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How to make a detergent

What is actually a detergent?

A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with “cleaning properties in dilute solutions. These substances are usually alkyl benzenesulfonates, 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 carboxylate (of soap) to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard water – by the almighty Wikipedia.

In another word; a detergent is a cleaning agent that helps to remove dirt and grease from the porous surface (such as fabric, cloths, not-treated wood) and/or non-porous surface (such as materials, plastics, and treated wood). All detergents are made principally of soaps or surfactants.
What are surfactants?

You might think water gets you wet—and it does. But it doesn’t get you nearly as wet as it might. That’s because it has something called surface tension. Water molecules prefer their own company so they tend to stick together in drops. When rain falls on a window, it doesn’t wet the glass uniformly: instead, it sticks to the surface in distinct droplets that gravity pulls down in streaks. To make water wash better, we have to reduce its surface tension so it wets things more uniformly. And that’s precisely what a surfactant does.

The surfactants in detergents improve water’s ability to wet things, spread over surfaces, and deep into dirty clothes fibers.

Surfactants do another important job too. One end of their molecule is attracted to water, while the other end is attracted to dirt and grease. So the surfactants molecules help water to get a hold of grease, break it up, and wash it away.

Often we use the words “soap” and “detergent” interchangeably, but really they’re quite different things. A detergent is a chemical substance you use to break up and remove grease and grime, while soap is simply one kind of detergent. Soap has a long history and was originally made from purely natural products like goat’s fat and wood ash.
Types of Detergents

Detergents are classified into three broad groups, depending on the electrical charge of the surfactants.

    Anionic detergents
    Cationic detergents
    Non-ionic and zwitterionic detergents

Today, I shall be teaching the Anionic detergent!
Materials Needed to produce Detergent

    Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) ————————– 5Liters
    Soda Ash —————————————— 1kg
    Caustic Soda ————————————– 1kg + 4liters of water
    Sulphuric Acid ———————————— 1liter
    Catalyst (Hydrogen Peroxide) —————- As desired
    Ammonia Solution —————————– 1liter
    Color ———————————————– As desired
    Perfume ——————————————- As desired

Differences between Sulphonic and Sulphuric

Aside from the differences in spelling; there are two reasons why some people chose Sulphonic over Sulphuric

    Sulphonic acid is more dangerous when compared to sulphuric.
    Sulphuric acid acts faster.

Please note, at this stage, your mixture begins to dry up, harden and break down. That is why you need to be fast with whatever you intend to add next. Quickly add your color and perfume if you have not added it earlier.
Steps Required to Produced Detergent

 Step 1: Get two big buckets which are 25liters each; Bucket A and Bucket B

Step 2: Pure 5liters of PKO in the first Bucket A

Step 3: Pure 4 liters of water into the second Bucket B

Step 4: Add 1kg of Caustic Soda into Bucket B

Step 5: Add the colorants into Bucket A

Step 6: Add perfume to Bucket A

Step 7: Add soda Ash into Bucket A

Step 8: Add hydrogen into Bucket A as a catalyst

Step 9: Add 1kg of Sulphuric acid into Bucket A

Step 10: Now turn the other bucket, containing caustic soda solution (BUCKET B) into Bucket A.

Step 11: Add ammonia solution into Bucket A to turn down the heat.

Step 12: Leave the mixture to dry or put it in an oven, and once it’s fully dry, grind it into powder.

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