How do I adjust the viscosity of the cleaner?

Detergent has a certain viscosity, detergent decontamination ability and viscosity is not directly related. The viscosity of the detergent is adjusted to a suitable range, which can improve the fluidity of the detergent and facilitate pouring, taking and dissolving.

The viscosity of the product will change greatly under different conditions of use, such as the same product, it will become viscous in winter and thin in summer, which has nothing to do with the quality of the product and the content of active substances.

The effect of temperature on the viscosity of the liquid is very significant, the temperature rises, the viscosity of the liquid decreases, the viscosity of different liquids decreases to different degrees. The smaller the change in viscosity with temperature, the smaller the effect on the flow performance of products at different temperatures.

In addition to selecting the appropriate surfactant and other major components, generally have to use the component thickeners specialized in adjusting viscosity.

Adjustment of the viscosity of the cleaning agent is a major process of cleaning agent preparation, with the detergent active agent continues to reduce the addition of more and more water, the product’s own viscosity decreases, adding a thickener is particularly important.

First of all, we should choose the formulas that are conducive to increasing the viscosity of the product. According to the product design requirements, to determine the minimum content of the active substance, select a number of active substances conducive to thickening. Preferred fatty acid soap and nonionic surfactants, generally choose some alkyl alcohol amide.

If the detergent formula contains alkyl alcohol amides, its content can control the viscosity of the product; alkyl alcohol amides are produced by condensation of fatty acids and monoethanolamine (MEA) or diethanolamine (DEA), whose hydrophilic groups are amide and hydroxyl, and the lipophilic group is a long-chain alkyl. Commonly used coconut oil fatty acid diethylamide (6501) colorless viscous liquid, soluble in water, with good foaming, foam stabilization, antistatic and other effects.

 

For general cleaners, electrolytes such as sodium chloride (or ammonium chloride) can be added to increase viscosity. For transparent cleaning agent, viscosity adjustment by adding gum, organic thickeners or inorganic salts, but also requires simultaneous consideration of the product emulsion turbidity point, the need to choose a higher turbidity point or low temperature solubility of the active substance, in general, with sodium chloride, ammonium chloride viscosity adjustment is the most convenient to add the amount of 1% to 4%.

 

For cleaning agents with fatty acid salts as the main active substances, long chain fatty acids can be added to improve viscosity. Long chain fatty acid (long chain fatty acid; LCFA) refers to the fatty acids with the number of carbon atoms from 14 to 24. Such as palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2), α linolenic acid (C18:3), arachidonic acid (C20:4), eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5), docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6).

 

For emulsifying detergents, hydrophilic polymer substances can be added, not only as a thickener, but also to enhance the emulsification effect. It is easier to thicken an emulsified detergent than a transparent detergent. The most commonly used thickeners are water-soluble polymer compounds such as polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinyl pyrrolidone. These products emulsification thickening are for the stabilization of insoluble functional ingredients, but can not be too thick, too poor fluidity inconvenient to use. Commonly used high-carbon alcohols such as fatty wax alcohol, stearic acid or palmitic acid propylene glycol ester is also a good emulsion stabilizer. Magnesium stearate and magnesium silicate are often used as emulsion stabilizers.

Why do clean fabrics feel rough to the touch?

Repeated washing of fabrics, cotton microfibers broken and disassembled, coupled with mechanical friction in the washing process generates static electricity, electrostatic electricity makes dry microfibers and fibre bundles perpendicular to the microfibers, these microfibers are like an “inverted hook”, inhibiting the fibre-fibre sliding, interfering with the flexibility of the fibre when the fibre touches the skin, the feel of the touch is rough.

Detergents often contain such as phosphate, carbonate or citric acid and other additives, greatly reducing the insoluble soap and alkylbenzene sulfonate calcium and magnesium salt precipitation, and these calcium salts are often deposited on the fabric to form a layer of dark grey film, but this layer of film can make the fabric have a soft feeling.

 

Machine washing removes natural lubricants, oily soils and clay soils from cotton fabrics more cleanly than hand washing.

Because of the removal of these fabric fibre coverings and lubricants, the fabric becomes rough to the touch.

Fabric softeners adjust the frictional resistance between fabric fibre tissues or between fibres and the body.

Fabric softeners are a class of chemicals that change the coefficient of static and dynamic friction of fibres. When changing the static coefficient of friction, the hand touch has a smooth feeling, easy to move in the fibre or fabric; when changing the coefficient of kinetic friction, the microstructure between the fibre and the fibre is easy to move with each other, that is, the fibre or fabric is easy to deform.

After the fabrics are added with softeners, these softeners are adsorbed on the fabrics through chemical and physical effects to reduce the static electricity accumulation and improve the fibre-fibre interaction, making the microfibres lie down parallel to the fibre bundles and eliminating the “inverted hooks”, and by covering and lubricating the fibre bundles, the friction between the fibres is reduced, and softer, easy to Bending fibres. Cationic surfactants can improve the feel of fibres through the above mechanism.

 

The strong adsorption capacity of cationic surfactants makes it easy for them to adsorb on the surface of the substrate, forming a lipophilic film or generating cationicity. Due to the formation of its lipophilic film. And has a hydrophobic effect, can significantly reduce the static friction coefficient of the fibre surface. Thus, it has good water resistance and soft smoothness.

Thus the fibre has good elasticity and soft smooth feeling. The combined feeling of the two is soft.

Cationic surfactant is not only easy to be adsorbed on the surface of the fabric, but also easy to absorb water, which can form a conductive solution quality on the solid surface, so it has an antistatic effect.

 

Adding fabric softener has the following benefits:

①Improves the feel of the fabric;

② The softener usually contains flavouring, which makes the fabric feel fresh after washing;

③Using fabric softener can be used as a carrier to add some fabric improvement additives preferred by consumers, such as dirt releaser and ironing lubricant;

(iv) Easy to iron due to reduced drying time and reduced mechanical damage to fibres. It prolongs the life of fabrics;

⑤ Reduces the static electricity accumulation of the fabric. It has anti-static effect.

 

Oil stains are one of the main types of stains on clothing. Since oil stains have a high surface tension and are not water soluble, it is difficult to remove oil stains from clothing with water.

 

Surfactant molecules have both hydrophilic and lipophilic groups, which are soluble in both water and oil. The use of surfactants reduces the surface tension of oil stains, which in turn dissolves in water, and removes oil stains from clothing.

One of the common ingredients in daily cleaning products such as washing powder and detergent is surfactant. When cleaning clothes and grease stains, if there are oil stains on the clothes, the oleophilic group of the surfactant contained in the washing powder will “hold together” with the oil stains, and the hydrophilic group will enclose on the outside. In this way, the hydrophilic group is very close to the water, and the combination of the lipophilic group and the oil stain is easily taken away.

 

In addition to the improvement of cleaning effect, surface tension is also one of the important factors affecting the foaming effect, in the water, it is difficult to produce bubbles. If you add washing powder or detergent in clear water, under the influence of surfactant in washing powder and detergent, the surface tension of water is reduced, and the easier it is to produce bubbles.
Excellent detergent solutions all have low surface tension and interfacial tension. This is favourable for wetting properties and also facilitates the emulsification of oil and dirt. Therefore, surface tension is an important factor in washing.

Solubilising effect. The solubilising effect of surfactant agglomerates on oil is an important mechanism for removing small amounts of liquid oil from solid surfaces. The actual is that the oil pollution is dissolved in the washing solution, thus making it impossible for the oil pollution to be redeposited, greatly improving the washing effect, heavy scale washing is mainly done through the solubilising effect of surfactant on the stain.

Adsorption effect. The adsorption property of surfactant on the dirt and washed surface plays an important role in washing. In the case of liquid dirt, it causes a reduction in interfacial tension, which facilitates the removal of oil and grease. It also makes the dirt emulsion formed more stable and does not produce the phenomenon of dirt re-accumulation.

 

What are the reasons why handmade soap is difficult to develop in China?

Handmade soap technically belongs to a more mature product, in foreign countries has also formed a relatively stable market and use of groups, but the development of the country is not long for the following reasons:

① market niche. Although there are now a number of good development of handmade soap brands, but are in a lukewarm state; coupled with the impact of shower gel and other cleaning care products, soap market is shrinking rapidly, along with the handmade soap such as relying on handmade products is also very difficult to develop.

Handmade soap current position is quite embarrassing, in the price than the soap is expensive (or even can be said to be much more expensive), in the convenience of use and market construction, it is not compared to clean skin care products (such as shower gel, face wash, etc.). Now only to meet the part of the people’s curiosity, as well as a few consumers with special needs to use.

② Lack of relevant standard norms. Currently handmade soap set of standards for the Ministry of Light Industry soap industry standard QB/2485 II type, type II refers to the fatty acid sodium and other surfactants, functional additives, additives, soap.

The main feature of handmade soap retains the glycerin after the reaction, increasing its moisturising and hydrating effect, which is the difference between handmade soap and soap.

Handmade soap and soap mixed together, easy to make products on the market mixed, there will be low glycerin content of the handmade soap or lye did not fully react to the handmade soap, not only does not play a role in skin care, but also may cause skin discomfort.

③ Handmade soap own defects. Handmade soap due to high glycerin content, easy to paste rotten, moisture absorption and sweat, not durable.

In addition, handmade soap is easy to get dirty, inconvenient to store, and has a short expiration date, which also affects consumers’ willingness to use it. At present, manufacturers from the design point of view to increase the soap box, lathering net and other means of its improvement, this problem has been greatly alleviated.