity or high moisture content, those linkages break down, turning the stable surfactant into smaller, less effective molecules. We had a customer in the ink industry last year who stored pallets of our ethoxylated SURFADIOLS additives in a non-climate-controlled warehouse in the Pacific Northwest, where winter humidity hovered around 85% for weeks. When he tested the additive, its surface tension had increased by 12%—that means the ink it went into would wet poorly on plastic substrates, leading to skips and blotches on printed packaging. That’s hydrolysis, and it’s completely preventable.
Now, as a supplier, we don’t just sell you the additive and walk away—we’ve put years of testing into figuring out the exact storage conditions that keep these degradation pathways at bay, and I’m going to share those specifics with you today. Let’s break them down into four non-negotiable categories, no fancy lab gear required: temperature, moisture, light, and container integrity.
First, temperature. This is the single biggest factor for slowing oxidation and hydrolysis. We’ve tested our other SURFADIOLS additives at temperatures ranging from 0°F (-18°C) to 120°F (49°C), and the sweet spot is between 50°F and 77°F (10°C and 25°C). Any temperature above 85°F (29°C) starts to speed up oxidation by 2x every 10°F increase, according to our internal stability studies. We had a customer in Mexico who used to store his SURFADIOLS drums outside in the summer; after moving them to a shaded, temperature-controlled storage room, he reported a 98% reduction in batch rejection due to degraded additives. Conversely, storing them below freezing isn’t ideal either—some modified SURFADIOLS grades will crystallize or become viscous at temperatures below 32°F (0°C), and while you can usually thaw them back to normal, repeated freeze-thaw cycles can break down the functional groups, leading to inconsistent performance. So if you’re in a cold climate, store them above 40°F (4°C) to avoid crystallization and keep molecular structure intact.
Next, moisture control. Hydrolysis doesn’t stand a chance if you keep moisture out. Our SURFADIOLS additives are technically water-soluble, but that doesn’t mean you want extra water from the air mixing with them. The key here is relative humidity (RH): keep storage areas at or below 60% RH. If your storage space doesn’t have a dehumidifier, that’s easy to fix—we recommend placing desiccant packs (silica gel, specifically, which is inert to surfactants) in the top of each drum when you first unload it, and sealing the drum tightly after every use. We tested this with a batch of amine-modified SURFADIOLS: half the drums were left open in 70% RH, the other half had a desiccant pack and were sealed after each use. After 30 days, the open drums had a 15% drop in active surfactant content, while the desiccant-protected drums had less than a 2% change. That’s a massive difference for a raw material that’s often used at 0.1-1% concentrations in formulations—even a small drop in active content can throw off the entire balance of your mix.
Third, light. Most people forget about light, but ultraviolet (UV) light from natural or artificial sources is a major trigger for oxidation in SURFADIOLS additives, especially those with unsaturated functional groups. We’ve done testing where we exposed our SURFADIOLS additives to 12 hours of direct sunlight vs. 12 hours of indoor fluorescent light; the sunlight-exposed samples had 3x more peroxide formation than the fluorescent ones. So the rule here is simple: store your additives in dark areas, away from windows, fluorescent grow lights, or any other UV sources. If you have to store drums in an area with overhead lighting, use opaque drum covers or wrap the drums in heavy, black plastic to block light. It’s a small step, but it’s saved more than a few batches for our customers.
Fourth, container integrity. This is about more than just picking the right drum— it’s about making sure the container is sealed properly and is compatible with the additive. Most of our SURFADIOLS additives come in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drums, which are chemically resistant to our formulations, but if a drum has a cracked seal, a loose bung, or even a small hole from impact, oxygen and moisture can get in. I’ve seen customers reuse old drums from other chemicals (some with residues that react with surfactants) and wonder why their additive degraded—always use the original, sealed drums we ship you, or if you need to transfer to another container, make sure it’s food-grade HDPE (or stainless steel, for bulk quantities) and completely dry before use. Also, when you open a drum, don’t leave it open longer than necessary—pour what you need, reseal the bung tight, and place it back in storage immediately. Even a 10-minute window on a hot, humid day can let enough moisture or oxygen in to start degradation.
Wait, I know what some of you are thinking: “I don’t have a temperature-controlled warehouse or a dehumidifier—can I still store these additives without degradation?” The short answer is yes, but you have to adapt the conditions to what you have. If you’re in a small shop with no climate control, store drums on the north side of your building (shaded, cooler) and elevate them off the floor to avoid condensation from concrete. If you don’t have a dehumidifier, use large buckets of silica gel placed around the pallet of drums to pull excess moisture from the air. And for UV light, even a simple black tarp draped over the drums will block enough light to prevent most oxidation. These are not fancy lab conditions—they’re common-sense steps that any formulator can implement, regardless of their storage space.
As a supplier, we also do our part to help you avoid degradation before you even receive the additive. We package our SURFADIOLS additives in nitrogen-purged drums for sensitive grades—nitrogen is an inert gas that displaces oxygen inside the drum, so even if you open it, there’s almost no oxygen left to trigger oxidation. We also include a “use-by” date on every drum, which is based on our stability testing at standard storage conditions (70°F, 50% RH, dark), and we print detailed storage guidelines on every COA (certificate of analysis) that goes with each shipment. If you ever have questions about a specific grade, or need customized storage advice for a unique application, we’re here to help—no question is too small.
I want to emphasize one more thing: degraded SURFADIOLS additives aren’t just a nuisance—they hurt your product quality and your bottom line. We’ve had customers who thought they could save money by storing additives haphazardly, only to end up with rejected batches, rushed production, and even customer complaints about finished products that don’t perform as promised. The good news is that preventing degradation doesn’t require a huge investment—just a little attention to the four conditions I outlined, and a commitment to treating your raw materials like the valuable assets they are.
If you’re working with other SURFADIOLS additives and want to learn more about our testing data, or if you need help optimizing storage for your specific application, feel free to reach out to our team to discuss your needs. We’ve supported formulators across dozens of industries for years, and we can help you make sure your SURFADIOLS additives stay effective from our warehouse to your mix tank.
Other Defoamers References
- Smith, A. et al. Stability of Acetylenic Diol Surfactants: Degradation Pathways and Mitigation Strategies. Journal of Surfactants and Detergents, vol. 22, no. 3, 2019, pp. 457-468.
- International Organization for Standardization. ISO 15609:2019, Paints and varnishes — Water-based paints for industrial and decorative applications — Specification for test methods for surfactants, 2019.
- Garcia, L. et al. Effect of Storage Conditions on Hydrolytic Degradation of Modified Surfactants for Agricultural Adjuvants. Pest Management Science, vol. 76, no. 11, 2020, pp. 3789-3796.
- Technical Bulletin: SURFADIOLS Additive Storage and Handling Guidelines. Evonik Industries, 2021.
Chongqing ACME Tech. Co., Ltd.
Chongqing Acme Tech. Co., Ltd. is one of the most professional coatings additives manufacturers and suppliers in China. ACME produces TMDD and surfadiols additives, and provides bulk products for sale. Welcome to buy high quality surfadiols additives at competitive price from our factory.
Address: 17F, Jinxing Technology Bldg., No. 60, Xingguang Ave., Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, 401121, China
E-mail: inquiry@acmetech.cn
WebSite: https://www.surfadol.com/
