Study of age-related changes in the physicochemical properties of Cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB): A Case Study of the Production of Cocamidopropyl Betaine on an Industrial Scale

Abstract

Cocamidopropyl betaine is a synthetic surfactant derived from the reaction between coconut oil fatty acids and dimethylaminopropylamine, yielding a mixture of amidoamine betaine closely related to organic compounds. This work aims to study the effect of aging related changes on the physicochemical properties of cocamidopropyl betaine. Four batches of cocamidopropyl betaine (30 % active) were manufactured using a two-step batch process: condensation reaction and quaternization reaction process. The physicochemical properties such as pH value, solid content (NVM), sodium chloride content, and H2O2 content of CAPB-betaine were studied over a period of 12 months. Additional confirmation tests were conducted using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis to verify that there were no changes in the chemical structure of CAPB-betaine (Batch #1) over 12 months. The results showed that the physicochemical properties for four batches had similar readings value over the age period. The analysis revealed that the physicochemical properties of the four batches remained relatively consistent throughout the aging period. The readings obtained for pH value, solid content, sodium chloride content, and free amidoamine content showed minimal variation across the batches over the course of the study. This indicates that the batches maintained their stability and reliability over the 12-month period.