inform February 2004 Volume 15 (2)

WHATS NEW SURFACTANTS & DETERGENTS 107

times you wash the glass in the automatic dishwasher. The problem, they say, has nothing to do with the dishwasher or your standards of cleanliness. And while the type of detergent you use may aggravate the dirty appearance, forces of fundamental science are more to blame. Researchers at Lehigh University have discovered that the milky band is actually a network of microscopic scratches that form as the glass is being manufactured. These cracks are not visible at the time of purchase, but repeated washings in the dishwasher cause the glass to dissolve slightly. This, in turn, causes the tiny cracks to spread and to scatter light, giving the glass what appears to be a recalcitrant swath of dirt or grime. The three-year study was funded by Unilever (London, England; Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and led by Himanshu Jain, Diamond Chair Professor of materials science and engineering at Lehigh. Jains coauthors on the Journal of the American Ceramics Society (JACS) paper were Anju Sharma, a Lehigh graduate student, and Joseph Carnali and Guillermo Lugo of Unilever Research U.S. in Edgewater, New Jersey. Jain began the study by assembling a variety of new, not-yet-washed wineglasses.The as-received glassware appeared clear and transparent to the unaided eye, he wrote in JACS (86:16691676, 2003). Upon closer examination with optical microscopy, however, he noticed grooves and scratches of submicrometer size along the circumference of the bowl. The existence of these microscopic surface defects, even before washing, suggests that they were created during the manufacturing process and/or subsequently to forming during handling, the researchers wrote. After making this discovery, Jain and his colleagues washed the glasses for as many as 100 cycles in three detergent solutions ranging from benign to harsh. They observed that the glasses washed in the benign solution containing no sodium disilicate remained clear and transparent. In contrast, the glasses washed in solutions containing 0.7 g and 1.5 g of sodium disilicate per liter became visibly corroded around the center of the glass bowl, or exactly where the scratches and grooves were found before the sample was washed, the researchers

Henkel to buy Dial

Dial Corp. of Scottsdale, Arizona, the maker of Dial soap, Renuzit air fresheners, and Armour Star canned meats, is being acquired by Henkel KGaA for $2.9 billion in cash. The Dsseldorf, Germany-based company makes detergents, cosmetics, and adhesives. The deal, which was announced in midDecember and is expected to close by April 2004, will give Henkel a bigger foothold in North America and a portfolio of well-known brands. Henkel said it expects to sell later a significant part of its minority holdings in Clorox Co. of Oakland, California, or Ecolab Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota. Dial headquarters will remain in Scottsdale, the companies said, and Dial chief executive Herb Baum will stay in his post for two years.

Scientists explain the ring around the glassware

Materials scientists at Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) have an explanation for the cloudy ring around glassware that seems to get worse, not better, the more

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noted. Glasses washed with the harsher solutions also became tinged with blue and other colors near the rim, they said. Ironically, Jains group found that the most aggressive dishwashing solutions do not cause the most visible scratching. That is because these solutions cause all of the glass to dissolve at the same fast rate. The resulting bowl is thinner but still transparent, and may break in the dishwasher before it takes on the telltale cloudy look of corrosion. Most consumers who file complaints with automatic dishwashing machine manufacturers are using a mid-range dishwashing detergent, says Jain, which causes the preformed scratches on the glass to dissolve more quickly than the rest of the glass, and thus acquire the corroded, or cloudy, look. Wineglass and dishwashing detergent companies receive more complaints in Europe than in the United States, says Jain. This may be due to the fact that, especially in Germany and The Netherlands, dishes are washed at higher temperatures than in the United States, which enhances the problem. Carnali said Unilever has made subtle changes in the composition of its dishwashing detergents as a result of the study in order to reduce the amount of the ingredients known to cause corrosion. Carnali also said washing the wineglasses by hand prevents the glass bowl from clouding. In summary, says Jain, the problem of corroded wineglasses is twofold. It can be mitigated either by controlling the manufacturing process, especially as the glass makes the transition from liquid to solid, or through the use of improved detergent formulations. A detergent manufacturer has taken the first step, said Jain. Now it is the glass manufacturers turn to address this qualitycontrol issue. can be used in detergent applications for both the consumer and institutional and industrial markets, he explained. The multifunctional additive works not only as an antiredeposition agent but also can interact with fabric surfaces to form a protective layer, Krinski said. In addition, he and Tao will explore potential applications in preventing dye transfer and as an additive in fabric softeners. The technology could be used with any other oilseed protein, Krinski noted, adding the nice thing about the technology using soy protein is its combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic components, making it unique in its ability to interact with hydrophilic and hydrophobic additives in detergent formulations. Because Solae works primarily with edible applications of soy proteins and has a limited number of industrial protein-based products, the company decided to partner with a university in bringing the technology to market. Tao was chosen partly because of his contacts in industry, Krinski said. We are talking to several ingredient and detergent manufacturers, Tao confirmed, adding that he has high hopes for a rapid commercialization of the product.

inform February 2004 Volume 15 (2)

Briefs
l Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG (Dsseldorf, Germany) has awarded the creators of two new products the companys Silver and Bronze Cognis Innovation Awards. The Silver Award, worth E15,000 (about $18,300), went to a team of researchers that developed a rheology modifier for water-based paints that is 30% more effective than existing rheology modifiers, Cognis said. The Bronze Award, worth E10,000 (around $12,200), was given to Bettina Jackwerth, George Fieg, Rolf Kawa, and Thorsten Lhl, who created an emollient that significantly improves the performance of skin- and hair-care products. l Soy milk isnt just for drinking anymore: Simply, a new perfume by Clinique, features the aroma of soy milk and soy nuts, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Rather than working with traditional scents such as citrus or vanilla, the creator of the perfume looked for ingredients that would invoke brightness, comfort, and intimacy, the report said. Simply includes all white flowers for brightness, soy milk for comfort, and toasted soy nuts for intimacy, its creator said. n

Solae and Purdue to work on soy-based laundry additive

AOCS member Bernie Tao was selected to work with The Solae Co. (St. Louis, Missouri) on a new soy protein-based laundry additive. Thomas Krinski, director of product development and new technology for Solae and creator of a laundry additive for detergent applications that the company has donated to Purdue (West Lafayette, Indiana), said the additive could be on the market as soon as 2005, after he and Tao tweak the technology and scale up the process. The altered soy protein has undergone cationic modification and