Detergent Workers

Abstract

A large variety of cleansing products are in wide use, such as personal cleansing products, laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents and household cleaners. Manufacture of these products comprises a broad range of processing operations. The number of different ingredients in different kinds of detergents and cleansing agents is very large. Moreover, vivid research and development contribute to continuous replacement of chemicals and product forms. The trend now is toward both concentrated high-performance (compact) powder detergents and liquid formulations. These changes are partly due to environmental reasons. For the same reason, there is a demand for phosphate-free and biodegradable formulations. In the United States, a shift to the high-energy washing machine, which is already a standard in Europe, is expected, also resulting in the need for reformulated detergents. These machines use less water at lower wash temperatures, thus enabling the use of better enzymes.