Silicates

[stan]

Hi all. Just wondering if anyone has looked close to see if Silicate sare slowly going away in Detergents? seems like I read something here about that a while back? what are they up to?

 

[sudsmaster]

Depends...

Do you mean sodium silicate (water glass) or aluminum silicate (zeolite)?

 

[stan]

sorry

Should have made myself clear, " Sodium"

 

[sudsmaster]

In that case I haven't heard of sodium silicates being phased out.

Sodium silicates are used in laundry and dishwashing detergents to inhibit corrosion of washer parts. I'd be surprise if there were targets for removal.

 

[sudsmaster]

I have however seen discussion of the problem with zeolites in laundry detergents.

Basically it revolves around the fact that zeolites are essentially activated mineral particles (aluminum silicates), and can form a sludge that presents a problem for waste water treatment facilities. I believe one of our European members, Louis, has mentioned that they might be getting phased out in Europe.

Ironically, zeolites are used as a substitute for phosphates, which are superior in terms of cleaning effectiveness. Technology exists to remove laundry-sourced phosphates from waste water in tertiary treatment facilities. So I suppose it's a mixed bag: spend the money to remove phosphates from waste water and achieve superior cleaning results, or spend the money to deal with the sludge generated from the phosphate substitute zeolites and get inferior cleaning results.

 

[stan]

Thanks Sudsmaster

for the reply. It was the sodium silicates that I thought someone here had claimed were being phased out? Whoever said this, was concerned about corrosion! I can't remember, but there were questions regarding liquid vs powder detergents, and the sodium silicates contained therein ??

 

[sudsmaster]

OK, well hopefully whoever made that statement will show up and enlighten us.

Since sodium silicates are added to detergents to prevent corrosion, it puzzles me that someone would say that they are going to be yanked from products to prevent corrosion. Something doesn't make sense.