A Review of Synthetic Approaches to Biodegradable Polymeric Carboxylic Acids for Detergent Applications

摘要

Polymeric carboxylic acids such as poly(acrylic acid) and co-poly{acrylic-maleic acid)s are widely used as cobuilders in de-tergent powder formulations, They were introduced in the early 1980s in combination with zeolites as partial replace-ments for polyphosphates, which were removed from detergent formulations because wastewater treatment plants did not re-move them from wastewater. The polyphosphates promoted the eutrophication of rivers and lakes and thereby promoted environmental imbalance and the death of certain aquatic life-forms. Although the nonbiodegradability of the currently used polymeric carboxylic acids eliminates the possibility of eutro-phication of the aqueous environment, it results in an increas-ing accumulation of these acids in the environment. No known toxicity is associated with these polymers, but because negative results are always accompanied by uncertainty, questions as to the fate of the acids and their effects in the environment remain. Therefore the prudent option is to develop biodegrad-able replacements for the current products, and this goal has been recognized, desirable, and difficult almost since the time polymers were introduced.