Lankem nonionic, anionic, and amphoteric surfactants and polymeric dispersants for North American industry. Wetting, emulsifying, dispersing, and defoaming for oilfield, agrochemical, coatings, cleaning, and emulsion-polymer formulation.
Surfactants are surface-active molecules with a water-loving head and an oil-loving tail. That structure lets a small dose change how liquids and solids behave at an interface. Surfactants wet a surface so a liquid spreads and penetrates, emulsify oil and water into a stable blend, separate them again as a demulsifier, build or knock down foam, and carry insoluble actives into solution. Dispersants are usually higher-molecular-weight polymers that anchor onto solid particles and hold them apart so pigments, fillers, and minerals stay suspended instead of settling or re-agglomerating.
P.A.T. Products supplies and stocks Lankem industrial surfactants and dispersants for North American industry. Lankem, a United Kingdom manufacturer, makes the full charge range under brand families that map to the job: LANSURF nonionic surfactants, KEMSURF anionic surfactants, amphoteric betaines, Lanphos phosphate esters, and LANSPERSE polymeric and biobased dispersants, plus dedicated wetting agents and emulsifier pairs. We hold inventory, ship in less-than-drum quantities, and back every grade with documentation and samples.
Nonionic surfactants (LANSURF). No charge on the head group, so they tolerate hard water and electrolytes and foam less than ionic types. The chemistry covers fatty-alcohol and synthetic-alcohol ethoxylates, ethylene-oxide and propylene-oxide block copolymers, and amine ethoxylates. These are the wetting agents, emulsifiers, and low-foam surfactants behind coatings, cleaning, agrochemical, and emulsion-polymer formulations.
Anionic surfactants (KEMSURF). A negative charge gives strong detergency, foaming, and emulsification. The range includes alpha-olefin sulfonates, alkyl ether sulfates, alkylbenzene sulfonates, and sulfosuccinate wetting agents. Anionics carry the cleaning and the colloidal stability in latex and emulsion systems, usually paired with a nonionic.
Amphoteric surfactants and phosphate esters. Amphoteric betaines carry both charges and adjust to the pH of the system, so they stay mild and effective across a wide pH range. Lanphos phosphate esters give wetting, emulsification, corrosion protection, and electrolyte tolerance where a standard surfactant falls short.
Dispersants do a different job from surfactants. A LANSPERSE dispersant anchors onto a pigment, filler, or mineral particle and stabilizes it by charge, by polymer chain, or by both, so the solid stays evenly distributed and does not flocculate. That holds gloss and color strength in a coating, keeps a pigment concentrate stable on the shelf, and keeps a slurry pumpable.
The range runs across polyacrylate, polyester, polyether, and polyurethane backbones for waterborne, solventborne, and universal tinting systems, plus biobased grades for formulators reducing fossil content. Some grades dissolve in both water and organic solvent, which suits universal colorant work. Tell us the pigment or filler, the resin, and the carrier, and we will point you to a dispersant to trial.
Surfactants for drilling-fluid dispersion and rate of penetration, fracturing and flowback surface-tension reduction, completion and acidizing non-emulsifiers, cement-spacer dispersion, and crude-oil demulsifiers for water and oil separation.
Balanced emulsifier pairs for emulsifiable concentrates, dispersants and wetting agents for suspension and water-dispersible-granule formulations, and tank-mix adjuvants for spreading, sticking, and penetration.
Pigment and filler dispersants, substrate wetting agents, surface-tension control, and emulsifiers for waterborne, solventborne, UV, and universal tinting systems.
Coatings additives →Detergency and hard-surface wetting, low-foam block-copolymer surfactants for clean-in-place and spray-wash systems, hydrotropes, and degreasing emulsifiers.
Primary and co-emulsifiers and steric stabilizers for acrylic, vinyl-acetate, styrene-acrylic, and SBR latex feeding paints, adhesives, sealants, and paper coatings, with control over particle size and colloidal stability.
Emulsifiers for soluble-oil, semi-synthetic, and synthetic cutting and grinding fluids, plus wetting, lubricity, low-foam, and corrosion-inhibitor coupling.
Scouring, wetting, and penetrating agents, dye dispersants and leveling agents, de-sizing, fiber lubrication, and leather fatliquoring emulsification.
Air-entraining surfactants for a fine, stable bubble structure, cement dispersion and plasticizing aids, defoamers, and gypsum-board foamers.
Collectors and frothers for flotation of sulfides, oxides, phosphates, and coal, and dispersants for mineral slurries.
Deinking, pitch dispersion, and defoaming in pulp and paper, and pigment dispersants and wetting agents for flexographic, gravure, inkjet, and UV inks.
Industrial surfactants and dispersants are moving into newer applications. If your work sits in one of them, we can help you scope a grade.
Battery electrode slurries. Dispersants for carbon black, carbon nanotube, and active-material slurries that control rheology and homogeneity in lithium-ion and grid-storage cells.
Fluorine-free firefighting foam. Hydrocarbon and siloxane surfactant systems replacing PFAS fluorosurfactants as those bans take effect.
Enhanced oil recovery. Ultra-low interfacial-tension and wettability-altering surfactants for surfactant-polymer and microemulsion flooding.
Soil and groundwater remediation. Surfactant-enhanced flushing of petroleum and NAPL-contaminated soils, with overlap into brownfield and PFAS-site work.
Ceramics and advanced materials. Slip-casting, tape-casting, and investment-casting slurry dispersants for technical ceramics and refractories.
Reformulation drives a lot of surfactant sourcing right now. Alkylphenol ethoxylates degrade to persistent, endocrine-active metabolites and are restricted in the European Union and increasingly scrutinized in North America, so APEO-free and nonylphenol-free grades are a standing requirement for many buyers. The line includes APEO-free surfactants and biobased dispersants, and we can supply biodegradability and aquatic-toxicity data, REACH and TSCA status, and current Safety Data Sheets so you can confirm a grade clears your specification before you formulate around it.
P.A.T. Products holds surfactant and dispersant inventory in North American warehouses and ships across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. We sell in less-than-drum quantities for trials and pilot runs, and we arrange direct shipments for commercial volumes. Samples typically go out the same business day.
Technical Data Sheets and Safety Data Sheets are available for every grade, and a Certificate of Analysis ships with each lot. If you are qualifying a second source or moving off another supplier's surfactant, tell us the product you run now and the function it serves, and we can match by charge type, chemistry, and active content. Cross-references to commonly specified grades are available on request.
The difference is the charge on the water-loving head of the molecule. Nonionic surfactants carry no charge, tolerate hard water and electrolytes, and are the workhorses for wetting, emulsifying, and low-foam systems. Anionic surfactants carry a negative charge and give strong detergency and foaming. Amphoteric surfactants carry both charges and adjust to the pH of the system, so they stay effective across a wide pH range. Many formulations pair a nonionic with an anionic to get the wetting and the stability together.
A surfactant lowers surface tension so liquids wet, emulsify, and foam. A dispersant is usually a higher-molecular-weight polymer that anchors onto a solid particle, such as a pigment, filler, or mineral, and holds the particles apart so they do not re-agglomerate. Dispersants keep pigment concentrates, slurries, and suspensions stable. The two jobs overlap, and many products do both, which is why a wetting and dispersing agent is specified for coatings and inks.
Yes. The line includes alkylphenol-ethoxylate-free (APEO-free, nonylphenol-free) grades and biobased dispersants for formulators moving off legacy chemistry. Biodegradability and aquatic-toxicity data, REACH and TSCA status, and current Safety Data Sheets are available so you can confirm a grade meets your regulatory and sustainability requirements before you commit.
It depends on the pigment and the system. Polymeric dispersants anchor onto the pigment surface and stabilize it by charge, by chain, or both, in waterborne, solventborne, and universal tinting systems. Tell us the pigment, the resin, and whether the system is water-based or solvent-based, and we will recommend a dispersant and send a sample to evaluate.
Yes. The range covers surfactants and demulsifiers used in drilling, fracturing, completion, and crude separation, and emulsifiers and steric stabilizers used to make acrylic, vinyl-acetate, styrene-acrylic, and other latex and emulsion polymers for paints, adhesives, and sealants. Tell us the application and the conditions, including temperature and electrolyte load, and we will match a product.
Yes. Samples typically go out the same business day. Technical Data Sheets and Safety Data Sheets are available for every grade, a Certificate of Analysis ships with each lot, and we can provide additional documentation, including REACH and biodegradability statements, on request. If you are qualifying a second source, tell us the product you run now and we can match by function, charge type, and active content.
