The role of solvent in dishwashing liquids

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The role of solvent in dishwashing liquids

Posted by shellyco on December 18, 2018 at 4:04 pm

I wonder what would be the specific role of solvents in some premium dishwashing liquids like ethanol, butyl glycol or others. Is it mainly to dissolve grease or there is another purpose behind ?

For example here is a formula of a premium washing liquid from Kao Chemicals:

EMAL 270 D 40.2

OXIDET DM-20 18.6

EMANON XLF 3.8

Ethanol 5.2

Propyleneglycol 2.0

NaCl 1.6 (approx.) 0.5 (pH ≈ 7) q.s.

Citric acid (50%)

Preservative q.s

Colorant q.s

Deionised Water q.s up to 100%

What would be the role of Ethanol and Propylene Glycol ?

Thank you

shellyco replied 5 years, 11 months ago 6 Members · 9 Replies
9 Replies

Microformulation

Member
December 18, 2018 at 4:20 pm

Solvents.
Chemist77

Member
December 18, 2018 at 5:48 pm

Foam control plus viscosity control.
Gunther

Member
December 18, 2018 at 7:19 pm

I have seen some dishwash formulations where ethyl alcohol is the sole preservative (and it helps cut grease a bit).
ozgirl

Member
December 19, 2018 at 3:36 am

I have seen ethanol used for viscosity control in concentrated dish washing formulas.
DAS

Member
December 19, 2018 at 5:16 am

In order of importance:

1) Cloud point
2) Viscosity
3) Foam

Although 1 and 2 can alternate depending on the region/weather.
shellyco

Member
December 19, 2018 at 6:29 am

thanks guys for sharing ! When you state that it’s used for foam and viscosity control, does it mean it may help increase the foam and viscosity when added at certain level ? Or on the contrary it counters the effect of foam and reduce viscosity ? Thank you.
ozgirl

Member
December 19, 2018 at 9:06 pm

Ethanol reduces viscosity and foam.
Gunther

Member
December 21, 2018 at 7:11 pm

As for cloud point,
you can check this post of mine where I had trouble getting past 15% LABSA in dishwash
https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/discussion/4804/should-i-dilute-sulfonic-acid-before-neutralizing-it-with-sodium-hydroxide#latest

Cloudiness usually means it ain’t properly dissolved
I believe propylene glycol and ethanol may work as solvents, increasing solubility for a more concentrated product.
Propylene glycol usually decreases solubility.
shellyco

Member
December 22, 2018 at 8:11 pm

thank you @Gunther for the clarification. It’s better clear for me now !