DETERGENT

A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with

"cleaning properties in dilute solutions."
[1]
These substances are
usually alkylbenzenesulfonates, a family of compounds that are
similar to soap but are more soluble in hard water, because the
polar sulfonate (of detergents) is less likely than the polar
carboxyl (of soap) to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard
water. In most household contexts, the term detergent by itself
refers specifically to laundry detergent or dish detergent, as
opposed to hand soap or other types of cleaning agents.
Detergents are commonly available as powders or concentrated
solutions. Detergents, like soaps, work because they are
amphiphilic: partly hydrophilic (polar) and partly hydrophobic
(non-polar). Their dual nature facilitates the mixture of
hydrophobic compounds (like oil and grease) with water. Because
air is not hydrophilic, detergents are also foaming agents to
varying degrees.
Chemical classification of detergents
Detergents are classified into three broad groupings, depending on
the electrical charge of the surfactants.
Anionic detergents
Typical anionic detergents are alkylbenzenesulfonates. The
alkylbenzene portion of these anions is lipophilic and the sulfonate
is hydrophilic. Two different varieties have been popularized,
those with branched alkyl groups and those with linear alkyl
groups. The former were largely phased out in economically
advanced societies because they are poorly biodegradable.
[2]
An
estimated 6 billion kilograms of anionic detergents are produced
annually for domestic markets.
Bile acids, such as deoxycholic acid (DOC), are anionic
detergents produced by the liver to aid in digestion and absorption
of fats and oils.


Three kinds of anionic detergents: a branched sodium
dodecylbenzenesulfonate, linear sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate,
and a soap.
Cationic detergents
Cationic detergents are similar to the anionic ones, with a
hydrophobic component, but, instead of the anionic sulfonate
group, the cationic surfactants have quaternary ammonium as the
polar end. The ammonium center is positively charged.
[2]

Non-ionic and zwitterionic detergents
Non-ionic detergents are characterized by their uncharged,
hydrophilic headgroups. Typical non-ionic detergents are based
on polyoxyethylene or a glycoside. Common examples of the former
include Tween, Triton, and the Brij series. These materials are
also known as ethoxylates or PEGylates and their metabolites,
nonylphenol. Glycosides have a sugar as their uncharged
hydrophilic headgroup. Examples include octyl thioglucoside and
maltosides. HEGA and MEGA series detergents are similar,
possessing a sugar alcohol as headgroup.
Zwitterionic detergents possess a net zero charge arising from the
presence of equal numbers of +1 and 1 charged chemical groups.
Examples include CHAPS.
SOAP

In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid. Soaps are mainly
used as surfactants for washing, bathing, and cleaning, but they
are also used in textile spinning and are important components of
lubricants. Soaps for cleansing are obtained by treating vegetable
or animal oils and fats with a strongly alkaline solution. Fats
and oils are composed of triglycerides; three molecules of fatty
acids are attached to a single molecule of glycerol. The alkaline
solution, which is often called lye (although the term "lye soap"
refers almost exclusively to soaps made with sodium hydroxide),
brings about a chemical reaction known as saponification. In this
reaction, the triglyceride fats are first hydrolyzed into free fatty
acids, and then these combine with the alkali to form crude soap,
an amalgam of various soap salts, excess fat or alkali, water,
and liberated glycerol (glycerin). The glycerin is a useful by-
product, which can be left in the soap product as a softening
agent, or isolated for other uses.
Soaps are key components of most lubricating greases, which are
usually emulsions of calcium soap or lithium soaps and mineral
oil. These calcium- and lithium-based greases are widely used.
Many other metallic soaps are also useful, including those of
aluminium, sodium, and mixtures of them. Such soaps are also
used as thickeners to increase the viscosity of oils. In ancient
times, lubricating greases were made by the addition of lime to
olive oil.
Liquid soap
Liquid soap was not invented until the 1800s; in 1865, William
Shepphard patented a liquid version of soap. In 1898, B.J.
Johnson developed a soap (made of palm and olive oils); his
company (the B.J. Johnson Soap Company) introduced
"Palmolive" brand soap that same year. This new brand of the
new kind of soap became popular rapidly, and to such a degree
that B.J. Johnson Soap Company changed its name to
Palmolive. At the turn of the Twentieth century, Palmolive was
the world's best-selling soap.
In the early 1900s, other companies began to develop their own
liquid soaps. Such products as Pine-Sol and Tide appeared on
the market, making the process of cleaning things other than skin
(e.g., clothing, floors, bathrooms) much easier.
As a detergent, liquid soap tends to be more effective than flake
soap, and tends to leave less residue on skin, clothes, and
surfaces (e.g., wash basins). Liquid soap also works better for
more traditional/non-machine washing methods, such as using a
washboard.
Soap-making processes
The industrial production of soap involves continuous processes,
such as continuous addition of fat and removal of product.
Smaller-scale production involves the traditional batch processes.
The three variations are: the 'cold process', wherein the reaction
takes place substantially at room temperature, the 'semiboiled' or
'hot process', wherein the reaction takes place near the boiling
point, and the 'fully boiled process', wherein the reactants are
boiled at least once and the glycerol is recovered. There are two
types of 'semiboiled' hot process methods. The first is the
ITMHP (in the mold hot process)and the second is the CPHP
(crockpot hot process). Typically soapmakers choose the hot
process methods if they wish to reduce the cure time to a three-
day air dry process. Most soapmakers, however, continue to
prefer the cold process method. The cold process and hot process
(semiboiled) are the simplest and typically used by small artisans
and hobbyists producing handmade decorative soaps. The
glycerine remains in the soap and the reaction continues for many
days after the soap is poured into moulds. The glycerine is left
during the hot-process method, but at the high temperature
employed, the reaction is practically completed in the kettle,
before the soap is poured into moulds. This simple and quick
process is employed in small factories all over the world.
Cold process
Even in the cold soapmaking process, some heat is usually
required; the temperature is usually raised to a point sufficient to
ensure complete melting of the fat being used. The batch may also
be kept warm for some time after mixing to ensure the alkali
(hydroxide) is completely used up. This soap is safe to use after
about 1248 hours, but is not at its peak quality for use for
several weeks.
Cold-process soapmaking requires exact measurements of lye and
fat amounts and computing their ratio, using saponification
charts to ensure the finished product does not contain any excess
hydroxide or too much free unreacted fat. Saponification charts
should also be used in hot processes, but are not necessary for the
fully boiled hot-process soaping.
Historically, lye used in the cold process was made from scratch
using rain water and ashes. Soapmakers deemed the lye solution
ready for use when an egg would float in it. Homemade lye
making for this process was unpredictable and therefore eventually
led to the discovery of the sodium hydroxide by English chemist
Sir Humphry Davy in the early 1800s.
A cold-process soapmaker first looks up the saponification value
for each unique fat on an oil specification sheet. Oil specification
sheets contain laboratory test results for each fat, including the
precise saponification value of the fat. The saponification value
for a specific fat will vary by season and by specimen species.
[26]

This value is used to calculate the exact amount of potassium
hydroxide to react with the fat to form soap. The saponification
value must be converted into an equivalent sodium hydroxide value
for use in cold process soapmaking. Excess unreacted lye in the
soap will result in a very high pH and can burn or irritate skin;
not enough lye leaves the soap greasy. Most soap makers
formulate their recipes with a 25% deficit of lye, to account for
the unknown deviation of saponification value between their oil
batch and laboratory averages.