Relationship of Soil Removal to Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance

Concentration-detergency curves were developed for twenty-eight soil- surfactant systems. These systems consisted of three single-component soils and nonionic surfactants from two homologous series. An optimum surfactant concentration was shown to exist for each soil-surfactant system and was found to be related to the hydrophile-lipophile balance HLB of the surfactant. From data developed a relationship is apparent between the HLB of the soil and the HLB of the surfactant of either homologous series most effective for deterging this soil. The relationship points the way for optimization of surfactant type and concentration for a specific soil based on HLB calculations.