Detergents: Types of Detergents, Formula, Properties, Uses

 A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants which has cleansing properties

when present in dilute solutions. There are a several types of detergents. However,
most common detergents are the sodium salts of long chain alkyl hydrogen sulphate or
a long chain of benzene sulphonic acid such as alkylbenzene sulfonates.

 Detergents are primarily used for dishwashing and fabric laundering. Moreover, they
are also used as emulsifiers in many applications. Different types of detergent are
used based on the type of laundry, the amount of dirt in them, and the hardness of
stains or as per the requirements of the fabric.

What Are Detergents?

A detergent is a non-soapy cleaning agent that cleans a substance in solution by using a
surface-active ingredient.
They are effective even in hard or saltwater, unlike soaps, because they do not develop
scum. These are better cleansing agents because they do not form insoluble calcium and
magnesium salt in hard water.

A detergent is a sodium salt of long-chain benzene sulphonic acid or sodium salt of long-
chain alkyl hydrogen sulfate, which has cleansing properties in water. Like soaps, they
contain anionic groups such as sulphonate groups or sulphate groups and long-chain
hydrocarbon, a non-ionic group.

Soaps and Detergents – Preparation of Detergents

Synthetic detergents are made by reacting petroleum hydrocarbons with concentrated
sulphuric acid and converting them to their sodium salt. Long-chain alcohols are treated
with strong sulphuric acid and then neutralized sulfate with alkali to make synthetic
detergents.

For example, Sodium lauryl sulfate, Sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate, and so forth.
Soaps and Detergents – Chemical Formula of Detergents
Detergents are either sodium salt of alkyl hydrogen sulfates or sodium salt of long-chain
alkyl benzene sulphonic acids.