The effect of surfactant alkyl structure on cold water detergency

An investigation was carried out for evaluating the effect of surfactant alkyl structure on cold water detergency performance by comparing linear and branched alkyl ethoxylates. The surfactants were chosen based on their characteristic curvature and the premise that, at the phase inversion temperature, ultralow interfacial tension and consequently emulsification mechanism dominate detergency performance. The efficiency of two commercial-grade ethoxylates was compared using poly/cotton fabric swatches stained with dyed hexadecane with the use of Terg-O-Tometer.