Industrial Chemistry

Part iii 

Soap & Detergent Manufacture

2011

Soap & Detergent Manufacture

Soaps and Detergents are cleaning products that have become an essential commodity in our daily lives

Cleaning products play an essential role in our daily lives.

Introduction

By safely and effectively removing soils, germs and other contaminants, they help us to stay healthy, care for our homes and possessions, and make our surroundings more lively and pleasant.

Types of Soap & Detergent

Depending on their cleaning action and usage can be broadly categorized into four main types:

Personal Cleaning products

Laundry Cleaning products

Household Cleaning products

Dishwashing products

Personal Cleaning products Personal cleaning products are cleaning agents that are used to wash and clean our hands, face, body and hair. These products may include toilet soaps, liquid cleansers, face wash, shampoos and conditioners.

Personal cleaning products help us remain clean and healthy by removing dirt, oil, and environmental pollutants from our body.

Personal cleaning products can be categorized into two main types:

Skin Cleaning productsHair Cleaning products

Laundry Cleaning products: are detergents and surface active agents, that are manufactured to wash and clean our laundry items.

Laundry Cleaning products formulated to meet different requirements of laundry cleaning, such as stain and soil removal, bleaching, fabric softening and conditioning and disinfectant requirements under the varying temperature, water, and usage conditions.

Laundry Cleaning products can be categorized into five main types -

1) Detergent Powder 2) Detergent Cake3) Fabric Softener 4) Laundry Liquid5) Stain & Odor Eliminator

Household Cleaning products

Are cleaners that we use in our homes to wash and clean furniture, glass, plastic items and different types of surfaces.

These products help us keep fit and healthy be killing and removing harmful bacteria and germs from our homes and workplaces.

Household Cleaning products can be categorized into four main classes:

1) Floor Cleaners 2) Glass Cleaners3) Toilet Bowl Cleaners 4) Wood Cleaners

Are cleaning agents that are formulated to wash and clean dishes and other kitchen utensils.

These products are available for hand wash as well as machine wash and are made for different water, temperature and usage conditions. Dishwashing products can be categorized into four main types:

1) Dishwasher Liquid 2) Dishwasher Powder2) Dishwasher Gel 3) Dishwasher Tablets

Dishwashing products

Ingredients of Soaps and Detergents

FatsAlkaliesGlycerinSurfactants (30-70%)Plasticizers and binders (20-50%)Lather enhancers (0-5%)Fillers and binders (5-30%)Water (5-12%)Fragrance (0-3.0%)Opacifying agents (0-0.3%)Dyes and pigments (less than 1%)

SoapNatural source

SyntheticSoap/detergents

Soaps are prepared by the alkaline hydrolysis of fats and oils in what called the saponification process.

Saponification is the reaction between a fat or oil and a base, producing glycerol and a salt (soap)

Fats + Alkalies Soap Salt

Surfactants

Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance

Raw Materials

Linear alkylbenzene are organic compounds with the formula C6H5CnH2n+1. Typically n is between 10 and 16. The CnH2n+1 chain is unbranched. They are sometimes called LAB's.

dodecylbenzene

(CH2)nCH3H3C(H2C)n

Detergent Builders

Detergent builders are materials, which can be used to bind cations (Ca2+, and Mg2+) contained in wash solutions that results in water softening.

Builders enhance the quality of the water, thereby making the detergents work in a more effective and efficient manner. (Builders enhance or maintain the cleaning efficiency of the surfactant

Sometimes more than one detergent builder is used in a product, to develop a builder system with more effective cleaning performance.

Types of Detergent Builders

1) Organic builders 2) Inorganic builders

Depending on the type of builders used in manufacturing Process, the builders are acting in different principles which are

1)Sequestration or chelation (holding hardness minerals in solution)

2) By precipitation (forming an insoluble substance)

3) Ion exchange

Zeolites (Sodium aluminosilicate Good ablity to deal with magnesium ions (ion exchange builders)

Borates Ca2+ + B(OH)4-0 CaB(OH)4

Sodium carbonate, Na2CO3 and Sodium silicate are precipitating builders

sodium silicate

Na+Na+ Si

O

-O O-

Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP)

NaO P

O

ONa

O P

O

ONa

O P

O

ONa

ONa

Penta Sodium Tripoly Phosphate

Function of Builders

They do not permit the polyvalnt metal ions to combining with surfactant to form an adduct.

They do not allow the polyvalent metal ions from combining with various soils and clays to form less dispersible residues to the surface of to be cleaned.

They do not allow re-deposition of soils removed from a surface back onto the surface through a dispersing action associated chelating or precipitation

It offers superior water softening because of its high binding capacity for heavy metals and calcium ions

Good buffering properties in the alkaline range that contribute to detergency action.

Help emulsify oily and greasy soil by breaking it up into small parts and keep them from settling back on the cleaned surface

They provide buffered alkalinity to the wash solution, which is essential to cleaning in most applications

They kill micro-organism which is desired properity.