Potassium oleate is a potassium salt of oleic acid, a naturally occurring fatty acid.
It's primarily used as a surfactant and emulsifying agent. It's often used in soaps, liquid soaps, cleansing cosmetics, detergents, and surfactants.
It is also used in paper and paperboard, plastics, lubricants, as a catalyst in polyurethane foams and in analytical reagents.