These questions would have crossed many-a-minds—are detergents biodegradable? Are biodegradable detergents in India manufactured on a large scale? Do detergent companies focus on manufacturing ecofriendly detergents? The answer to these questions is varied. The good news is, most liquid detergent manufacturing companies have come up with their own formulations that are ecofriendly and pose minimal threat to the environment. As to answer the pressing question—are detergents biodegradable? Well, sadly, most commercial brand detergents non-biodegradable.



What Are Detergents Made Of?



In order to understand the answer to the question, we need to look at what a detergent is made of. Properties of Detergents are composed of an anionic surfactant or a group of surfactants, which are highly soluble in any type of water. Surfactants are basically mixtures that lower the surface tension between two froms of matter. These surfactants may be anionic or nonionic. The water solubility of nonionic detergents decreases with increasing temperature. Nonionic detergents are also less sensitive to water hardness compared to detergents containing anionic surfactants, and so, they foam less.



These synthetic detergents are non-soap cleaning products that are synthesized by liquid detergent manufacturing companies. In other words, the surfactants and emulsifiers are put together chemically from a variety of non-organic raw materials, which the bacteria in water treatment plants cannot digest.



Most of the detergents produced by detergent companies in India are chemical based and they hardly decompose due to the presence of synthetic chemicals. This poses a major problem during waste water treatment, where it becomes difficult to eliminate them. Hence, they pose a serious problem to the aquatic life, when they are released in the ocean.



History Of Detergents—a Brief Look



Previously, soap was widely used for the process of washing, cleaning and laundering. The manufacturing of soap remained popular until the year 1916, when the first synthetic detergent was developed by a detergent company in Germany. This was due to a lack of fats available for making soaps in the wake of the World War. Today, these detergents are commercially successful and have taken over soaps for laundering purposes. Detergents have also become increasingly popular thanks due to the advent of the washing machine.

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