There is provided an
alcohol composition obtained by dimerizing an olefin feed comprising C6-C10 linear olefins to obtain C12-C20 olefins, followed by conversion to alcohols, such as by
hydroformylation. The composition has an average number of branches
ranging from 0.9 to 2.0 per molecule. The linear olefin feed preferably comprises at least 85% of C6-C8-olefins. The
primary alcohol compositions are then converted to anionic or nonionic surfactants, preferably sulfated or oxyalkylated or both. The sulfated compositions are biodegradable and possess good cold water detergency. The process for making the dimerized
primary alcohol comprises dimerizing, in the presence of a homogeneous dimerization catalyst under dimerization conditions, an olefin feed comprising C6-C10 olefins and preferably at least 85 weight % of linear olefins based on the weight of the olefin feed, to obtain a C12-C20; optionally
double bond isomerizing said C12-C20 olefins; and converting the C12-C20 olefins to alcohols, preferably through
hydroformylation. The process is preferably a one-step dimerization. The homogenous catalyst comprises a mixture of a
nickel carboxylate or a
nickel chelate, with an
alkyl aluminum
halide or an
alkyl aluminum
alkoxide.