Handling Detergents

Storage and Handling of S hell JAeodol Detergent Alcohols, Ethoyylates, andEthoyysulfates, SC 133—179, SheH Chemical Company, Houston, Tex., 1979. 

Specifications vary with use. The paper and detergent industries are concerned with whiteness and specify various methods to describe color and black or dark specks. It is also important in the detergent industry that sodium sulfate has a particle size and density compatible with other components in the blend to eliminate segregation when it is handled. A typical specification for detergent-grade sodium sulfate is given in Table 5. 

Anhydrous sulfonic acids, particularly linear alkylben2enesulfonic acids, are typically stored ia stainless steel containers, preferably type 304 or 316 stainless steel. Use of other metals, such as mild steel, contaminates the acid with iron (qv), causiag a darkening of the acid over time (27). The materials are usually viscous oils which may be stored and handled at 30—35°C for up to two months (27). AH other detergent-grade sulfonic acids, eg, alcohol sulfates, alcohol ether sulfates, alpha-olefin sulfonates, and alpha-sulfomethyl esters, are not stored owiag to iastabiUty. These are neutrali2ed to the desired salt. 

Continuous high shear (e.g. Shiigi mixer) 0.1 to 2 Low to high Up to 50 ton/hr Handles very cohesive materials well, both Chemicals, detergents, clays, carbon black... 

Aqueous-detergent solutions of appropriate concentration and temperature can phase separate to form two phases, one rich in detergents, possibly in the form of micelles, and the other depleted of the detergent (Piyde and Phillips, op. cit.). Proteins distribute between the two phases, hydrophobic (e.g., membrane) proteins reporting to the detergent-rich phase and hydrophilic proteins to the detergent-free phase. Indications are that the size-exclusion properties of these systems can also be exploited for viral separations. These systems would be handled in the same way as the aqueous two-phase systems. 

In 1950 the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis was banned in Germany by the allied forces. Sinarol, a high paraffinic kerosene fraction sold by Shell, was used as a substitute. This ban coincided with the rapid development of the European petrochemical industry, and in due time Fischer-Tropsch synthesis applied to the production of paraffins became uneconomic anyway. After the war there was a steady worldwide increase in the demand for surfactants. In order to continually meet the demand for synthetic detergents, the industry was compelled to find a substitute for /z-paraffin. This was achieved by the oligomerization of the propene part of raffinate gases with phosphoric acid catalyst at 200°C and about 20 bars pressure to produce tetrapropene. Tetrapropene was inexpensive, comprising a defined C cut and an olefinic double bond. Instead of the Lewis acid, aluminum chloride, hydrofluoric acid could now be used as a considerably milder, more economical, and easier-to-handle alkylation catalyst [4],... 

The world as we know it could not function without acids and bases. These chemical compounds are used extensively, from the chemical laboratory to the manufacturing industry. They are necessary for the proper functioning of the human body and for the health of the environment, too. Acids taste sour, break down metals, and react with bases. Without acids, soft drinks, lemonade, and tomato sauce would not taste the same way. Bases taste bitter, feel slippery, and react with acids. Without bases, cakes would be hard and flat, and laundry detergent would not clean. Both acids and bases can change certain vegetable substances a variety of different colors, and they can burn through human skin if not handled properly. Without acids and bases, we would not have dynamite, some heart medications, and fertilizers. On the other hand, without acids, we would not have damaging acid rain. And... 

Transmembrane proteins are adapted to an environment comprised of two distinct aqueous media and the highly complex membrane phase [1], Handling them in aqueous solution requires their complexation by amphipathic molecules that screen their hydrophobic transmembrane surface from contact with water. Traditionally, this role is fulfilled by detergents. Detergents are small surfactants that cooperatively assemble at the transmembrane surface of the protein at concentrations close to their critical micellar... 

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