A soap-stick base is not a finished unloading chemical. It is a crystalline solid you process into sticks. Esteem’s soap stick base table is three published grades. Specify stick manufacture and APEO policy, then the polymer—not “any soap.”
What the Soap-Stick Table Is For
The oil and gas hub lists soap-stick bases for wellbore foam and water unloading. The product table publishes T-Det N 100, T-Det PEG 4000, and T-Det PEG 8000 as low-glycol, higher-crystallinity solids for soap-stick formulation. This guide maps those grades. It is not a downhole dose chart or a personal-care bar recipe beyond what the table states.
Esteem Grades by Role
| Grade (as listed) | Composition | Start here when |
|---|---|---|
| T-Det N 100 | Nonylphenol ethoxylate | Surfactant body in the stick; APEO allowed |
| T-Det PEG 4000 | High-molecular-weight polyethylene glycol | Solid/flake crystallinity and handling |
| T-Det PEG 8000 | High-molecular-weight polyethylene glycol | Higher-MW PEG body vs 4000 |
NPE Body vs PEG Crystallinity
T-Det N 100 supplies the ethoxylate surfactant. T-Det PEG 4000 and PEG 8000 are listed as high-MW PEGs sold as solid, flake, or powder with low glycol and higher crystallinity—the processing window for a stick that does not weep or crumble in the magazine. PEG 4000 versus PEG 8000 is a molecular-weight choice, not a foam-height claim. Trial the melt and brine foam on the actual blend.
If the operator’s RSL bans nonylphenol ethoxylates, T-Det N 100 is the wrong named grade. Do not write “APEO-free NPE.” Use custom synthesis or a different surfactant family after you state the restriction.
Match Stick Manufacture to the Published Solids
| Need | Start with (as listed) | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Surfactant body in the stick; APEO allowed | T-Det N 100 (nonylphenol ethoxylate) | That NPE is APEO-free if relabelled |
| Solid/flake crystallinity and handling | T-Det PEG 4000 | PEG 4000 equals PEG 8000 melt and hardness |
| Higher-MW PEG body vs 4000 | T-Det PEG 8000 | Higher MW means more foam in brine |
| Circulating liquid foam, not a stick | Foamer CD or Foamer HS | These PEG flakes as a finished unloading chemical |
Processing Notes the Table Already Gives
Each of the three grades is described as low-glycol, higher-crystallinity solid, flake, or powder for soap-stick formulation. That is a processing note for stick integrity and warehouse handling—not a published unloading-rate or foam-height number. A stick that weeps in the magazine or crumbles on the wireline is a formulation failure even if the melt looked good in a beaker.
Sticks are usually a blend. T-Det N 100 can supply surfactant body when APEO is allowed; PEG 4000 or PEG 8000 can supply the crystalline matrix. Do not swap NPE for PEG 1:1 and expect the same melt, foam, and brine tolerance. If the field wants liquid unloading instead of a stick, stop using this table as the primary request and open oilfield foaming agents.
Wellbore Stick vs Cleaning Bar
The oil and gas hub positions these bases for wellbore foam, water unloading, and downhole stick applications. The product table publishes composition and soap-stick formulation use. Say gas-well deliquification versus industrial bar soap on the request so Esteem knows which process window you need. A cleaning-bar melt test is not a loaded-well foam test.
Flowback after hydraulic fracturing is still a liquid wetting package, not a stick base. See flowback aids. Check stick integrity and foam in field water; do not scale a distilled-water melt test to a loaded well.
APEO Policy and T-Det N 100
T-Det N 100 is listed as nonylphenol ethoxylate. It is not an APEO-free grade. If a field, operator, or export brief forbids alkylphenol ethoxylates, do not specify T-Det N 100 and do not relabel it. Ask Esteem about a non-catalogue window, or build the stick on PEG 4000 / PEG 8000 plus a permitted surfactant from another table. Write the APEO / NPE policy on the sample request so the wrong solid is not shipped as “any soap-stick base.”
PEG 4000 and PEG 8000 are high-molecular-weight polyethylene glycols with the same published low-glycol, higher-crystallinity, solid/flake/powder comments. PEG 8000 is the higher-MW neighbour. Melt point, stick hardness, and how fast the stick dissolves in wellbore water will not match 1:1. Trial both in the actual recipe. Neither PEG is a finished unloading chemical by itself.
Placement Method vs Surfactant Job
A soap stick is a placement method: melt or compress a solid so it can be dropped or pumped to generate foam or film downhole. Liquid Foamer CD and Foamer HS are circulating or unloading surfactants. Flowback aids are liquid wetting packages after hydraulic fracturing. Do not treat these three pages as synonyms. If the field wants liquid unloading, open the foaming-agents table. If the field wants a stick, stay on T-Det N 100 / PEG 4000 / PEG 8000 as the published chassis.
Humidity in the magazine, wireline handling, and wellbore temperature all sit outside the product table. A stick that weeps, cakes, or shatters is a processing failure. The table’s crystallinity note is there so formulators expect a solid matrix—not so a buyer can skip a storage trial. Foam still has to be proven in field water, not distilled water. Condensate and hardness change how a melted stick performs once it leaves the magazine.
Industrial cleaning bars can use similar PEG melts. That is not a gas-well deliquification result. Name the end use on the request. Custom synthesis is the path if the catalogue solids cannot meet an APEO-free surfactant-plus-PEG stick in one published grade.
How to Specify with Esteem
- Name gas-well stick vs industrial bar, brine, and temperature.
- State APEO / NPE policy in writing.
- Request T-Det N 100 vs PEG 4000 vs PEG 8000 as named grades, including blend intent.
- Check stick integrity and foam in field water; do not scale a distilled-water melt test to a loaded well.
Related oilfield chemistry: liquid foamers, flowback aids, foaming agents.
Contact Esteem for samples of the named solids.