Dear Veronica et al. -

Triton XL-80N is no longer produced.  (I  believe we purchased the last 
55 gal. drum of it in North America some time ago, but there might 
still be some stocks of repacked material somewhere).  When looking up 
information for "Triton", note that the Triton series began their 
career as Rohm and Haas products, became Union Carbide products in 1991 
and since 2001 are currently Dow products.  Dow recommends a 50:50 
blend of Tergitol 15-S-9 and Tergitol 15-S-7 as a replacement.  This is 
actually what we used (in various blend ratios with 15-S-12) before 
XL-80N came along.  This 50:50 blend gives a calculated HLB of 12.8 
which is similar to XL-80N (estimated at 12-13).  The Tergitol tends to 
gel at 40-50% concentration, so we heated it slightly and diluted it to 
30% - which is still very viscous (at 20% the viscosity drops 
considerably).  We then dispensed and diluted it further from the 
concentrated solution at the point of use.  With XL-80N there was no 
mixing or dispensing hassles.  It's density was less than water.

When it was taken off the market, we chose to replace Triton XL-80N 
with Surfonic JL-80X from Huntsman and have been using it for about a 
year.  Both products are ethoxylated/propoxylated alcohols with similar 
reported characteristics.  The HLB of JL-80X is 13.1.  The cmc is not 
in the technical bulletin, but may be similar to XL-80N (which is 86 
ppm at 25 degrees C. - .086 g/L or about .085 ml/L).  A use 
concentration of 5-10x the cmc is what we find to be practical for 
nonionic surfactants in textile washing applications (depending on many 
factors).

Ask Huntsman or your distributor of industrial chemicals for a free 
sample - gallon samples (which go a long way) are available.  In the 
U.S. we purchase JL-80X from Brenntag Pacific, but Univar and other 
industrial chemical suppliers have it also.

And lastly, there is no single surfactant - or cleaning formula - that 
can answer the complex requirements of conservation cleaning 
strategies.  Unfortunately, most research in this area falters because 
it is poorly conceived, not comprehensive or is not relatable to other 
studies.  Richard Wolbers work is opening new possibilities and is 
providing valuable tools for conservators.  He cannot be commended 
enough.

Yours,

David Walker

Talisman Restoration, Inc.
719 Swift St. #5
Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA
Tel:    831 425 7847
Fax:    831 425 7829
email: [log in to unmask]



On Feb 27, 2006, at 2:35 AM, Verónica García wrote:

> Dear Colleagues
>
> Last year I attended  the cleaning workshop given by Dr. R. Wolbers
> at the NATCC.
> Following the information I could get Tritón XL-80N but only in a small
> quantity
> because Sigma here only works with investigation programs and dont sell
> another quantity. Does anyone has  experience working with it? is  
> there a
> specific
> concentration for this surfactant or you can use the suggestion 
> 0.5-1.0 g/l
> (Chemical principles of Textile Conservation by Agnes Tymar-Dinah 
> Eastop) ?
> I principaly will use it for tapestries cleaning.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Veronica Garcia Blanco,
> Fundacion Real Fabrica de Tapices
> Madrid Spain
>>
>