A detergent (as a noun) is a material intended to assist cleaning. Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a substance which is a type of Detergent that is added when one is washing Laundry to help get the laundry cleaner Cleanliness is the absence of dirt including Dust, Stains bad smells and Garbage. The term is sometimes used to differentiate between soap and other surfactants used for cleaning. SOAP (see below for name and origins is a protocol for exchanging XML -based messages over Computer networks normally using Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the Surface tension of a liquid allowing easier spreading and lower the Interfacial tension between two liquids As an adjective pertaining to a substance, it (or "detersive") means "cleaning" or "having cleaning properties"; "detergency" indicates presence or degree of cleaning property.

Contents 1 Composition 2 Types 3 Terminology 4 History 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

Composition

Detergents, especially those made for use with water, often include different components such as:

• Surfactants to 'cut' (dissolve) grease and to wet surfaces
• Abrasive to scour
• Substances to modify pH or to affect performance or stability of other ingredients, acids for descaling or caustics to break down organic compounds
• Water softeners to counteract the effect of "hardness" ions on other ingredients
• oxidants (oxidizers) for bleaching, disinfection, and breaking down organic compounds
• Non-surfactant materials that keep dirt in suspension
• Enzymes to digest proteins, fats, or carbohydrates in stains or to modify fabric feel
• Ingredients that modify the foaming properties of the cleaning surfactants, to either stabilize or counteract foam
• Ingredients that affect aesthetic properties of the item to be cleaned, or of the detergent itself before or during use, such as optical brighteners, fabric softeners, colors, perfumes, etc. Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the Surface tension of a liquid allowing easier spreading and lower the Interfacial tension between two liquids Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water An abrasive is a material often a Mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away pH is the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a Solution. In Computer science, ACID ( Atomicity Consistency Isolation Durability) is a set of properties that guarantee that Database transactions are A descaling agent, also known as descaling, anti-limestone, anti-limescale, anti-lime, or anti-scale, is a Solution to A water softener reduces the dissolved Calcium, Magnesium, and to some degree Manganese and Ferrous iron ion concentration in Hard water An oxidizing agent or oxidising agent (also called an oxidant, oxidizer or oxidiser) can be defined as either a Chemical compound A bleach is a Chemical that removes color or whitens often via Oxidation. In Chemistry, A suspension is a Heterogenous fluid containing Solid particles that are sufficiently large for Sedimentation. Enzymes are Biomolecules that catalyze ( ie increase the rates of Chemical reactions Almost all enzymes are Proteins Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water Carbohydrates (from ' Hydrates of Carbon ' or saccharides ( Greek σάκχαρον meaning " Sugar " are the most The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas Bubbles in a Liquid or Solid. A foaming agent is a surfactant which when present in small amounts facilitates the formation of a Foam, or enhances its colloidal stability by inhibiting the coalescence of An antifoaming agent is a chemical additive that inhibits the formation of Foam. Optical brighteners, optical brightening agents (OBAs, fluorescent brightening agents (FBAs or fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs are Dyes Perfume is a mixture of fragrant Essential oils and Aroma compounds Fixatives and Solvents used to give the human body animals objects and living
• Ingredients such as corrosion inhibitors to counteract damage to equipment with which the detergent is used
• Preservatives to prevent spoilage of other ingredients
• Washing agents may contain soap for the purpose of reducing foam rather than cleaning fabric.

Sometimes materials more complicated than mere mixtures of compounds are said to be detergent. For instance, certain foods such as celery are said to be detergent or detersive to teeth.

Types

There are several factors that dictate what compositions of detergent should be used, including the material to be cleaned, the apparatus to be used, and tolerance for and type of dirt. For instance, all of the following are used to clean glass. The sheer range of different detergents that can be used demonstrates the importance of context in the selection of an appropriate glass-cleaning agent:

• a chromic acid solution—to get glass very clean for certain precision-demanding purposes, namely in analytical chemistry
• a high-foaming mixture of surfactants with low skin irritation—for hand-washing of drink glasses in a sink or dishpan
• other surfactant-based compositions—for washing windows with a squeegee, followed by rinsing
• any of various non-foaming compositions—for glasses in a dishwashing machine
• an ammonia-containing solution—for cleaning windows with no additional dilution and no rinsing
• ethanol or methanol in Windshield washer fluid—used for a vehicle in motion, with no additional dilution
• glass contact lens cleaning solutions, which must clean and disinfect without leaving any eye-harming material that would not be easily rinsed off. Chromic acid generally refers to a collection of compounds generated by the acidification of solutions containing Chromate and Dichromate anions or the Analytical chemistry is the study of the Chemical composition of natural and artificial Materials. A dishwasher is a mechanical device for cleaning dishes and eating utensils They can be found in Restaurants and private homes Ammonia is a compound with the formula N[[hydrogen H3]] It is normally encountered as a Gas with a characteristic pungent Odor Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a Chemical compound The windshield or windscreen of an Aircraft, Automobile, Bus, Motorcycle, or Tram is the front Window Windshield washer fluid (also called windshield wiper fluid, wiper fluid, or screen wash) is a Fluid for motor vehicles that is used in A contact lens (also known simply as a contact) is a corrective, cosmetic, or therapeutic lens usually placed on the Cornea

Terminology

Sometimes the word detergent is used to distinguish a cleaning agent from soap. SOAP (see below for name and origins is a protocol for exchanging XML -based messages over Computer networks normally using During the early development of non-soap surfactants as commercial cleaning products, the term syndet, short for synthetic detergent was promoted to indicate the distinction, but never caught on very well and is incorrect, because most soap is itself synthesized (from glycerides). The term soapless soap also saw a brief vogue. There is no accurate term for detergents not made of soap other than soapless detergent or non-soap detergent.

Plain water, if used for cleaning, is a detergent. Probably the most widely-used detergents other than water are soaps or mixtures composed chiefly of soaps. However, not all soaps have significant detergency and, although the words "detergent" and "soap" are sometimes used interchangeably, not every detergent is a soap.

The term detergent is sometimes used to refer to any surfactant, even when it is not used for cleaning. Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the Surface tension of a liquid allowing easier spreading and lower the Interfacial tension between two liquids This terminology should be avoided as long as the term surfactant itself is available.

History

The detergent effects of certain synthetic surfactants were noted in 1913 by A. Reychler, a Belgian chemist. The first commercially available detergent taking advantage of those observations was Nekal,^[1] sold in Germany in 1917, to alleviate World War I soap shortages. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Detergents were mainly used in industry until World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including By then new developments and the later conversion of USA aviation fuel plants to produce tetrapropylene, used in household detergents, caused a fast growth of household use, in the late 1940s. Aviation fuel is a specialized type of Petroleum -based fuel used to power Aircraft. ^[2] In the late 1960s biological detergents, containing enzymes, better suited to dissolved protein stains, as egg stains, were introduced in the USA by Procter & Gamble. A biological detergent is a Laundry detergent that contains Enzymes. Enzymes are Biomolecules that catalyze ( ie increase the rates of Chemical reactions Almost all enzymes are Proteins Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals consisting of an Ovum surrounded by layers of Membranes and an outer casing which acts to nourish Procter & Gamble Co ( P&G,) is a Fortune 500, American global corporation based in Cincinnati Ohio, that manufactures a wide ^[3]

See also

• Laundry detergent
• Cleavable detergent

External links

• About.com: How Do Detergents Clean
• US Patent 6472364: Detergent compositions or components

References

1. ^ Analytical Chemists job description, <http://www.123oye.com/job-descriptions/a/analytical-chemist.htm Analytical>. Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a substance which is a type of Detergent that is added when one is washing Laundry to help get the laundry cleaner Cleavable detergents, also known as cleavable surfactants, are special Surfactants (detergents that are used in Biochemistry and especially in Proteomics Retrieved on 2008-05-09 
2. ^ Spriggs, John (July 1975), An economical analysis of the developmente of substitutes with some illustrative examples and implications for the beef industry, Staff paper series, pp. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of 34-37, <http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/123456789/22851/1/p75-14.pdf>. Retrieved on 2008-05-09 
3. ^ Roald, Arnvid S. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of & Nicolaas T. DE. Oude, "Granular enzyme-containing laundry composition", US 3451935, issued 1969-06-24

Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place

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