Liquid surfactant compositions having a modified oxo-alcohol derivative

1. A liquid surfactant composition, comprising:

a C 9 -C 20 alkylbenzene sulfonate in an amount from about 1 wt % to about 10 wt %;

a first alcohol ether sulfate (AES) surfactant having a molecular formula of R 1 —O—(CH 2 —CH 2 —O) m —SO 3 M, wherein R 1 represents a C 10 -C 20 alkyl group having at least 10% branching, m is from 6 to 8, and M represents a monovalent cation, said first AES surfactant being a modified oxo-alcohol-based surfactant, said first AES being present in an amount from about 1 wt % to about 8 wt %; and

a nonionic surfactant in an amount from about 1 wt % to about 10 wt %, wherein the composition has a Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) value of ≤5.0.

2. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the alkylbenzene sulfonate is present in an amount from about 2 wt % to about 8 wt % of the composition.

3. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the alkylbenzene sulfonate is a C 10 -C 15 alkylbenzene sulfonate.

4. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the alkylbenzene sulfonate has a molecular formula of

wherein R′ and R″ jointly have from 8 to 19 carbon (C) atoms and X + represents a monovalent cation that is a member selected from the group consisting of: Na + , K + , HO—CH 2 CH 2 NH 3 + , (HO—CH 2 CH 2 ) 3 NH + , and combinations thereof.

5. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the first AES surfactant is present in an amount from about 2 wt % to about 6 wt % of the composition.

6. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the C 10 -C 20 alkyl group of the first AES surfactant has a distribution of at least 10% C 11 , C 13 , C 15 , C 17 , or C 19 , or a combination thereof.

7. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the C 10 -C 20 alkyl group of the first AES surfactant has a distribution of at least 85% C 14 -C 15 .

8. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein m is 7.

9. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein M is a monovalent cation that is a member selected from the group consisting of: Na + , K + , HO—CH 2 CH 2 NH 3 + , (HO—CH 2 CH 2 ) 3 NH + , and combinations thereof.

10. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the first AES surfactant has a feedstock with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) range of from about 10 to about 14.

11. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the nonionic surfactant is present in an amount of from about 2 wt % to about 8 wt % of the composition.

12. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the nonionic surfactant has a molecular formula of R 2 —O-(AO) n —H, wherein R 2 represents a C 10 -C 20 alkyl group, AO represents an ethylene oxide or propylene oxide group, and n represents a number from 1 to 20.

13. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , further comprising a second AES surfactant having a molecular formula of R 3 —O—(CH 2 —CH 2 —O) q —SO 3 M′, wherein R 3 is a C 10 -C 20 alkyl group, q is a number from 1 to 10, and M′ is a monovalent cation.

14. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , further comprising water, an organic solvent, a builder, an optical brightener, an opacifier, a colorant, a fatty acid, an anti-foaming agent, an enzyme, a fragrance, a pH adjuster, a polymer, or a combination thereof.

15. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition has a fresh viscosity of from 350 centipoise (cps) to 550 cps.

16. A method of manufacturing a liquid surfactant composition, comprising:

providing an aqueous vehicle;

combining a C 9 -C 20 alkylbenzene sulfonate with the aqueous vehicle in an amount to provide from about 1 wt % to about 10 wt % of the C 9 -C 20 alkylbenzene sulfonate in the liquid surfactant composition;

combining a first alcohol ether sulfate (AES) surfactant with the aqueous vehicle, said first AES surfactant having a molecular formula of R 1 —O—(CH 2 —CH 2 —O) m —SO 3 M, wherein R 1 represents a C 10 -C 20 alkyl group having at least 10% branching, m represents a number from 6 to 8, and M represents a monovalent cation, said first AES being a modified oxo-alcohol-based surfactant and being combined in an amount to provide from about 1 wt % to 8 wt % of the first AES in the liquid surfactant composition; and

combining a nonionic surfactant with the aqueous vehicle in an amount to provide from about 1 wt % to about 10 wt % of the non-ionic surfactant in the liquid surfactant composition, wherein the composition has a Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) value of ≤5.0.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising combining a second AES surfactant with the aqueous vehicle, said second AES surfactant having a molecular formula of R 3 —O—(CH 2 —CH 2 —O) q —SO 3 M′, wherein R 3 is a C 10 -C 20 alkyl group, q is 2 or 3, and M′ is a monovalent cation.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising combining an organic solvent, a builder, an optical brightener, an opacifier, a colorant, a fatty acid, an anti-foaming agent, an enzyme, a fragrance, a pH adjuster, a polymer, or a combination thereof with the aqueous vehicle.

19. The liquid surfactant composition of claim 1 , wherein the nonionic surfactant is a modified oxo-alcohol-based surfactant.