Wetting (and de-wetting) agent: it decreases the surface tension of a liquid to assist in the penetration and spreading of another liquid or solid Dispersant: it stabilizes the spread of a substance into another substance, especially useful in oil spills to remove large amounts of petroleum from the surface of water Cleaners and detergent: it is used widely in industrial laundry, especially in liquid detergents, and in other industries to control machine deposits and clean equipment. Foaming agent: it accelerates foam development in products The NP-9 surfactant can be used as an emulsifier, wetting agent, dispersant, synthetic latex stabilizer and detergent in formulating cleaning products. They are also widely used as a primary emulsifier for acrylic and vinyl emulsion polymerization Polyoxyethylene Nonylphenol (NP-9) is a surfactant. NP-9, or nonylphenol ethoxylate, is used primarily, as the name suggests, as a nonionic (having no electric charge in water) surfactant. A surfactant, by the way, is a substance that lowers the surface tension between two liquids or a liquid and a solid, giving nonylphenol ethoxylate the ability to disperse one form of matter into another. NP-9 is a man-made substance created for industrial and domestic chemical or detergent preparations. This waxy or oily solid may be colorless or carry a slight amber/orange tint. Color may darken over time and this is normal and will not affect performance.