Analysis of Some Brands of Detergent Sold in Sokoto

Detergent is commonly available as powders or concentrated solutions. Detergent work because they are amphiphilic- partly hydrophilic (polar) and partly hydrophobic (non- polar). Qualitative determination of Surfactant, Sulphur, Phosphorus and Nitrogen (as cyanide) were carried out with Quantitative analysis for Sulphate, Foamabilityand Total alkalinity. All the samples were found to be anionic detergents, Sulphur, Phosphorus were present in all the samples but Nitrogen was not detected. The percentage alkalinity for samples A- E were; 32.40, 72.08, 37.52, 46.60 and 55.50 respectively as carbonate with 4.8, 5.6, 6.9, 4.4 and 1.8 % as Hydroxide. Similarly, heights (cm) of foam formed for samples A-E were 440, 430, 410, 450 and 450. The percentage concentrations of Sulphate were 97.5, 27.5, 43.5, 42.0 and 52.0. Therefore, Sample B is good for hard-water washing, C is good for fabrics, D is good for stain removal and A,E samples are good for utensils and washing machine.