List of Contents
What is Biosurfactants Market Size?
The global biosurfactants market size is calculated at USD 4.99 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach around USD 8.02 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 5.42% from 2025 to 2034. The benefits of biosurfactants include long-term physiochemical stability, functionality under high temperature and pH conditions, production from renewable sources, low risk of toxicity, and a high biodegradability profile. The applications include textiles, agriculture chemicals, oilfield chemicals, food processing, industrial & institutional cleaners, personal care, and household detergents. These factors help to the growth of the market.
Market Highlights
- Europe dominated the biosurfactants market with the largest revenue share of 49% in 2024.
- Asia Pacific is estimated to be the fastest growing during the forecast period of 2025-2034.
- By product, the methyl ester ketone (MEK) segment dominated the market in 2024.
- By product, the alkyl polyglucosides (APG) segment is observed to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period.
- By product, the rhamnolipids segment is anticipated to be the fastest-growing during the forecast period.
- By application, the household detergent segment dominated the biosurfactants market in 2024.
- By application, the personal care products segment is expected to be the fastest-growing during the forecast period.
Market Overview
The biosurfactants market refers to biosurfactants, also known as microbial surfactants, and are defined as amphipathic molecules with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties that partition preferentially at the interface between fluid phases with different degrees of polarity and hydrogen bonding like water or air/oil/water interfaces. The applications of biosurfactants include textiles, agriculture chemicals, oil field chemicals, food processing, industrial & institutional cleaners, personal care, and household detergents. The benefits of biosurfactants include that they may be used in improved oil recovery and can be considered for other environmental applications, improving emulsification of hydrocarbons, surface moisturizing characteristics, versatility, biodegradability, and low toxicity. These factors help to the growth of the market.
Biosurfactants Market Growth Factors
- The benefits of biosurfactants include they may be used in improved oil recovery and can be considered for other applications in environmental protection which helps to the growth of the biosurfactants market.
- It improves the emulsification of hydrocarbons, and they have the potential for hydrocarbon contaminants' solubilization and increase their microbial degradation availability.
- It also includes the benefits of surface moisturizing characteristics, versatility, biodegradability, and low toxicity, which help the growth of the market.
- The applications of biosurfactants include textiles, agriculture chemicals, oilfield chemicals, food processing, industrial and institutional cleaners, personal care, and household detergents.
- It also includes mechanical dewatering of peat, uranium ore processing, coal, textile, ceramic processing, pulp and paper industry, healthcare and cosmetics, detergents, herbicides & pesticide formulations, etc. These factors help the growth of the biosurfactants market.
Biosurfactants MarketTrends
- There is a growing shift toward eco-friendly and sustainable surfactants as industries aim to reduce their environmental footprint.
- Increasing demand from the personal care and cosmetics sectors is driving innovations in mild and biodegradable biosurfactants.
- Food and beverage applications are rising, as biosurfactants are seen as safe, natural emulsifiers.
- Advancements in microbial fermentation and biotechnology are improving production efficiency and lowering costs.
- Companies are exploring agro-industrial and waste-based feedstocks to reduce raw material costs and support circular economy goals
- Regulatory support for green chemicals is encouraging more manufacturers to adopt biosurfactants over synthetic alternatives.
Market Outlook
- Industry Growth Overview: The growing need for environmentally friendly and biodegradable surfactants in sectors like personal care, cosmetics, food, and pharmaceuticals is driving the biosurfactants market. Microbial fermentation methods are being used by businesses more frequently to create superior natural surfactants. The market is expanding because of growing regulatory support for green chemicals.
- Sustainability Trends:The production of biosurfactants from renewable feedstocks such as vegetable oils, sugars, and waste biomass is the main focus of sustainability trends. Waste recycling and circular production techniques are being used by manufacturers to reduce their environmental impact. Formulations that are biodegradable and environmentally friendly are increasingly becoming a crucial differentiator for product adoption.
- Startup Ecosystem: Startups are innovating in microbial strain engineering, fermentation technologies, and novel formulations to improve yield and functionality. Many are developing specialty biosurfactants for cosmetics, food, and industrial applications. Collaborations with large chemical and biotech firms help scale production and bring innovative products to market.
Market Scope
| Report Coverage | Details |
| Market Size in 2025 | USD 4.99 Billion |
| Market Size in 2026 | USD 5.26 Billion |
| Market Size by 2034 | USD 8.02 Billion |
| Market Growth Rate from 2025 to 2034 | CAGR of 5.42% |
| Largest Market | Europe |
| Base Year | 2024 |
| Forecast Period | 2025 to 2034 |
| Segments Covered | Product, Application, and Regions |
| Regions Covered | North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa |
Market Dynamics
Drivers
Rising demand for bio-based solutions
Rising demand for biobased solutions helps to the growth of the market. The benefits of biosurfactants include eliminating environmental concerns due to chemical products, new green economy biosurfactant products reducing global carbon footprint, estimated to biosurfactant is a sustainable waste to health perspective, agro-food wastes are suitable for feedstock for sustainable biosurfactant production, and these are important, safe, and multifunctional agents. Nontoxic and biodegradable surfactants are used in personal care product formulations like skin care products, shampoos, and soaps for customer safety and to reduce their negative environmental effects. These factors help the growth of the biosurfactants market.
- In October 2024, Belgian start-up AmphiStar launched a range of waste-based biosurfactants aimed at the personal and home care markets. Sourced from local, organic biowaste and side streams from agri-food processing, the AmphiCare and AmphiClean ranges were produced using microbial fermentation.
Restraint
Downsides of biosurfactants
The downsides of biosurfactants include difficulty in obtaining pure substances, which is important for applications in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Lack of knowledge in bioreactor systems for biosurfactant production limits commercialization, production costs may be expensive, and productivity may be low. These factors can restrict the growth of the biosurfactants market.
Opportunity
Development of production technologies
The production cost of biosurfactants is high as compared to synthetic surfactants. There is an opportunity in the field of sustainable chemistry and biotechnology to create affordable methods for biosurfactant production. Exploring renewable substrates and cost-effective technologies for biosurfactant production can make the process more affordable. Focusing on bioprocessing conditions and optimizing culture medium can help improve biosurfactant production. These factors help the growth of the biosurfactants market.
- In October 2024, Locus Fermentation Solutions (Locus FS) became the first and only domestic producer of commercial quantities of biosurfactants, a pivotal win for sustainability. The company's complete glycolipid line has now received certification under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) from the U.S.
Segment Insights
Product Insights
The methyl ester ketone (MEK) segment dominated the biosurfactants market in 2024. The methyl ester ketone (MEK), also called fatty acid methyl crystals (FAMCs), have many benefits as surfactants. Biosurfactant production from methyl easter ketone (MEK) derived from seed oils, palm oil, or coconut oil. Biodiesel production provides an abundant supply of methyl easter ketones (MEK), which act as chemical intermediates or enzymes for the production of biosurfactants. These factors help the growth of the methyl ester ketone (MEK) segment and contribute to the growth of the market.
The alkyl polyglucosides (APG) segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate in the biosurfactants market during the forecast period. Alkyl poly glucosides (APG) are a class of non-ionic surfactants highly used in many industrial, cosmetic, and household applications. Plant-derived from sugars and biodegradable, these surfactants are fatty alcohols and glucose derivatives. Alkyl polyglucoides (APG) are used to improve foam formation in detergents.
It is used in the personal care industry because it is safe for sensitive skin and biodegradable. It is also used in bathroom cleaners, laundry products, and other cleaning products. They act as dispersants and hydrotropes, synergize with other surfactants, have high stability in a high pH range, hard water, and electrolyte tolerance, and exhibit favorable wetting and surface tension reduction. These factors help the growth of the alkyl polyglucosides (APG) segment and contribute to the growth of the market.
The rhamnolipids segment is anticipated to grow at a notable rate during the forecast period. In therapeutic applications, biosurfactant rhamnolipids are used because eco-friendly biological properties make them potent materials. It is also known to induce apoptosis and, thus, able to inhibit the proliferation of cancer. Rhamnolipids may also act as immunomodulators to regulate the humoral and cellular immune systems. Rhamnolipids applications include cleaning oil spills, enhanced oil recovery, environmental cleanup, pharmaceuticals, food processing, cosmetics, agriculture, bioremediation, and the petroleum industry.
The rhamnolipids have many beneficial uses, including being non-toxic, easily degradable, non-mutagenic, having minimum inhibitory concentration values, and having the highest surface tension reduction index of any other surface tension-reducing agents. These factors help the growth of the rhamnolipids segment and contribute to the growth of the biosurfactants market.
- In January 2023, a collaboration to produce and market mannosyl erythritol (MELs) and rhamnolipids was announced by a business unit of Sasol Ltd., Sasol Chemicals, and Holiferm Limited to develop and commercialize other biosurfactant products.
Application Insights
The household detergent segment dominated the biosurfactants market in 2024. Biosurfactants have many benefits over synthetic surfactants, such as synthesis from renewable substrates, low toxicity, and biodegradability. It is important to replace chemical or synthetic surfactants in detergents with these biologically derived biosurfactants. These are safe for human and environmental health. In the detergent industry, biosurfactants are highly used as cleansers, personal cleaning items, household detergent, dishwashing, dispersants in the formulations of laundry, emulsion forming agents, solubilizers, wetting agents, foaming agents, etc.
The benefits of cleaning agents include detergents and soaps, which play a significant role in daily life, meeting the demands of several industries, maintaining a safe and clean living environment, and ensuring personal hygiene. These factors help the growth of the household detergent segment and contribute to the growth of the market.
The personal care products segment is expected to be the fastest-growing during the forecast period. In personal care products like cosmetics, biosurfactants are amphiphilic molecules that are used due to their biological activity and surface properties. Biosurfactants may act as emulsion-forming agents, detergents, cleansers, foaming agents, dispersants, solubilizers, and wetting agents. These factors help to grow the personal care products segment and contribute to the growth of the biosurfactants market.
- In June 2022, two biodegradable and glycolipid biosurfactants with low carbon footprint were launched by Mirasoft SL A60, and Mirasoft SL L60 was launched by Solvay for the development of sustainable beauty care products like shampoos, face creams, face washes, shower gels, and conditioners.
Regional Insights
Europe Biosurfactants Market Size and Growth 2024 to 2034
The Europe biosurfactants market size is exhibited at USD 1.79 billion in 2025 and is projected to be worth around USD 3.30 billion by 2034, poised to grow at a CAGR of 7.05% from 2025 to 2034.
Europe dominated the biosurfactants market in 2024. Increasing awareness related to the health hazards linked with chemical or synthetic surfactants and increasing demand for biobased products leads to the growth of the market. With regard to plant-based dietary supplement usage, Europe has taken the lead worldwide. For decades, nations like Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom have seen an increase in the consumption of BSs.
- In January 2024, Evonik received the Responsible Care Award from the European Chemical Industry Council for its sustainable glycolipid platform. This is the first company to meet the rising market demand for commercial quantities of high-performance and sustainable rhamnolipid biosurfactants.
- In May 2024, to provide significant growth to a Ghent-based startup, Amphistar was joined by ECBF (European Circular Bioeconomy Fund), Qbic III, and FFTF (Flanders Future Tech Fund) secured funding of €6 million from ECBF. This helps Amphistar encourage the industrialization of a cost-effective and eco-friendly biosurfactant range derived from waste and strengthen its team.
Asia Pacific is estimated to be the fastest-growing region during the forecast period of 2024 to 2034. India and China are the leading countries in the growth of the biosurfactants market in the Asia Pacific region. Tribes and ethnic groups have been utilizing BSs in fermented traditional drinks since prehistoric times.
Numerous bioactive substances (BSs) have been approved for use in food and medicine by the USFDA and FSSAI (India), including quillaja saponin, mohave yucca, and Sapindus saponin. India uses a lot of plants and trees that provide saponin, which is used to make soap, shampoo, and detergent. It also quantifies these biosurfactants. Due to their natural lather, powder, and aqueous pericarp extracts, they are frequently used as traditional hair cleansers, shampoos, bathing soap, body cleansers, etc., in Asian nations like India.
- In March 2023, Holiferm revealed that the Mayor of Wirral, Jeff Green, opened its first commercial biosurfactant plant at Ocean Park in Wallasey. Present were representatives of the global biosurfactant community, including people from Japan, Thailand, South Africa, Germany, France, Belgium, and Australia.
Value Chain Analysis
- Feedstock Procurement: Biosurfactant producers focus on sourcing renewable feedstocks, such as vegetable oils, sugars, and agro-industrial waste, to create eco-friendly surfactants. Securing a consistent and high-quality supply is crucial for large-scale production.
Key Players: Leading companies in feedstock procurement include Evonik Industries, BASF, and Stepan Company, which supply high-quality raw materials for biosurfactant production. - Waste Management & Recycling: Sustainable production involves managing by-products and effluents to minimize environmental impact. Many producers implement circular approaches by recycling process waste back into production.
Key Players: Companies excelling in sustainable practices include Jeneil Biotech, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals, and Ecover, focusing on efficient waste management and circular production processes. - Regulatory Compliance & Safety Monitoring: Manufacturers comply with environmental and safety regulations to ensure biosurfactants are safe for consumers and the environment. Continuous monitoring and quality checks help maintain compliance.
Key Players: Leading companies ensuring regulatory adherence include Evonik Industries, Solvay, and BASF, providing certified biosurfactants that meet global safety and environmental standards.
Biosurfactants Market Companies
- Solvay S.A.
- Holiferm Limited
- BASF SE
- Jeneil Biotech Inc.
- Daqing VICTEX Industries Co., Ltd.
- Ailled Carbon Solutions Co., Ltd.
- Saraya Co., Ltd.
- Biotensidon GmbH
- Deugan Biosurfactant Supplier
- Evonic Industries AG
- Mitsubishi Chemicals
- AkzoNobel
- Croda
- Kao Corp.
- Sun Products
- Stephan Company
- Tensiogreen
- Glycosurf
- MG Intobio
- Soliance
- Lion Corp.
Recent Developments
- In March 2025, the biosurfactant makers Dispersa and AGAE Technologies announced plans to scale up production in moves that together will add more than 1,000 metric tons (t) per year of new capacity to the market for this emerging class of biobased surfactants.
- In May 2024, Evonik officially unveiled its new sustainable biosurfactant plant together with key customers in Slovakia. The triple-digit million-euro facility is the first worldwide to manufacture industrial-scale quantities of rhamnolipid biosurfactants. These sustainable biosurfactants are already transforming the cleaning, beauty, and personal care industries.
- In November 2023, Global chemicals and energy company Sasol Chemicals, a business unit of Sasol, launched a variety of biosurfactants for the personal and home care sectors. The first two products launched would be Carinex and Livinex. Sasol said Carinex would target the personal care market, while Livinex would be aimed at the home care, technical, institutional, and industrial cleaning sectors.
- In February 2022, polyethylene glycols (PEGs) and new Vita 100% bio-based surfactants were launched by Clariant, which helps to reduce environmental footprints.
- In October 2023, LIVINEX and CARINEX, two biosurfactant brands for home care and personal care sustainable products, were launched by a business unit of Sasol Ltd., which was launched by Sasol Chemicals. These two biosurfactants act as wetting agents, foaming agents, emulsifiers, dispersants, or detergents and are also necessary for personal care products like conditioners, shampoos, degreasers, and detergents in technical and cleaning applications.
- In March 2024, a sustainable biosurfactant with a stable pH range from 3 to 11, clear color, and 98.6% renewable carbon index, CalCare 190C, was launched by the Pilot Chemical Company. These biosurfactants are used for body wash and shampoo formulations, offer excellent lather and foam, are sulfate-free, and work well with other surfactants.
- In May 2024, Evonik launched a new facility in Slovakia to lead the sustainable biosurfactant revolution. These biosurfactants are useful in many industries like personal care, cleaning, and beauty, and they have a high potential in many other applications.
Segments Covered in the Report
By Product
- Rhamnolipids
- Sophorolipids
- Methyl Ester Sulphonates (MES)
- Alkyl Polyglucosides (APG)
- Sorbiton Esters
- Sucrose Esters
- Others
By Application
- Household Detergents
- Personal Care
- Industrial & Institutional Cleaners
- Food Processing
- Oilfield Chemicals
- Agriculture Chemicals
- Textiles
- Other Markets
By Region
- North America
- Asia Pacific
- Europe
- Latin America
- Middle East & Africa
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