Abstract: A process for the manufacture of water soluble higher fatty acid monoglyceride monosulfate detergents is described which includes reacting a sulfating agent, such as chlorosulfuric acid, with glycerol in an aprotic organic solvent medium, such as chloroform, to trisulfate the glycerol, reacting the glycerol trisulfuric acid made with a higher fatty acid or a higher fatty acid methyl ester in such a solvent, extracting the reaction mixture with a solvent for the monoglyceride disulfuric acid, such as aqueous lower alkanol, and neutralizing the extracted monoglyceride disulfuric acid with an aqueous neutralizing agent to make the water soluble detergent salt. In a modification of the process the extraction and neutralization operations are effected simultaneously, preferably with a slurry of sodium bicarbonate, as neutralizing agent, in aqueous lower alkanol.