Coschem - Annual Report 2015 2016 | Page 10

Seminar Committee

Surfactant Workshop – 20 February
Seminar Committee Members 2016
Janine Wilson Kirsten Scott Liezanne van der Walt Johrinda van Rensburg
Chairperson
Last year the basic refresher mornings were a huge success , this year we however returned our focus to morning seminars and one Saturday workshop . The seminar committee lead by Janine Wilson , hosted a myriad of interesting and very well supported seminars . We were proud to utilise the Coschem facilities for these events . A number of members have logged in via the webinar system throughout the year .
The overall feedback on these events has only been positive and we would like to thank our presenters for sharing their wealth of knowledge with our members .
Presenters included Liezanne van der Walt and Gillian Kuhn . The day was initiated with a short presentation on the key role that surfactants play in the cosmetics industry as well as a historical overview . The technical basics of formulating with surfactants were addressed , from basic chemistry through to commonly used surfactant types .
The presenters also discussed the different roles surfactants play in personal and home care products , and reviewed various surfactant group types for each role . Other technical aspects such as HLB values , surfactant classification and surfactant packing types were addressed . Delegates were then given an opportunity to work directly with surfactant systems providing a first-hand experience of the technical information presented . The experiments included surfactant system thickening , looking at cloud points ; the role of a surfactant as an emulsifier and a comparative performance of standard surfactants .
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