Linear alkylbenzene sulphonate
The workhorse anionic surfactant behind most washing-up liquids and laundry powders — the specific molecule the word 'detergent' usually stands in for.
Precautions
- Never mix with other cleaning products
- Rinse thoroughly afterwards
In detail
Surfactants are usually described in general terms; this is one named compound with a regulator behind its identity. Linear alkylbenzene sulphonate is the anionic surfactant that dominates domestic cleaning products by volume: a long hydrocarbon tail that buries itself in oil, and a sulphonate head that stays in the water. The New Jersey Department of Health describes it as a white to light yellow sand-like solid used as a detergent, in cleaning products and in pesticides. Its reactivity list is short and useful — incompatible with oxidising agents including chlorine, and with strong acids. That answers only half of the question readers ask as 'can I mix bleach and washing-up liquid', and only the regulator-sourced half. The sheet describes the pure compound; a bottle of washing-up liquid is a formulation containing several surfactants, salts, preservatives and perfumes, and what it does when poured into bleach is a question about that formulation rather than about this molecule. No authoritative source addresses what a finished washing-up liquid does when it meets bleach, so the rule against mixing products stands unchanged.
Properties
- Chemical name
- Sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate
- pH
- Varies by product
What works
Linear alkylbenzene sulphonate is effective against Grease Supported
Why
- Linear alkylbenzene sulphonate is explained by Surfactancy
- Linear alkylbenzene sulphonate is explained by Emulsification
- Linear alkylbenzene sulphonate is explained by Wetting and surface tension
Sources for this page
Sources
Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate (RTK 1698)
New Jersey Department of Health, 2002 · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate is used as a detergent and in cleaning products, and that it is incompatible with oxidising agents including chlorine and with strong acids. (states this directly)