Soap and detergent, substances that, when dissolved in water, possess the ability to remove dirt from surfaces such as the human skin, textiles, and other solids. A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with "cleaning properties in dilute solutions. Detergents are commonly available as powders or concentrated solutions. Detergents, like soaps, work because they areamphiphilic. Their dual nature facilitates the mixture of hydrophobic compounds (like oil and grease) with water. Because air is not hydrophilic, detergents are also foaming agents to varying degrees.
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid. Soaps are mainly used as surfactants for washing, bathing, and cleaning, but they are also used in textile spinning and are important components of lubricants. Soaps are key components of most lubricating greases, which are usually emulsions of calcium soap or lithium soaps and mineral oil. This mixture is called soap or the potassium or sodium salt of the fatty acid. So, soap is a cleansing agent created by the combination of fats and oils with an alkaline base. Much other metallic soap is also useful, including those of aluminium, sodium, and mixtures of them. The type of alkali metal used determines the kind of soap product. Sodium soaps, prepared from sodium hydroxide, are firm, whereas potassium soaps, derived from potassium hydroxide, are softer or often liquid. Historically, potassium hydroxide was extracted from the ashes of bracken or other plants.
Types of soaps are- glycerin soaps, transparent soaps, liquid soaps.
Detergent is a cleansing agent similarly soap is also a detergent. But the word detergent usually refers to a synthetic substance other than soap. Detergents are classified as anionic, or negatively charged, e.g., soaps; cationic, or positively charged. Detergents are incorporated in such products as dry-cleaning solutions, toothpastes, antiseptics, and solutions for removing poison sprays from vegetables and fruit. Detergents are important chemicals used for enhanced petroleum recovery.
Types of detergents are - ionic detergent, soap detergent, anionic detergent, non-ionic detergent, cationic detergent, amphoteric detergent, alkaline detergent, acidic cleansers etc.
The Indian Soap Industry includes about 700 companies with combined annual revenue of about $17 billion. 70% of India's population resides in the rural areas and around 50% of the soaps are sold in the rural markets. The market size of global soap and detergent market size was estimated to be around 31 M tones in 2004, which is estimated to grow to 33M tone in the coming years. The largest contributor to the toilet soaps market in Indian market is Hindustan Lever with the total contribution to the economy & enjoys almost a two-thirds share. In Indian Soap Industry the entry of new players in the 6,500-crore toilet soaps industry is expected to bring about a new twist in the "Indian soap opera"
.The Detergent Market is one of the segments of the FMCG market in India that has high growth potential. The detergent consumption in India is less in comparison to the other Asian countries. The per capita detergent consumption in India is around 2.7 kg per year, whereas places like Philippines and Malaysia, the per capita consumption are 3.7 kg.
Further information:
Modern technology of soaps, detergents & toiletries (with formulae & projects profiles) describes the detailed information on the subject. The major contents of this book are- Total Quality Management : Its Relevance in Oils, Soaps, Detergents Industries, Packaging Criteria for Cosmetics and Toiletries, Principal Groups of Synthetic Detergents, Application and Formulae of Detergents foam, General Discussion of Detergents, Detergent Bar, Liquid Soap and Detergents, Washing Soap: Laundry Soap Formulation, Deodorant, Tooth Paste, after shave lotion, hair shampoo, liquid soap antiseptic, fundamental of science, raw material specification, resting of finished goods, finished products quality control procedures, analytical testing methods.
In order to get “Modern Technology of Soaps, Detergents & Toiletries (with Formulae & Project Profiles) 3rd Edition” please visit - http://www.niir.org/books/book/modern-technology-soaps-detergents-toiletries-with-formulae-project-profiles-3rd-edition/isbn-9789381039052/zb,,22,a,0,0,a/index.html
