The Influence of Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose on the Suspending Power of Built Soap Solutions

Abstract

The influence of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on the ability of soap solutions to prevent the deposition of carbon black on fabric during the detergent process has been stud ied. It was found that the presence of alkaline builders (sodium carbonate, modified soda, so dium metasilicate, and sodium orthosilicate) resulted in a decrease in the suspending power of soap solutions. The addition of CMC to such built soap solutions compensated to a considerable extent for this reduction in suspending power caused by the builder, although in no case did the suspending power equal that of the unbuilt soap. The maximum improvement in suspending power was obtained with a CMC concentration of 0.005%; i.e., 5% of the weight of soap used. In general, those builders which caused the greatest depression in the suspending power of the soap solution also showed the greatest improvement in suspending power on the addition of CMC.