Answer the following:

How is detergent industrially manufactured?

Detergents were first made in Germany. In industries, long chains of hydrocarbon from petroleum are reacted with concentrated sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄), then the intermediate product formed is neutralized with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and the detergent is formed. Detergents are mainly available as powders or concentrated solutions.

Detergents are of three types:

● Cationic detergent

● Anionic detergent

● Non-ionic detergent

Note: Hydrocarbon is a chemical compound containing hydrogen and carbon.

Hydrocarbon + H₂SO₄ → Intermediate product

Intermediate product + NaOH → Detergent