Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Linear alkylbenzene

Linear alkylbenzene is the oil-derived raw material for LAS, the world's most widely used detergent surfactant, made from kerosene paraffins and benzene.

Commodity chemicals · Derivatives & intermediates · No. 45

  • Single chemical
  • Feedstock: Oil, gas or coal
  • about 4.4 Mt a year (2024)
  • 1.9 t CO₂e per t
  • HS 381700
Commodity chemicals · Derivatives & intermediates · Foundation · Matter

The cleaning power in most of India's washing powders comes from a kerosene chain bolted onto benzene.

Chart: Illustration: Linear alkylbenzene

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Straight C10-C13 paraffins are sieved out of refinery kerosene, turned into olefins and attached to benzene. By weight LAB is about 70% paraffin chain and 30% benzene.

Three things to know
  1. About 98% of LAB is turned into LAS, the main cleaning agent in laundry powders, bars and liquids.
  2. India's LAB demand was forecast to grow 6% a year from 753 kt in 2020 to about 1,008 kt in 2025.
  3. India put anti-dumping duties on LAB from Iran and Qatar for 2025-2030.
The journey
  1. 1 Kerosene4-5 t yields 1 t paraffins
  2. 2 n-ParaffinsMolecular sieves pick straight-chain molecules
  3. 3 OlefinsDehydrogenated, 10-15% per pass
  4. 4 AlkylationJoined to benzene over solid acid
  5. 5 LASSulphonated by detergent makers
Covered in The chemical industry: what it makes and how it is organisedChemicalsFrom building blocks to plastics, fibres and detergentsChemicalsSoaps, detergents and agrochemicalsChemicals
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