Cocamide DEA (CDEA)

About This Product

Cocamide DEA is produced by reacting coconut oil fatty acids with diethanolamine to form a fatty alkanolamide. It carries CAS number 68603-42-9 and the INCI name Cocamide DEA, and is supplied as a clear amber viscous liquid. It performs two jobs in a surfactant system. It stabilises foam, producing a denser, longer-lasting lather from an anionic base than that base gives alone, and it thickens, often dramatically, by promoting the growth of rod-shaped micelles that entangle and raise viscosity. For decades that combination made it the default additive in shampoos and washing-up liquids. Its position has since changed on regulatory rather than performance grounds. Diethanolamide chemistry can form nitrosamines if the formulation also contains a nitrosating agent, and the material is classified under California Proposition 65, while some markets restrict or discourage its use in leave-on products. Many formulators have moved to cocamide MEA or cocamidopropyl betaine for that reason. It remains widely used in industrial and household cleaning, where those constraints do not apply. It is used in shampoos and body washes, dishwashing liquids, household and industrial cleaners, metalworking fluids and textile processing. Bio Green Chem supplies cocamide DEA to specification on amide content, free amine, free fatty acid, water, colour and pH, with permitted-use status confirmed for the destination market.