Water hardness laundry detergents

Lime soap dispersing agents (LSDA) are surfactants that enable soap to act as an effective laundry detergent in hard water without the deposition of insoluble calcium soap. For a surfactant to act as an LSDA, it must possess a bulky... 

Several cleaning formulations for specific uses contain unreacted polyamines. Examples include mixtures of ammonium alkylbenzenesulfonate, solvents, and PIP which give good cleaning and shine performance on mirrors and other hard surfaces without rinsing (305), and a hard-surface cleaner composed of a water-soluble vinyl acetate—vinyl alcohol copolymer, EDA, cyclohexanone [108-94-1] dimethyl sulfoxide [67-68-5] a surfactant, and water (306). TEPA, to which an average of 17 moles of ethylene oxide are added, improves the clay sod removal and sod antiredeposition properties of certain hquid laundry detergents (307). 

Ether carboxylates are used not only in powdered detergents but in liquid laundry detergents for their hard water stability, lime soap dispersibility, and electrolyte stability they improve the suspension stability and rheology of the electrolyte builder [130,131]. Formulations based particularly on lauryl ether carboxylate + 4.5 EO combined with fatty acid salt and other anionic surfactants are described [132], sometimes in combination with quaternary compounds as softeners [133,163]. Ether carboxylates show improved cleaning properties as suds-controlling agents in formulations with ethoxylated alkylphenol or fatty alcohol, alkyl phosphate esters or alkoxylate phosphate esters, and water-soluble builders [134]. 

Soaps react with the calcium and magnesium ions in hard water to produce soap curd that greatly reduces its effectiveness. The curds are actually insoluble calcium and magnesium salts. Synthetic laundry detergents have replaced soap for cleaning clothes in the last half century. Synthetic detergents are made from petroleum. They work like soap except they do not react with magnesium and calcium ions to form insoluble precipitates and salts. 

The monoethanolamides are not soluble in water and are hard waxy solids, which render them useful in laundry detergent powders since they give easier flowing powders than the sticky diethanolamides and improve the foam and foam stability properties. The simple chemistry is given below ... 

FMC textile experts, recognizing the problem, felt that sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) could be of value as a textile scouring booster. Sodium tripolyphosphate has long been the builder of choice in laundry detergents where it is used to tie up and sequester hard water ions, but it has seen limited use in the textile industry. 

In addition to surfactants, a number of other materials are present in formulated laundry detergents. Among these are materials called builders. Their main purpose is to counter the detrimental effects of polyvalent cations on detergency. Polyvalent cations are introduced into the wash bath mainly by water hardness but may also come from soil or substrate. In addition, builders serve to increase the detersive effidency and effectiveness of surfactants and to supplement their beneficial effects on soil removal. 

Uses Detergent, defoamer, oil emulsifier for machine dishwash and rinse aids, laundry detergents, hard surf, cleaners, fermentation, emulsion polymerization, agric., cosmetics, metal cleaning, pulp/paper, textile scouring, water treatment, paints, latexes Features Low-foam... 

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