Surface‐active Agents in Textile Processes and their Effect on Effluents

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Abstract
Various types of surface‐active agent and their applications in textile processing are reviewed. In choosing a product for a particular application, the user must consider many factors, such as the biodegradability of the agent and its subsequent influence on effluents, waste treatment, and water pollution. A very wide choice of branded products is currently available, but approximately 95 % of the materials are based on a limited number of organic chemicals, the most important of which are the ethylene oxide condensates of alkylphenols and straight‐chain alcohols, secondary alkyl sulphates, the alkylbenzenesulphonates (both branched‐ and straight‐chain), and the primary alcohol sulphates. The biodegradability of these materials is discussed in relation to their chemical structures.Many of the surface‐active materials now in use are biologically degradable. However, many non‐ionic agents are biologically hard. Considerable attention is being focused on them since, at very low concentrations, they have a synergistic effect on the foaming of surface waters when traces of anionic detergents are present. Desirably, these biologically hard materials should be replaced by materials that do not have objectionable properties with regard to water purity. When new biodegradable products are being developed full consideration should also be given to their applicational characteristics.