How is detergent made from oil

One of them is Professor Kai Sundmacher. In the Faculty of Process and Systems Engineering at the University of Magdeburg he is exploring how sunflowers could be turned into detergent. He is examining production processes in the chemical industry and, among other things, is researching alternatives to fossil-based raw materials such as crude oil that are used in the manufacture of everyday products such as detergents and fertilizers.

Following the program in Process Engineering at the University of Magdeburg is an excellent way to lay the first basic building block for a career working or conducting research in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, building services engineering, medical technology or machinery and plant engineering. Intro voice: "Wissen, wann du wilst. The bioeconomy aims to replace fossil-based raw materials with renewables, and it is precisely this that Professor Kai Sundmacher from the Institute of Process Engineering is researching.

He is our guest today and will explain to us how sunflowers can be used to make washing detergent. Professor Dr. Kai Sundmacher: Hello! Which products and processes are you looking at? Kai Sundmacher: We are exploring complex production processes for intermediate and end products in the chemical industry.

This includes sources of energy such as hydrogen, methanol, liquid fuels and also everyday products such as detergents, plastics and fertilizers. The majority of production processes today use fossil-based raw materials, above all natural gas and crude oil. In the long run this is, of course, problematic, because these raw materials will not be available in unlimited quantities forever.

Apart from this, we also use natural gas to provide heat for our production processes. This releases carbon dioxide, a gas that is damaging to the climate. That is why we are researching processes that use renewable materials and renewable sources of energy in place of fossil-based raw materials.

So how can it be replaced by bio-based raw materials, and by which? Kai Sundmacher: What do we mean by bio-based raw materials? They are renewable raw materials - so plants - that are grown in the fields and of which every part can be utilized, right through to the fruit.

Or wood, harvested from forests, might in future supply either in part or entirely, those raw materials from which we could then create all essential chemical products. Added to this is waste materials, such as straw from agriculture or tree bark and even food waste, which could also be used. Not forgetting that carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could itself also be a source of carbon for the chemical production processes of the future. Here too there is already a whole host of examples from industry that are showing the way for development.

For example, we could replace the PET in drinking bottles, which today is manufactured from crude oil, with another polymer, known as PEF. This is a polymer that can be produced from lignocelluloses, which are obtained from wood. When these lignocelluloses are suitably processed chemically, through many intermediate stages it is possible to produce a plastic that can then be used in drinking bottles.

Another example is biodegradable plastic made using lactic acid. This means that it is possible to produce a packaging material from lactic acid that has similar properties to the packaging materials that today are obtained from crude oil. According to their advertising slogan, their products have been of organic quality since and even the packaging is supposed to be per cent recycled.

If it has been possible to do this for so long, why are there not more bio-based or organic products available to buy in the supermarkets? The agitation mechanical energy helps pull the soil free. Isn't it funny that the very product that almost ruined your shirt was thwarted by a different product of the same or similar origins? That's the power of petrochemicals, man. Back to Blog Homepage. Is there a difference between soap and detergent? Detergent, on the other hand, hasn't been around for nearly as long.

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