Low-foam alcohol ethoxylates and polysorbate emulsifiers for machine dishwash, CIP, and all-purpose cleaners u2014 the hard-water-tolerant grease-cutters of cleaning chemistry.
Nonionic surfactants are uncharged surface-active agents whose water solubilityncomes from polyethylene-glycol (ethoxylate) chains rather than an ionic head. They arenthe low-foam grease-cutters of cleaning chemistry u2014 the default for automatic dishwash,nclean-in-place (CIP) circuits, and spray-wash systems where foam would break the process.nAlcohol ethoxylates do most of this work; polysorbates serve as emulsifiers and solubilizers.
nnA defining property is the cloud point: a nonionic surfactant cleans best near the temperaturenwhere it begins to lose water solubility, but heating past that point makes it phase-separate andndrop out of solution. Match the cloud point to your wash temperature, and confirm it for the gradenyou buy. Their second advantage is hard-water tolerance; unlike anionics, nonionics are largelynunaffected by calcium and magnesium.
nnBecause nonionics are weaker on particulate soil than anionic detergents, most all-purpose andnlaundry formulas blend the two: nonionic for grease and oily soil, anionic for foam andnparticulates. Polysorbate 80 and polysorbate 20 are food-grade-available emulsifiers used to carrynfragrance and oily actives into aqueous cleaners; a castor-oil ethoxylate (PEG-40 castor oil) is annalternative fragrance solubilizer.
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