Ne. Prieto et al., CORRELATION BETWEEN SPRAY CLEANING DETERGENCY AND DYNAMIC SURFACE-TENSION OF NONIONIC SURFACTANTS, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 73(1), 1996, pp. 9-13
The role of temperature and dynamic surface tension (DST) in spray-cle
aning processes in industrial applications was investigated with nonio
nic surfactants. Relative performance data for various ethoxylates (de
rived from primary alcohols or nonylphenol) were obtained by a spray-c
leaning method. The spray-cleaning method was developed to screen and
identify optimum surfactants, formulations, and conditions for spray-c
leaning applications. It is introduced here as a means to mimic spray-
cleaning processes by (timed) spraying of a cleaner solution under pre
ssure onto a soiled substrate. Results of this investigation indicated
that temperature and DST play major roles in the soil-removal process
. Observed temperature trends are typical of nonionic surfactants' clo
uding phenomena. Optimum cleaning was observed at specific temperature
s. Also, nonionics with shorter hydrophobes exhibited the best deterge
ncy. Spray-cleaning detergency was compared to the DST because spray c
leaning involves a dynamic interfacial process. New interfaces are con
stantly being created. Results showed that the surfactants with the lo
west DST exhibited the best soil removal. This correlation can allow f
or a fast cost-effective means for screening potential candidates and
reducing development time for industrial spray-cleaning applications.