Volume 45, Issue 6

Today Cocamidopropyl Betaine (CAPB) is the most important secondary surfactant used in personal care and household products. Even the most modern CAPB-types still contain more water than active matter. Water which needs to be heated in the manufacturing process, which needs to be transported, and needs to be stored in storage tanks. The high water content not only contributes to the cost of production and logistics, but is also not favorable with respect to sustainability. Continuous research in the field of betaines has lead to another break-through in CAPB quality with a product containing approximately 47% active matter and less than 43% water. Thus, savings in energy consumption and shipping volume of more than 36% can be achieved as compared to the common 30% CAPB quality. The typically desired surfactant properties, the positive effects on foam and rheology could be maintained. Moreover, further improvements in quality and even additional skin care effects such as enhanced skin moisturization could be achieved.

Linitest and washing machine results have been compared for the assessment of dye damage/colour fading. 14 dyes of the AISE Monitor Dye Set for bleach induced dye fading were applied in several multi-cycle washes in both devices. It has been shown that dye fading in both applications correlated well with bleach containing detergents, although often the absolute level of fading was higher in a washing machine. Both systems identified the same dyes as being either problematic or safe. On the other hand experiments without a bleach system revealed that dye fading in a washing machine could be different from that generated in a Linitest.

Functionalization of textiles in the finishing and care processes is an outstanding topic today. Ultraviolet (UV) protective properties of textiles can be improved by the implementation of fluorescent compounds in the finishing and laundering processes. The investigation described is focused on the addition of a fluorescent whitening agent (FWA) and an UV absorber (UVA) during frequent laundering of bleached and pastel colored polyester/cotton fabrics in the reference ECE detergent at 40°C. The effect of the UVA containing detergent includes improved whiteness of bleached textiles and excellent UV protection properties during multiple cycles. The bleaching performance of the FWA is similar in offering good UV protection. In the case of the pastel colored fabrics after the launderings, UV protection is excellent too, but the negative impact of the fluorescent compounds on the changes in shade is evident.

Phosphorylation of mono- or dioctadienyl-D-xylosides has been studied and led to mono- or dioctadienyl-D-xylosides phosphate derivatives. Comparison between monooctadienyl-D-xylosides and monooctadienyl-D-xyloside phosphate derivatives are not easy because of the complexity of having pure forms and corresponding data. However, comparison of dioctadienyl-D-xyloside diethoxyphosphate derivatives to dioctadienyl-D-xylosides indicates similar cmc values and surface activity. Dioctadienyl-D-xyloside phosphate derivatives, on the other hand, are characterized by a high hydrophilicity and a poor surface activity. Mostly, it was found that the introduction of these ethoxylated or non-ethoxylated phosphate groups influences the solubility and the surfactant properties of the mono- or dioctadienyl-D-xylosides.

Polymer-modified microemulsions can be obtained by adding polymers to a mixture consisting of water, oil, and a cosurfactant. In dependence on the type of polymer used quite different effects can be observed. On the one hand water soluble polymers can be incorporated into the individual water droplets of a water-in-oil microemulsion, or into droplet clusters, and on the other hand they can induce the formation of a sponge phase, that means a bicontinuous microemulsion. Our experiments have shown that nonionic polymers, hydrophobically modified polyampholytes, as well as polycations can induce the formation of a phase channel between the water-in-oil and the oil-in-water microemulsion. The polymer-modified microemulsions can be used as a new type of template for the formation of nanoparticles. Therefore, polymer-stabilized barium sulfate nanoparticles of quite different size and shape can be formed in the microemulsion template phase, and redispersed after solvent evaporation in water.

A new method of synthesizing disodium alkyl polyglucoside citrate surfactant has been reported in the paper, in which citric acid anhydride was firstly prepared, and then reacted with alkyl polyglucoside to obtain ester. The structures of products were indicated by infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, the surface activities of raw materials and their corresponding products were investigated. The results show that products exhibit low surface tension in 28 mN/m. Comparing with raw materials, the disodium alkyl polyglucoside citrate surfactants possess better emulsification stabilities to oil acid, good foam abilities and excellent hard water-resistant properties.

The aim of this study was to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of different commercially available biomonitors for the validation of chemo-thermal disinfecting washing procedures in textile service enterprises. In the course of quality management systems (e.g. acc. to EN 14065: Risk Analysis and Biocontamination Control System, RABC-System) the performance of disinfecting washing procedures has to be controlled and validated periodically by the use of biomonitors. Biomonitors (typically small cotton fabrics) are loaded with bacteria and often encapsulated in semipermeable membranes. The following types of biomonitors are commercially available: a) “open design”, fabrics soaked with blood and bacteria enclosed in textile bags, b) monitors with bacteria enclosed in a semipermeable membrane and c) monitors surrounded by a semipermeable membrane and covered with a hard plastic surface. The membranes should avoid bacterial contamination of the textiles and environment because bacteria are too large to pass the membrane. It is commonly accepted in practice that liquids, proteins and disinfecting agents can diffuse through the membrane. However, big differences in the germ reductions measured with different biomonitors were detected, depending on their individual design. Therefore the diffusion properties of several detergent ingredients were quantified by using semipermeable membranes. It is demonstrated that proteins and even active oxygen species, are retained by these membranes and are thus not able to kill or inactivate bacteria inside the monitors. Hence the use of biomonitors with membranes should be reconsidered, because they are mainly able to detect thermal disinfection, but barely react to the chemical part of chemo-thermal disinfection procedures.