Identification of chemical compounds in detergent

Samples of industrial detergents and additives were collected and submitted to CAPPA. ‘Fingerprinting’ of these materials was carried out using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. 47 different surfactant and surfactant additive samples were measured in total. 5 different surfactant types were identified as well as three different additive types. On completion of this database of reference spectra, 5 samples of unknown composition were submitted to CAPPA for identification. All 5 samples were correctly identified.

This surfactant database has given Water Technology the capability to further enhance its Research and Development facility. The ability to determine specific components in an unknown mixture allows it to develop competitive and ‘application specific’ formulations to meet industry needs.