Ammonium lauryl sulphate is a chemical compound, alkyl salt of the monodecyl ester of sulphuric acid. It occurs as an amber, light yellow or colourless viscous liquid or as a fine white or crystalline powder of various colours.
What it is used for and where
Cosmetics
Ammonium lauryl sulphate is a chemical intermediate, an anionic surfactant, with good wetting and dispersing power. It is resistant to hard water and has antistatic, foaming and thickening properties and can also effectively resist rust. It is generally blended with anionic surfactants to improve foam duration and stability as well as washability. Good biodegradability. It is a simple SLS analogue with ammonium ion instead of sodium and for this reason is at least two and a half times less toxic than SLS.
Can be used for washing wool, fibres, metals.
Found in shampoos, shower baths, toothpastes, soaps and other personal care products as main surfactant or auxiliary component of detergent and foaming agent.
It is included in formulations in percentages ranging from 5% to 30%. Not suitable for alkaline systems.
Other uses
Paper industry, textiles, leather, petroleum, fertilisers.
Safety
A safety report in the 2010 International Journal of Toxicology on several alkyl salts including ammonium lauryl sulphate concluded that the chemicals tested were safe in the use practices and concentrations described in the safety assessment (1).
A 2019 study by researchers from Yongin University, Korea, building on another epidemiological study suggesting that chronic exposure to cleaning agents significantly reduced lung function, analysed and identified the toxic mechanism of ammonium lauryl sulphate. The conclusion was that chronic pulmonary exposure to ammonium lauryl sulphate can cause adverse health effects such as cancer and fibrosis by compromising the host pulmonary immune system (2). Chronic pulmonary exposure is certainly an extreme, but recurring situation in those working in the production of ammonium lauryl sulphate and, I do not believe, inherent in the normal consumer who uses detergents on a non-continuous basis. However, one can never be too careful when it comes to health.
Ammonium lauryl sulphate studies
Optimal typical characteristics of the commercial product Ammonium lauryl sulfate liquid
| Appearance | Amber or light yellow viscous liquid |
Purity
| ≥99.0% |
| Freezing Point | 21~28°C |
| Active matter(MMW=291) | ~68% |
| Unsulphated matter | ≤4.0% |
| pH | 6.0~7.0 |
| Ammonium Sulphate | ≤2.0% |
| Ammonium Chloride | ≤0.5% |
| Water | ≤1.0% |
Heavy metals
| ≤10 ppm |
Residue on ignition
| ≤0.1% |
Sulphated ash
| ≤0.5%/g |
| Flash Point | 110°C |
NH4Cl(%)
| ≤0.15 |
(NH4)2SO4(%)
| ≤1.5 |
- Molecular Formula C12H29NO4S C12H26O4S.H3N
- Linear Formula CH3(CH2)11OSO3NH4
- Molecular Weight 283.43
- Exact Mass 283.181732
- CAS 2235-54-3
- UNII Q7AO2R1M0B
- EC Number 218-793-9
- DSSTox Substance ID DTXSID2027462
- IUPAC azanium;dodecyl sulfate
- InChI=1S/C12H26O4S.H3N/c1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-16-17(13,14)15;/h2-12H2,1H3,(H,13,14,15);1H3
- InChl Key BTBJBAZGXNKLQC-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- SMILES CCCCCCCCCCCCOS(=O)(=O)[O-].[NH4+]
- MDL number MFCD00050675
- PubChem Substance ID 24885656
- NACRES NA.22
- Beilstein 5188379
Synonyms:
- Ammonium dodecyl sulfate
- Lauryl ammonium sulfate
References______________________________________________________________________
(1) Fiume M, Bergfeld WF, Belsito DV, Klaassen CD, Marks JG Jr, Shank RC, Slaga TJ, Snyder PW, Alan Andersen F. Final report on the safety assessment of sodium cetearyl sulfate and related alkyl sulfates as used in cosmetics. Int J Toxicol. 2010 May;29(3 Suppl):115S-32S. doi: 10.1177/1091581810364665.
(2) Park EJ, Seong E, Kim Y, Lee K. Ammonium lauryl sulfate-induced apoptotic cell death may be due to mitochondrial dysfunction triggered by caveolin-1. Toxicol In Vitro. 2019 Jun;57:132-142. doi: 10.1016/j.tiv.2019.02.021.
Ammonium lauryl sulfate 
Ammonium
