Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate
Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate, sold under the trade name Polysorbate 20 or Tween 20, is a non-ionic surfactant with CAS number 9005-64-5 and an HLB of approximately 16.7.
The molecule consists of a sorbitan core bearing a single lauric acid (C12:0) ester and three polyoxyethylene chains averaging twenty ethylene oxide units in total. The result is a clear yellow viscous liquid that dissolves readily in water and ethanol.
We source bulk Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Guangdong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Packaging
- 190 kg steel drum or 25 kg jerrican
- ISO 9001
- HACCP
- Halal
- Kosher
Specifications
Grades / Types Available: Food Grade, Pharmaceutical Grade, Industrial Grade
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Amber viscous oily liquid |
| Acid Value | ≤ 2.0 mg KOH/g |
| Saponification Value | 40-50 mg KOH/g |
| Hydroxyl Value | 96-108 mg KOH/g |
| Water Content | ≤ 3.0% |
| HLB Value | 16.7 |
| Heavy Metals (as Pb) | ≤ 5 mg/kg |
| Purity (Food Grade) | ≥ 99.0% |
| Viscosity (Food Grade) | 1000-3000 mPa·s |
| Moisture/Loss on Drying | ≤ 1.0% |
| pH | 5.0 - 7.0 |
| Lead | ≤ 2 ppm |
| Arsenic | ≤ 1 ppm |
| Total Plate Count | ≤ 1000 cfu/g |
| Yeast & Mold | ≤ 100 cfu/g |
Common Markets Grades
Polysorbate 20 comes in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and biotechnology grades.
Food grade meets the JECFA specification for E432 with a maximum 1 ppm 1,4-dioxane, defined hydroxyl value range, and saponification value within 40-55 mg KOH/g. Assay typically runs 99 percent, and the material is a clear amber liquid.
USP-NF and Ph. Eur. pharmaceutical grade tightens the dioxane and ethylene oxide residual limits and adds tests for peroxide value (below 10 meq/kg) and colour.
Super-refined or low-peroxide grade is produced for protein-stabilising biopharmaceutical formulations where peroxide-driven oxidation of the active is a known cause of failure. Multi-compendial grades meet the USP, Ph. Eur., JP and CP monographs at the same time.
Vegetable-source lauric acid (palm kernel or coconut) is the dominant supply route; Kosher and Halal certifications are widely available.
Applications
- Solubilisation of essential oils, flavours, and lipophilic vitamins in clear beverages
- Pickle, sauce, and dressing formulations as a wetting and emulsification aid
- Ice cream and frozen-dessert mixes as a co-emulsifier paired with mono-/diglycerides
- Bakery products including yeast-raised goods for crumb softening
- Pharmaceutical injectable formulations stabilising monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic proteins
- Oral pharmaceutical suspensions and elixirs as a solubilisation aid
- Vaccines and biological reagents to prevent protein adsorption to glass and plastic
- Cosmetic products including shampoos, micellar waters, and fragrance solubilisers
- Wash buffers in ELISA, Western blotting, and other molecular-biology protocols
- Cleaning and detergent products as a low-foam non-ionic surfactant
Brands Using Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate on the ingredient label.
- CeraVeHydrating Facial Cleanser ↗Listed: 'Aqua / Water / Eau, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol... Cetyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 20, Ethylhexylglycerin'Label verified 2026-05-24
- CeraVeHydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 ↗Listed in inactive ingredients: '...XANTHAN GUM, PHYTOSPHINGOSINE, POLYSORBATE 20, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER...'Label verified 2026-05-24
- ColgatePeroxyl Mouth Sore Rinse (Mild Mint) ↗Listed in inactive ingredients: 'Water, Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol, Poloxamer 338, Polysorbate 20, Flavor, Sodium Saccharin, Blue 1.'Label verified 2026-05-24
- OlayWrinkle Correction Vitamin B3 + Peptides Serum ↗Listed: '...PANTHENOL, HYDROXYACETOPHENONE, DIMETHICONOL, POLYSORBATE 20, DISODIUM EDTA...'Label verified 2026-05-24
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate
Top Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
How We Help Source Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate
Direct Factory Sourcing
We run the whole process: selecting the manufacturer from the top Chinese food ingredient producers, negotiating the price, verifying quality, and coordinating the logistics. You deal with us instead of with several factories at once.
Original Packaging and Documents from the Manufacturer
The manufacturer sends your Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate out of its own factory in the original packing, through to your destination port. The COA, COO, MSDS, TDS and any certifications reach you from the manufacturer as well.
Free Samples and Lead Time
We send 100 to 500 g free for your own laboratory to test and you cover only the courier, usually within 2 to 3 working days. ETD is usually within 7 to 15 days once the order is confirmed, and we check that date against the factory's own manufacturing schedule before we give it to you.
Combined Shipment
We can load Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monolaurate together with other ingredients such as Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids, Non-Dairy Creamer and Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids into one 20' FCL. If your quantity is small, we can also ship LCL.
Regulatory Status
Polysorbate 20 is approved as a food additive and pharmaceutical excipient in essentially every regulated market.
In the European Union it carries the E number E432 within the polysorbates family (E432-E436). The European Food Safety Authority re-evaluated the group in 2015 and confirmed the existing group acceptable daily intake.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration permits polysorbate 20 under 21 CFR 172.515 as a flavouring adjuvant and under 21 CFR 172.836 with category-specific limits.
JECFA evaluated the polysorbates as a group and assigned an ADI. Pharmacopoeial monographs appear in USP-NF, Ph. Eur., JP, and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, with multi-compendial grades widely available.
The standing regulatory concern is residual ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, both controlled below 1 ppm in all current compendia.
Manufacturing Process
Polysorbate 20 is produced in two stages from sorbitol.
The first stage is sorbitan formation. Sorbitol is heated under vacuum with an acid or base catalyst at 150 to 200 degrees Celsius, eliminating one molecule of water to form a five-membered tetrahydrofuran ring known as sorbitan. A small fraction undergoes a second dehydration to isosorbide; this isosorbide content is a controlled impurity.
The sorbitan is then esterified with lauric acid at 200 to 230 degrees Celsius under nitrogen with an alkaline catalyst, producing sorbitan monolaurate (Span 20). The catalyst is neutralised and the crude is filtered.
The second stage is ethoxylation. Sorbitan monolaurate is reacted with twenty equivalents of ethylene oxide gas at 130 to 180 degrees Celsius and 3 to 5 bar in the presence of a basic catalyst (potassium hydroxide). Ethylene oxide adds across the free sorbitan hydroxyls and on the fatty acid ester to give a statistical distribution of polyoxyethylene chains totaling twenty units per molecule.
After neutralisation with phosphoric acid the product is stripped to remove residual ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, decolorised with carbon, and packaged hot. Modern plants use post-reaction membrane or vacuum stripping to drive 1,4-dioxane below 1 ppm.
