Nonionic detergent degradation. i. thin‐layer chromatography and foaming properties of alcohol polyethoxylates

Abstract

Abstract The thin‐layer Chromatographic method for determination of nonionic detergents has been used for the chemical assessment of alcohol polyethoxylates and material derived from them during degradation under simple laboratory conditions. Foaming capacity during degradation was also measured on a representative selection of the materials under test. With one exception (a material with a highly branched alkyl chain) the disappearance of all the alcohol‐ethoxylates tested was rapid; a small increase in time required for complete disappearance was observed with the more highly ethoxylated materials, and with the materials which had some slight branching in the alkyl chain. Residues of the polyethylene glycol type, which were generally more persistent than the original materials, were observed to build up as the original materials disappeared, increasing ethoxylation present in the original material giving rise to increasing quantities of residues. The foaming capacity at every stage of the degradation, that is, foam formation alone or synergistic effect on foam formation because of other detergents, could be closely correlated with the results obtained by using the thin‐layer Chromatographic procedure.