Biodegradable detergents/soaps

Soapless detergents Soap-like molecules which do not form a scum with hard water. These substances have been developed from petrochemicals. Their calcium and magnesium salts are water soluble and they are biodegradable. 

Vegetable-based oils find many applications in industry such as for lubricants (increased biodegradability of vegetable oils is an advantage when used in marine or forest environments), for detergent, soap, and cleaning formulations, for solvents, and for plastics manufacturing. 

Low-foaming liquid or powdered machine detergents are described using a surfactant system prepared from naturally based raw materials with good biodegradability and detergent properties [135]. These formulations are based on 5-30% alkylpolyglucoside, 5-30% alkyl ether carboxylate, 5-35% soap, and 0-3% of another surfactant. 

Alkyl Sulfates (AS) R-O-SO3 X R=C12-C18 Laundry detergents Wool-washing agents, soap bars and liquid bath soaps, hair shampoos, and toothpastes - STPs effluents C12-15 AS between 1.2 and 12 pg L 1 [15] Fast biodegradation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Effective removal in WWTPs [18]... 

Larson, R.J. and Wenfler, G.E. (1982) Biodegradation of detergent materials in natural systems at realistic concentrations. Soap Cosmet. Chem. Spec., 58, 33-43. 

In Chapter 11, p. 188, we discussed the way in which, in hard water areas, an insoluble scum forms when soap is used. This problem has been overcome by the development of synthetic soapless detergents. These new substances do not form scum with hard water since they do not react with Ca2+ and Mg2+ present in such water. Furthermore, these new soapless detergent molecules have been designed so that they are biodegradable. Bacteria readily break down these new molecules so that they do not persist in the environment. 

The worldwide consumption of surfactants in 2003 is shown in Table 36.5. In many parts of the world, soap is still the primary surfactant for textile washing and personal care. Synthetic detergents are widely used in the devolved regions of the world including North America, Western Europe, and Japan. Anionic surfactants dominate the world surfactant market. Common anionic surfactants include LAS, AS, and AES. The second largest class of surfactants is the nonionics of which AE and APE are most common. The use of APE is in decline because of concerns with biodegradability and endocrine disruption. Quats are commonly used in antibacterial formulations because of their ability to lyse the cell membrane of... 

See surface tension emulsion wetting agent soap (1) alkylate (3) biodegradability eutrophication builder detergent. 

Sodium salts of the alkyl hydrogen sulfates that contain about 12 carbon atoms are excellent detergents. They are also biodegradable. (Soaps and detergents were discussed in Section 14-18.)... 

Soap, other detergents, and most dirt are biodegradable. For example, when a detergent/dirt/water suspension is released into the environment via a drainage system, it can be converted into either biomass or carbon dioxide and the associated remaining water remrned to the natural environment. 

Detergents are amphipathic molecules which have enhanced solubility and biodegradability properties compared to soaps. Instead of having a sodium salt in the polar portion of the molecule, other ionic and polar groups are used giving rise to what are called "cationic", "anionic" and "nonionic" detergents. 

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