Why is it important to clean vehicles? Good vehicle maintenance is essential to keep vehicles in optimum condition. The accumulation of dirt can cause corrosion and lead to irreversible damage to enamels and metals. Vehicle cleaning, in addition to improving aesthetics and comfort, is a form of preventive maintenance since it prolongs the useful life…
In an industrial food facility, cleanliness and sanitation are essential. That’s why appropriate procedures must be designed so that all the surfaces in contact with food, be it equipment, pipelines or utensils, are sanitised. Also surfaces that are not in direct contact with food, such as walls and ceilings, protective partitions or ventilation systems, must…
Sustainability is about promoting economic and social progress while respecting natural ecosystems and the quality of environment. The consumption of products whose raw materials come from renewable or natural sources, and which are readily biodegradable, is commonplace. Alkylpolyglucosides (APG) are sustainable surfactants that meet these characteristics and are suitable for the EU-Ecolabel. Alkylpolyglucosides (APGs): the…
Sodium tripolyphosphate is the most widely used dispersing agent during the 20th century. It is very effective, and has been one of the main adjuvants in the manufacture of detergents. In addition to being a dispersing agent, it is a water hardness sequestrant, an emulsifier and a stabiliser. However, the massive use of phosphates has…
Surfactants Surfactants are organic molecules that modify the surface forces, i.e., the attraction between molecules of a liquid on its surface. They are used in detergents as they help to dissolve or emulsify water-insoluble substances. Surfactants have emulsifying, wetting, detergent and foaming properties. The classification of surfactants is based on the charge they possess when…
The detergency industry is moving quickly to find substitutes for MIT (Methylisothiazolinone) as preservatives, forced by a change in legislation that will take effect next May. One of these substitutes is the Antimicrobial N2000: a 35% solution of dodecylguanidine hydrochloride (DGH) in propylene glycol/dipropylene glycol used to control algae, bacteria, and fungi. DGH is a…
The detergent and paint industries have long used MIT (Methylisothiazolinone) as a biocide/preservative in water-based formulations. Until now, the legislation required MIT to be labelled as H317 (it may cause an allergic skin reaction) when above 1000 ppm, and as EUH208 when above 100 ppm. This, so far, has not been a problem for these…
Surfactants are present in a wide range of cleaning products, and one of the usual groups is anionic surfactants, which are particularly valued for their foaming ability. There is a multitude of anionic surfactants for use in detergents, although the most commonly used today are the salts of dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid and ethoxylated sodium lauryl sulfate.…
In detergents, thickeners are used to facilitate the dosing of the products or to achieve superior adhesion to the surfaces, and thus increase the contact time of the preparations on the surfaces. Many thickeners of an anionic nature are highly performant as modifiers of viscosity, flow type or suspension capacity, but are incompatible with cationic…
Many preservatives commonly used in detergency are being discontinued due to regulatory changes. This, together with the tendency to formulate with substances that respect health and the environment, generates the need to find new alternatives to conserve detergents. Sorbates: non-sensitizing preservatives existing in nature Sorbates are molecules found in some natural products, such as mountain…