Editing Detergent (section)

==History==
{{see also|Soap#History}}

[[Soap]] is known to have been used as a surfactant for washing clothes since the [[Sumer|Sumerian]] time in 2,500 B.C.<ref name=falbe2>{{cite book|editor=Jürgen Falbe |title=Surfactants in Consumer Products|url={{Google Books |SjvtCAAAQBAJ|page=1|plain-url=yes}}|date=2012|publisher=Springer-Verlag|isbn=9783642715457|pages=1–2 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In [[ancient Egypt]], [[Sodium carbonate|soda]] was used as a wash additive. In the 19th century, synthetic surfactants began to be created, for example from olive oil.<ref name="sosis 5"/> [[Sodium silicate]] (water glass) was used in soap-making in the United States in the 1860s,<ref>{{cite book|first= Fred |last= Aftalion|title=A History of the International Chemical Industry|url={{Google Books |zTP1MFJw8CsC|page=82|plain-url=yes}}|date=2001|publisher=Chemical Heritage Press|isbn=9780941901291|page=82}}</ref> and in 1876, [[Henkel]] sold a sodium silicate-based product that can be used with soap and marketed as a "universal detergent" (''Universalwaschmittel'') in Germany. Soda was then mixed with sodium silicate to produce Germany's first brand name detergent Bleichsoda.<ref>{{cite book|first1=James |last1=Ward |date= 2020|last2= Löhr|title=The Perfection of the Paper Clip|url={{Google Books |q6_YDwAAQBAJ|page=190|plain-url=yes}}|publisher=Atria Books|isbn=9781476799872|page=190}}</ref> In 1907, Henkel also added a bleaching agent [[sodium perborate]] to launch the first 'self-acting' laundry detergent [[Persil]] to eliminate the laborious rubbing of laundry by hand.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Günter|last1= Jakobi |first2=Albrecht|last2= Löhr|title=Detergents and Textile Washing|url={{Google Books |is1TAAAAMAAJ|page=1|plain-url=yes}}|date=2012|publisher=Springer-Verlag|isbn=9780895736864|pages=3–4}}</ref>

During the [[World War I|First World War]], there was a shortage of oils and fats needed to make soap. In order to find alternatives for soap, synthetic detergents were made in Germany by chemists using raw material derived from coal tar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/clean_living/soaps__detergent_history_3.aspx|title=Soaps & Detergent: History (1900s to Now)|publisher=American Cleaning Institute}} Retrieved on 6 January 2015</ref><ref name="WhittenWhitten1997">{{cite book|author1=David O. Whitten|author2=Bessie Emrick Whitten|title=Handbook of American Business History: Extractives, manufacturing, and services|url={{Google Books |S-8god7-MlEC|page=221|plain-url=yes}}|date=1 January 1997|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-25199-3|pages=221–222 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="sosis 5">{{cite book |url={{Google Books |dXn3aB1DKk4C|page=5|plain-url=yes}}|page=5 |title=Handbook of Detergents, Part F |editor =Paul Sosis, Uri Zoller |date= 2008 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781420014655}}</ref> These early products, however, did not provide sufficient detergency. In 1928, effective detergent was made through the [[sulfation]] of [[fatty alcohol]], but large-scale production was not feasible until low-cost fatty alcohols become available in the early 1930s.<ref name=falbe /> The synthetic detergent created was more effective and less likely to form scum than soap in hard water, and can also eliminate acid and alkaline reactions and decompose dirt. Commercial detergent products with fatty alcohol sulphates began to be sold, initially in 1932 in Germany by [[Henkel]].<ref name=falbe /> In the United States, detergents were sold in 1933 by [[Procter & Gamble]] ([[Dreft]]) primarily in areas with hard water.<ref name="WhittenWhitten1997"/> However, sales in the US grew slowly until the introduction of 'built' detergents with the addition of effective [[Phosphates in detergent|phosphate builder]] developed in the early 1940s.<ref name="WhittenWhitten1997"/> The builder improves the performance of the surfactants by softening the water through the [[chelation]] of calcium and magnesium ions, helping to maintain an alkaline pH, as well as dispersing and keeping the soiling particles in solution.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google Books |hctgblTQD-sC|page=4|plain-url=yes}}|pages=4–5 |title=How to Formulate and Compound Industrial Detergents |first= David G. |last=Urban |date= 2003 |publisher=David G. Urban |isbn=9781588988683}}</ref> The development of the petrochemical industry after the Second World War also yielded material for the production of a range of synthetic surfactants, and [[alkylbenzene sulfonate]]s became the most important detergent surfactants used.<ref name=handbook>{{cite book |url={{Google Books |dXn3aB1DKk4C|page=6|plain-url=yes}}|page=6 |title=Handbook of Detergents, Part F |editor =Paul Sosis, Uri Zoller |date= 2008 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781420014655}}</ref> By the 1950s, [[laundry detergent]]s had become widespread, and largely replaced soap for cleaning clothes in developed countries.<ref name=falbe>{{cite book|editor=Jürgen Falbe |title=Surfactants in Consumer Products|url={{Google Books |SjvtCAAAQBAJ|page=4|plain-url=yes}}|date=2012|publisher=Springer-Verlag|isbn=9783642715457|pages=3–5 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

Over the years, many types of detergents have been developed for a variety of purposes, for example, low-sudsing detergents for use in front-loading washing machines, heavy-duty detergents effective in removing grease and dirt, all-purpose detergents and specialty detergents.<ref name="WhittenWhitten1997"/><ref>{{cite book |url={{Google Books |dXn3aB1DKk4C|page=497|plain-url=yes}}|page=497 |title=Handbook of Detergents, Part F |editor =Paul Sosis, Uri Zoller |date= 2008 |isbn=9781420014655}}</ref> They become incorporated in various products outside of laundry use, for example in [[dishwasher detergent]]s, shampoo, toothpaste, industrial cleaners, and in lubricants and fuels to reduce or prevent the formation of sludge or deposits.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google Books |mCgcrvvRIucC|page=331|plain-url=yes}}|page=331 |title=Handbook of Detergents, Part E: Applications |editor=Uri Zoller |date= 2008 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781574447576}}</ref> The formulation of detergent products may include [[bleach]], fragrances, dyes and other additives. The use of [[phosphates in detergent]], however, led to concerns over [[nutrient pollution]] and demand for changes to the formulation of the detergents.<ref>{{cite book|author1=David O. Whitten|author2=Bessie Emrick Whitten|title=Handbook of Detergents, Part A|url={{Google Books |iwsVEAAAQBAJ|page=3|plain-url=yes}}|date=1999|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781439833322|page=3 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Concerns were also raised over the use of surfactants such as branched alkylbenzene sulfonate (tetrapropylenebenzene sulfonate) that lingers in the environment, which led to their replacement by surfactants that are more biodegradable, such as linear alkylbenzene sulfonate.<ref name=falbe /><ref name=handbook /> Developments over the years have included the use of [[Detergent enzymes|enzymes]], substitutes for phosphates such as [[zeolite]] A and [[Nitrilotriacetic acid|NTA]], [[Tetraacetylethylenediamine|TAED]] as [[bleach activator]], sugar-based surfactants which are biodegradable and milder to skin, and other [[Environmentally friendly|green friendly]] products, as well as changes to the form of delivery such as tablets, gels and [[Laundry detergent pod|pods]].<ref name=Middelhauve>{{cite book |url={{Google Books |VMqSJROG_WYC|page=64|plain-url=yes}}|pages=64–67 |title=5th World Conference on Detergents |editor=Arno Cahn|first=Birgit |last= Middelhauve|date= 2003 |publisher=The American Oil Chemists Society |isbn=9781893997400}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://cleaning.lovetoknow.com/Laundry_Detergent_History |title=Laundry Detergent History|first= Heather |last=Long |work= Love to Know}}</ref>