Post by account_disabled on Mar 16, 2024 0:18:46 GMT -5
As a consequence of the advancement of science and technology, today we are surrounded by millions of special purpose chemicals. When we talk about chemicals, we often just mean the much-needed daily cleaning products. However, chemicals are more than this category. In addition to all kinds of laundry and cleaning detergents, everyone also has cosmetics, toothpaste and mouthwash, a mini first aid kit or disinfectants in the bathroom. In addition, there are basic elements like water: it is also a chemical compound! Published: 10-2-2023 Water , that is… …nothing more than a chemical compound, also known as hydrogen oxide , with the chemical formula H 2 O. It can occur in three concentration states: liquid, solid and gaseous. In addition to its direct application, water is also commonly used as an ingredient and solvent for numerous chemical and cosmetic products. It has excellent solvent properties, especially against polar substances due to their similarity. laundry agents It is a category of household chemicals most associated with bathing, in which various substances form a very specific mixture. Acting together and combined with appropriate conditions, that is, with the mechanical movement of the washing machine and the friction of manual movement at the appropriate temperature and in the appropriate environment, they allow the products for which they are intended to be kept clean. The most important and critical factor for the effectiveness of said agent is its chemical composition.
The substances used and their corresponding proportions determine the characteristics of the product. Surfactants , also known as surface-active agents , play a key role in product formulation. They can have varied structures and are classified into three main categories: anionic, cationic and nonionic surfactants. They have different mechanisms of action, but largely have the same goal: to reduce the surface tension between phases, for example, water and dirty fabric. They allow the washed fabric to get wet faster and more effectively reach dirt, which is usually hydrophobic and does not CZ Leads dissolve in water. The use of surfactants allows the dirt to be loosened from the fabric, gradually breaking it down into the smallest possible particles and suspending the detergent in solution. Soap Soap is a commonly used surfactant. Chemically, it is a sodium or potassium salt of higher fatty acids, for example, stearic, palmitic and oleic acid. Potassium soaps are mainly used for washing clothes and are gray and slimy. Sodium soaps, on the other hand, are hard and white, and often have oils, coconut or argan oils, aromatic oils, sulfur, chamomile and dyes added to them, so they can be used as toilet soaps and sometimes as like medicinal soaps. Each soap molecule has two parts of opposite properties: hydrophilic and hydrophobic, which is a characteristic feature of surfactants. This reduces surface tension and improves the penetration of water molecules into dirty surfaces.
The dirt particle is surrounded by the hydrophobic part of the soap and then falls off the surface. The foaming property of these agents, activated by intense agitation, guarantees that dirt particles do not adhere again to an already clean surface, because, surrounded by the hydrophilic part of the soap, they are lifted by the foam. Read more about soap production . Active fillers These include all ingredients other than surfactants that play a role in the composition of cleaning products. Its presence enhances the action of surfactants, which can be called a kind of synergism. Its main objective is to soften hard water by removing calcium and magnesium ions from it. This is important due to the strongly adverse effects of these ions in washing processes. The most used in this function are sodium bicarbonate, alkaline silicates, citrates and phosphates. Although the most used active filler is tripolyphosphate , for environmental reasons it is increasingly replaced by a mixture of zeolite A, sodium carbonate and polycarboxylates . Special additives Obviously, a given composition is not always universal. There are chemical compounds that make a chemical agent have a specialized effect. An example is the use of the polymer PVP , which inhibits the transfer of dyes between fabrics. This makes it perfect as an ingredient in powder and liquid detergents designed for colored fabrics. Another interesting example is cellulose , which destroys microfibers. They are formed during the so-called stacking, that is, the alteration of the fiber structure of the fabric. A separate group of additives that do not directly influence the performance of the product are foam inhibitors and all types of aromatic compositions . enzymes Another group of substances found in laundry detergents are enzymes, the addition of which not only helps to remove stains, but also whitens or enhances the color of fabrics. Enzymes are very selective, so each type of enzyme can clean a different type of dirt.