Impact of the phase behaviour on detergency

The surfactant is in an isotropic micellar solution at all temperatures. The cloud point of the surfactant used here is 85°C at the given concentration (2 g l-1), i.e., above the highest washing temperature. 

It also demonstrates that in both cases a similar reflectance vs temperature curve exists. In the region of the liquid crystal dispersion, i.e. between 20°C and 40°C, the oil removal increases significantly. Above the phase transition W + La — W + L3, between 40°C and 70°C, no further increase in oil removal takes place. For olive oil, a small decrease in detergent performance is observed. The interfacial tensions between aqueous solutions of C12E3 and mineral oil lie at about 5 mN m 1 at 30°C and 50°C and these relatively high values indicate that, in this system, the interfacial activity is not the decisive factor in oil removal from fabrics. 

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