Disinfecting mixture

If the third substance dissolves in both liquids (and the solubility in each of the liquids is of the same order), the mutual solubility of the liquids will be increased and an upper C.S.T. will be lowered, as is the case when succinic acid or sodium oleate is added to the phenol - water system. A 0 083 molar solution of sodium oleate lowers the C.S.T. by 56 -7° this large effect has been applied industrially in the preparation of the disinfectant sold under the name of Lysol. Mixtures of tar acids (phenol cresols) do not mix completely with water at the ordinary temperature, but the addition of a small amount of soap ( = sodium oleate) lowers the miscibility temperature so that Lysol exists as a clear liquid at the ordinary temperature. 

Medical Usage. Isopropyl alcohol is also used as an antiseptic and disinfectant for home, hospital, and industry (see Disinfectants and antiseptics). It is about twice as effective as ethyl alcohol in these appHcations (153,154). Rubbing alcohol, a popular 70 vol % isopropyl alcohol-in-water mixture, exemplifies the medicinal use of isopropyl alcohol. Other examples include 30 vol % isopropyl alcohol solutions for medicinal liniments, tinctures of green soap, scalp tonics, and tincture of mercurophen. It is contained in pharmaceuticals, eg, local anesthetics, tincture of iodine, and bathing solutions for surgical sutures and dressings. Over 200 uses of isopropyl alcohol have been tabulated (2). 

Propylene oxide is a useful chemical intermediate. Additionally, it has found use for etherification of wood (qv) to provide dimensional stabiUty (255,256), for purification of mixtures of organosiUcon compounds (257), for disinfection of cmde oil and petroleum products (258), for steriliza tion of medical equipment and disinfection of foods (259,260), and for stabilization of halogenated organics (261—263). 

Potassium peroxymonosulfate, introduced in the late 1980s, is finding increasing use as an auxiUary oxidant for shock treatment and oxidation of chloramines. Sodium peroxydisulfate is also being sold for shock treatment, however, it is less reactive than peroxymonosulfate. Mixtures of sodium peroxydisulfate and calcium hypochlorite can be used for shock treatment (28). Disadvantages of peroxymonosulfate and peroxydisulfate are they do not provide a disinfectant residual and peroxymonosulfate oxidizes urea and chloramines to nitrate ion, which is a nutrient for algae. 

Miscellaneous Proprietary mixtures, e.g. cleaning, disinfecting, bleaching, degreasing solids or solutions. ... 

Two approaches that have been investigated recently for disinfection are mixtures of bromine and chlorine, and mixtures containing bromide or iodide salts. Some evidence exists that mixtures of bromine and chlorine have superior germicidal properties than either halogen alone. It is believed that the increased bacterial activity of these mixtures can be attributed to the attacks by bromine on sites other than those affected by chlorine. The oxidation of bromide or iodide salts can be used to prepare interhalogen compounds or the hypollalous acid in accordance with the following reaction ... 

In contrast, composting processes utilize a mixture of solids and yard waste under controlled environmental conditions to produce a disinfected, humus-like product. Three common composting systems are a horizontal agitated reactor, a horizontal nonagitated reactor, and an aerated static pile system (nonproprietary). Compost can be marketed as a soil conditioner in competition with such products as peat, soil, and mulch. Although a large potential market exists, significant effort is required to penetrate this market. Yard waste revenue of 6.50/m (S5/yd ) and product revenue of 2.00/m ( 1.50/yd ) appear to be reasonable market values based on various studies reported on the Web. 

Cresylic acid is mainly used as degreasing agent and as a disinfectant of a stabilized emulsion in a soap solution. Cresols are used as flotation agents and as wire enamel solvents. Tricresyl phosphates are produced from a mixture of cresols and phosphorous oxychloride. The esters are plasticizers for vinyl chloride polymers. They are also gasoline additives for reducing carbon deposits in the combustion chamber. 

Clear soluble fluids. Cresol is a mixture of o-, m- and p-methyl phenol (Fig. 10.7A). Because of its poor solubility, it is solubilized with a soap prepared fiom linseed oil and potassium hydroxide. It forms a clear solution on dilution. This preparation, known as Lysol (Cresol and Soap Solution BP 1968) has been widely used as a general purpose disinfectant but has largely been superseded by less irritant phenolies. 

A number of tests have been deseribed which imitate, at least in part, the principle of the phenol eoeffieient test for liquid disinfectants. A culture of the test organism is mixed intimately with the semi-sohd preparation, and the mixture subcultuied by means of a loop into a suitable broth designed to disperse the base and neutrahze the antibacterial activity of the medicament. 

A different concept is the idea of manufacturing at point of use rather than transporting materials. A simple and familiar example is the office water cooler. The majority that you see around use large bottles of water. These need to be transported and stored and the empty bottles recycled. More than 600 kT of bottled water were imported into the UK in 1999, creating a significant transport impact. The alternative is to chill and filter mains water on-site. The water needs to be filtered and purified to meet consumer perceptions and expectations. These systems use a mixture of purification techniques including advanced filters, UV-disinfection and silver-treated surfaces to give users the confidence they require. 

Inhibitors that bind to free virus particles have been little investigated in the past with the notable exception of rhinoviruses, where a number of quite potent molecules bind to the external protein of the virus and hence inhibit latter stages of virus uncoating. Possibly the only compound known at present, apart from disinfectants, that could affect the virus stability is A1-721, a mixture of neutral... 

Richardson SD, Thruston AD Jr, Krasner SW, Weinberg HS, Miltner RJ, Schenck KM, Narotsky MG, McKague AB, Simmons JE (2008) Integrated disinfection by-products mixtures research comprehensive characterization of water concentrates prepared from chlorinated and ozonated/postchlorinated drinking water. J Toxicol Environ Health A 71 (17) 1165-1186... 

Simmons JE, Richardson SD, Teuschler LK, Miltner RJ, Speth TF, Schenck KM, Hunter ES IB, Rice G (2008) Research issues underlying the four-lab study integrated disinfection by-products mixtures research. J Toxicol Environ Health A 71 1125-1132... 

Pressman JG, Richardson SD, Speth TF, Miltner RJ, Narotsky MG, Hunter ES IB, Rice GE, Teuschler LK, McDonald A, Parvez S, Krasner SW, Weinberg HS, McKague AB, Parrett CJ, Bodin N, Chinn R, Lee CFT, Simmons JE (2010) Concentration, chlorination, and chemical analysis of drinking water for disinfection byproduct mixtures health effects research U.S. EPA s four lab study. Environ Sci Technol 44 7184—7192... 

In conclusion, the authors of the cited studies all agree that further research into environmental risk assessment of hospital effluents, incorporating different types of substances used in care and diagnostic activities, as well as cleaning operations (pharmaceuticals, detergents, disinfectants, heavy metals, macropollutants), is vital. Moreover, further studies need to be focussed on evaluating the risk posed by pollutant mixtures, and work is needed to validate the predictive models proposed thus far [19, 49], to evaluate chronic toxicity due to PhCs and then-mixtures and to provide experimental data pertaining to specific case studies. 

Hygienic and surgical hand disinfection The former is required after a suspected contamination, the latter before surgical procedures. Alcohols, mixtures of alcohols and phenols, cationic surfactants, or acids are available for this purpose. Admixture of other agents prolongs duration of action and reduces flammability. 

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