Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monooleate
Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monooleate, sold as Polysorbate 80 or Tween 80, is a non-ionic surfactant with CAS number 9005-65-6 and an HLB of approximately 15.0.
The molecule pairs a sorbitan core with a single oleic acid (C18:1) ester and three polyoxyethylene chains averaging twenty ethylene oxide units in total. It is an amber viscous liquid that disperses readily in water and is the most widely used polysorbate in pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications.
We source bulk Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monooleate 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.
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- Packaging
- 190 kg steel drum or 25 kg jerrican
- ISO 9001
- HACCP
- Halal
- Kosher
Specifications
Grades / Types Available: Food Grade, Pharmaceutical Grade
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Amber to yellow viscous oily liquid |
| Acid Value | ≤ 2.0 mg KOH/g |
| Saponification Value | 45-55 mg KOH/g |
| Hydroxyl Value | 65-80 mg KOH/g |
| Water Content | ≤ 3.0% |
| HLB Value | 15.0 |
| Heavy Metals (as Pb) | ≤ 5 mg/kg |
| Purity (Food Grade) | ≥ 99% |
| Viscosity (Food Grade) | 1000-3000 mPa.s |
| Moisture/Loss on Drying | ≤ 1% |
| 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 80 covers food, pharmaceutical, vaccine, and biotechnology grades.
Food grade meets the JECFA specification for E433 with maximum 1 ppm 1,4-dioxane and defined ranges for hydroxyl value and saponification value. Typical assay is 97 percent or higher.
USP-NF and Ph. Eur. pharmaceutical grade tightens dioxane and ethylene oxide residuals and adds peroxide value control. A super-refined low-peroxide grade is produced for sensitive biologic formulations.
Grades that meet USP, Ph. Eur., JP, and CP at the same time are the standard for global biopharmaceutical supply. Plant-source oleic acid (sunflower, canola, or rapeseed) is the default supply route; tallow-derived oleic acid is still sold for industrial use but is rare in pharmaceutical applications.
Applications
- Ice cream and frozen-dessert mixes as a co-emulsifier for fat-globule destabilization
- Salad dressings, sauces, and pickle brines as a solubilisation and wetting aid
- Whipping cream powders, aerosol toppings, and bakery whips for foam stability
- Vitamin and flavour solubilisation in clear beverages and shots
- Vaccine adjuvant systems including squalene oil-in-water emulsions
- Injectable pharmaceutical formulations stabilising monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins
- Oral pharmaceutical suspensions and syrups for lipophilic actives
- Cosmetic emulsions, micellar cleansers, and fragrance solubilisers
- Veterinary injectable suspensions and vaccines
- Industrial agrochemical formulations as a non-ionic wetting agent
- Cell-culture media supplements to prevent shear-induced cell damage
Brands Using Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monooleate
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monooleate on the ingredient label.
- HeinzGenuine Whole Original Sour Dill Pickles (46 fl oz) ↗Listed: 'cucumbers, water, distilled white vinegar, lactic acid, salt, calcium chloride, potassium sorbate (as a preservative), natural flavors, and polysorbate 80'Label verified 2026-05-24
- VlasicKosher Dill Spears ↗Kosher dill spears whose ingredient list includes polysorbate 80 with cucumbers, vinegar, calcium chloride and other ingredients at 2% or less (SmartLabel UPC 054100005359).Label verified 2026-05-24
- ClaussenKosher Dill Pickle Spears ↗Kraft Heinz brand-official Claussen page; Claussen ingredient lists per SmartLabel include polysorbate 80 as emulsifierLabel 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 Monooleate
Top Polyoxyethylene Sorbitan Monooleate 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 Monooleate
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 Monooleate 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 Monooleate 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 80 is approved as a food additive and pharmaceutical excipient in essentially every regulated market.
In the European Union it carries the E number E433 within the polysorbates family. 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 80 under 21 CFR 172.840 with category-specific use limits across ice cream, whipped toppings, vitamin-mineral preparations, and beverages.
JECFA assigned the polysorbates group an ADI. Pharmacopoeial monographs appear in USP-NF, Ph. Eur., JP, and CP, with grades meeting all four the standard for biopharmaceutical use.
Vaccine applications are governed by the same pharmacopoeial specifications, with additional batch-level testing for bacterial endotoxin and bioburden.
Manufacturing Process
Polysorbate 80 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, losing one water molecule to form a five-membered sorbitan ring. Sorbitan is then esterified with oleic acid at 200 to 230 degrees Celsius under nitrogen with an alkaline catalyst, producing sorbitan monooleate (Span 80).
The second stage is ethoxylation. Span 80 is reacted with twenty equivalents of ethylene oxide gas at 130 to 180 degrees Celsius and 3 to 5 bar with potassium hydroxide as catalyst. Ethylene oxide adds across the remaining sorbitan hydroxyls and on the fatty acid ester, producing a statistical distribution of polyoxyethylene chains totaling twenty units per molecule.
After neutralisation with phosphoric or citric acid the product is vacuum-stripped to remove residual ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, decolorised with activated carbon, and packaged hot. Modern plants achieve 1,4-dioxane below 1 ppm by post-reaction membrane stripping.
The oleic acid source is the dominant cost and origin variable. Pharmaceutical-grade plants use refined plant-source oleic acid certified for low peroxide value and tight cis-isomer content.
