More Than a pH Adjuster: Mechanisms, Selection Logic, and Alternative Acid Source Analysis of Citric Acid in Home-Care Cleaning
More Than a pH Adjuster: Mechanisms, Selection Logic, and Alternative Acid Source Analysis of Citric Acid in Home-Care Cleaning
1 Why Citric Acid Is Suitable for Home-Care Cleaning
1.1 Citric Acid Is Not Merely an Acidifier
In home-care cleaning formulations, citric acid is often understood simply as an ingredient used to adjust pH, that is, acidity or alkalinity. This understanding is incomplete. The value of citric acid lies not only in adjusting the pH of a system, but also in its ability to contribute to acid-assisted scale dissolution, complex metal ions, improve cleaning performance in hard water, and enhance formulation compatibility.
Citric acid is a tricarboxylic acid with the molecular formula C₆H₈O₇. Its structural formula can be represented as HOOC–CH₂–C(OH)(COOH)–CH₂–COOH. The molecule contains three carboxyl groups and one hydroxyl group. This structure gives citric acid two important functional capabilities: first, it can release hydrogen ions to create an acidic cleaning environment; second, under appropriate pH, acid dosage, and rinsing conditions, it can form complexes with metal ions such as calcium, magnesium, and iron. This helps reduce the concentration of free metal ions, making them easier to carry away in the aqueous phase and reducing the risk of residue formation and redeposition.
1.2 Core Cleaning Value of Citric Acid
Core Value | Functional Meaning | Significance for Cleaning Products |
Acid-assisted scale dissolution | Provides an acidic environment and disrupts carbonate deposits | Suitable for cleaning limescale, white deposits, soap scum, and similar soils |
Metal ion complexation | Forms complexes with calcium, magnesium, iron, and other ions under appropriate conditions | Helps reduce hard-water ion interference and lowers the risk of deposit residues and scale redeposition |
Mild formulation compatibility | Relatively mild acidity, low odor, and good water solubility | Suitable for household cleaners, powders, tablets, and liquid products |
2 Product Characteristics of Citric Acid
2.1 Appearance, Solubility, and Dosage-Form Compatibility
Citric acid is typically supplied as colorless transparent crystals or a white crystalline powder, and it may also be made into granular products. It is essentially odorless and readily soluble in water, making it suitable for use in various home-care product formats, including liquid cleaners, powder cleaners, effervescent cleaning tablets, and descaling granules.
Product Characteristic | Impact on Formulation and Use |
White crystals, powder, or granules | Facilitates storage, transportation, weighing, and addition during production |
Readily soluble in water | Suitable for water-based cleaners and instant-dissolving powder products |
Low odor | Suitable for household cleaning and odor-sensitive use scenarios |
Polyprotic weak acid | Provides a relatively mild and controllable acidic environment |
Polycarboxyl structure | Helps complex calcium, magnesium, iron, and other metal ions |
Available in anhydrous or monohydrate forms | Selection should be based on dosage form and moisture-control requirements |
2.2 Hygroscopicity, Efflorescence, and Storage Requirements
Citric acid is commonly available in two commercial forms: anhydrous citric acid and citric acid monohydrate. Citric acid monohydrate may lose water and effloresce in dry air, while anhydrous citric acid may absorb moisture in humid environments. Regardless of the form selected, powder and tablet systems should pay attention to moisture control, sealed packaging, and anti-caking design.
For liquid cleaners, the difference between citric acid forms has a relatively small impact on use. The main concerns are assay, impurities, solution clarity, and formulation stability. For powder cleaners, effervescent tablets, or compressed tablet products, moisture content, particle size, flowability, and moisture-proof packaging directly affect product appearance, storage stability, and user experience.
3 Why Citric Acid Can Remove Scale
3.1 Acidification: Disrupting Carbonate Deposits
The white scale found on kettles, faucets, glass, ceramics, and bathroom surfaces mainly comes from calcium and magnesium ions in hard water. After water evaporates, is heated, or loses carbon dioxide, calcium and magnesium salts in hard water may precipitate. Household white scale is usually dominated by calcium carbonate and may also contain magnesium salts, rust, or other inorganic impurities. These deposits are not easily rinsed away with neutral water, but they are gradually disrupted under acidic conditions.
The hydrogen ions released by citric acid can react with carbonate deposits, converting them into substances that more readily enter the aqueous phase while releasing carbon dioxide. Taking calcium carbonate as an example, the reaction can be simplified as follows:
CaCO₃ + 2H⁺ → Ca²⁺ + CO₂↑ + H₂O
This process shows that the first layer of citric acid’s descaling action is acid-assisted scale dissolution: acidity disrupts the stable structure of carbonate scale, causing the scale layer to gradually become thinner, loosen, and be removed by rinsing.
3.2 Complexation: Controlling Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, and Other Metal Ions
The second important function of citric acid is metal ion complexation. The multiple carboxyl groups in the citric acid molecule can form complexes with calcium, magnesium, iron, and other ions. After scale is disrupted by acidification, the released metal ions may redeposit by reacting again with carbonate, soap groups, or other anions if they are not stabilized in the aqueous phase. Under conditions of sufficient acid dosage, suitable pH, and thorough rinsing, the complexing action of citric acid can reduce the likelihood of such redeposition.
Citric acid descaling does not rely solely on acidic dissolution of scale. Instead, acid-assisted scale dissolution and metal ion complexation both participate in the process. This is an important reason why citric acid can be both mild and effective in daily light- to medium-duty descaling applications.
Action Process | Specific Function | Cleaning Result |
Acidification | Disrupts the structure of carbonate deposits | Scale becomes loosened and thinner |
Complexation | Binds calcium, magnesium, iron, and other metal ions | Reduces residues and redeposition |
Synergistic result | Continues to stabilize metal ions after acidification | Improves overall cleaning completion |
3.3 Polyprotic Weak-Acid Properties: Milder Acid Release
Citric acid is a polyprotic weak acid that can release hydrogen ions stepwise. Its pKa values are approximately 3.13, 4.76, and 6.40. This means that citric acid does not completely dissociate all at once in aqueous solution; instead, it releases hydrogen ions gradually as the system pH changes. Compared with strong acids, citric acid creates a relatively mild acidic environment, and its pH adjustment is easier to control.
In cleaning products, if acidity is insufficient, the dissolution rate of calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and similar scale deposits decreases. If acidity is too strong, the risk of irritation or corrosion to metals, coatings, stone materials, and skin may increase. The polyprotic weak-acid nature of citric acid makes it suitable for daily-use and mild acidic cleaning products.
4 Typical Applications Viewed from the Mechanism of Action
4.1 Cleaning Limescale and Bathroom White Deposits
A typical application of citric acid is scale removal. White deposits on electric kettles, coffee machines, faucets, showerheads, glass partitions, and glazed ceramic surfaces are often related to calcium and magnesium carbonates. Citric acid can disrupt carbonate deposits through acidification and then control the released metal ions through complexation, thereby reducing white-scale residues.
In bathroom cleaning, soils are often not pure limescale. They may also contain soap scum, sebum residues, and hard-water stains. Citric acid provides good auxiliary cleaning for mineral deposits and calcium/magnesium soap residues. If the soap scum also contains sebum, oily soils, and surfactant residues, surfactants are still needed to jointly provide wetting, emulsification, dispersion, and soil removal.
4.2 Cleaning Tea Stains and Coffee Deposits
Tea stains are not simply deposits of tea pigments. The “tea film” on the surface of tea liquor is not exactly the same as the dark “tea scale” that adheres to cup or teapot walls over time, but both may be influenced by tea polyphenols, hard-water minerals, calcium and magnesium ions, bicarbonate, and metal ions. In practical use, tea deposits on the inner walls of cups, teapots, and kettles are often composite soils formed from oxidized tea polyphenol products, pigment deposits, hard-water mineral deposits, and metal ions.
Citric acid can clean tea deposits mainly through the following actions:
① The acidic environment loosens mineral deposits in tea scale;
② Complexation binds calcium, magnesium, iron, and other ions;
③ After the mineral deposit structure is weakened, the tea-colored organic deposits become easier to remove by rinsing, soaking, or wiping.
Citric acid is relatively effective for mixed “tea deposit + limescale” soils, especially for light to medium deposits in teacups, teapots, kettles, coffee machines, and similar utensils. However, citric acid is not a strong oxidative stain remover. For aged tea stains that are deeply colored, strongly attached, and formed through long-term oxidation, citric acid alone may have limited effectiveness. Warm-water soaking, surfactants, moderate mechanical wiping, or cleaning systems with oxidative stain-removal capability are usually required. If oxidative stain-removal systems are involved, they should not be casually combined with acidic cleaners in the same system; stability and safety should be evaluated according to the specific type of oxidizing agent.
4.3 Auxiliary Role in Acidic Degreasers
Citric acid is not a primary degreasing ingredient. Oily soils usually require surfactants, solvents, or alkaline systems to achieve emulsification, dispersion, and removal. In acidic degreasers, the role of citric acid is mainly to address mineral deposits, soap scum, and hard-water ion interference within composite oily soils.
Many oily soils are not composed of oil alone. They are composite deposits formed from oils, dust, scale, soap scum, metal salts, and aged residues. Mineral deposits and soap scum can strengthen the adhesion of oily soils to surfaces. Through acidification and complexation, citric acid weakens these deposit structures, allowing surfactants to contact oily soils more easily and perform their cleaning function.
5 How to Decide Whether to Use Citric Acid
5.1 Consider the Soil Type
Before selecting citric acid, the first step is to determine whether the target soil is related to inorganic deposits such as calcium, magnesium, and iron. Citric acid is suitable for soils associated with limescale, hard-water residues, and metal ion deposits.
Evaluation Item | Situations Suitable for Citric Acid | Situations Where Citric Acid Should Not Be Used as the Main Agent |
Soil type | Limescale, water stains, white deposits, tea deposits containing hard-water minerals, calcium/magnesium soap scum, light rust or metal ion traces | Heavy grease, carbonized oil deposits, severely aged colored stains, heavy rust, heavy industrial scale |
Main components | Carbonate deposits, calcium/magnesium soaps, hard-water mineral residues | Large amounts of oils and fats, organic burnt-on soils, heavy rust, strongly adhering colored stains |
Cleaning method | Acid-assisted scale dissolution, metal ion complexation, assisted rinsing | Requires strong alkali, solvents, oxidizing agents, or specialized rust-removal systems |
5.2 Consider the Required Cleaning Strength
Citric acid is suitable for light to medium, daily-use, and maintenance-type descaling. If the goal is rapid removal of heavy scale, equipment scale, or industrial pipeline scale, citric acid used alone may not be sufficiently efficient.
5.3 Consider the Material to Be Cleaned
Although citric acid is relatively mild, it is still an acidic substance. When selecting an acidic cleaner, it is necessary to determine whether the material to be cleaned is acid-resistant.
Material | Usage Assessment |
Glass | Usually suitable |
Glazed ceramic surfaces | Usually suitable, but avoid high concentrations and prolonged soaking |
Stainless steel | Can be used for light to medium cleaning; concentration and contact time should be controlled |
Common plastics | Usually usable, but compatibility testing should be conducted |
Aluminum, copper, plated metals | Use with caution; corrosion, loss of gloss, or discoloration may occur |
Natural stones such as marble and limestone | Acidic cleaners are not recommended |
Cement-based and concrete surfaces | Should not be used casually; surface corrosion may occur |
Materials such as marble and limestone are mainly composed of carbonate components and readily react with acids. Even though citric acid is relatively mild, it may still cause loss of gloss, whitening, roughening, or corrosion of the surface. Therefore, “mildness” cannot replace material compatibility assessment. In addition, acidic descalers should not be mixed with chlorine-containing bleach, sodium hypochlorite disinfectants, or unknown cleaners. Before switching between different cleaning products, surfaces should be thoroughly rinsed. Mixing acidic cleaners with chlorine-containing systems may release harmful gases and create an inhalation risk.
5.4 Consider Dosage Form and Quality Indicators
The selection of citric acid should also take product form into account. Liquid cleaners, powder cleaners, effervescent tablets, and compressed tablets have different requirements for citric acid. For liquid products, key considerations include assay, impurities, solution clarity, color, and formulation stability. For powder, tablet, and effervescent products, the focus should be on anhydrous or monohydrate form, moisture content, particle size, flowability, and moisture-proof packaging.
Indicator | Reason for Attention |
Assay | Affects effective acid content and dosing accuracy |
Anhydrous or monohydrate form | Affects content conversion and dosage-form stability |
Moisture or loss on drying | Affects powder flowability, caking, and stability of effervescent systems |
Solution clarity and color | Affects the appearance of liquid products and impurity assessment |
Sulfated ash or residue on ignition | Reflects the level of inorganic impurities |
Oxalate | Affects quality control and application safety |
Chloride and sulfate | Affect impurity control and the stability of certain systems |
Heavy metals, lead, arsenic | Related to product grade, safety requirements, and regulatory requirements |
Particle size or mesh size | Affects dissolution rate, mixing uniformity, and powder flowability |
COA, Certificate of Analysis | Used to confirm batch quality and compliance with key indicators |
For cleaning products intended for food-contact surfaces, personal-care-related products, or cleaners with higher requirements, the appropriate grade of citric acid should be selected according to regulations, product requirements, and application scenarios.
6 Can Sulfamic Acid Replace Citric Acid?
6.1 The Replacement Function Should Be Clarified First
Sulfamic acid is often compared with citric acid because both can be used for acidic descaling. Sulfamic acid is a white crystalline solid acid with stronger acid performance than citric acid. It is commonly used in strong descaling, equipment cleaning, and industrial acid-cleaning systems, and it can also be found in some household descaling products.
From a formulation-function perspective, sulfamic acid cannot simply be regarded as equivalent to citric acid. Citric acid not only provides acidity, but also offers metal ion complexation, relatively mild acidity adjustment, and suitability for daily cleaning formulations. The main advantages of sulfamic acid lie in its acid strength and descaling efficiency, making it suitable for strong descaling functions. However, it cannot fully replace the roles of citric acid in complexation, mildness, and product-grade selection.
Comparison Dimension | Role of Citric Acid | Replacement Assessment for Sulfamic Acid | Reason for Assessment |
Acid source function | Provides acidity, lowers system pH, and participates in the dissolution of carbonate scale | Can partially replace citric acid, but acidity and dosage must be recalculated | Both provide acidity and participate in descaling, but their acid strength, acid equivalent, target pH, and formulation safety differ. They cannot be substituted at the same mass ratio |
Descaling efficiency | Suitable for light to medium limescale, tea deposits, water stains, and daily maintenance descaling | Can be used to improve descaling efficiency | Sulfamic acid shows stronger acid performance and usually reacts faster with heavy carbonate scale, but material tolerance and contact time must be evaluated at the same time |
Metal ion complexation | Forms complexes with calcium, magnesium, iron, and other metal ions, reducing redeposition | Cannot fully replace this function | The polycarboxyl structure of citric acid is an important source of its complexing ability. Sulfamic acid mainly provides acid dissolution of scale and cannot be regarded as an equivalent replacement for citric acid’s complexing function |
Acidic system stability | Can be used in citric acid/citrate buffer systems, making pH adjustment relatively mild | Should not be substituted directly | Citric acid is a polyprotic weak acid and can form buffer systems with citrate salts. Sulfamic acid does not follow the same citrate-buffer design logic |
Suitability for household cleaning | Suitable for low-odor, mild, daily-use acidic cleaning products | Requires reassessment | When sulfamic acid is used in household descaling, irritation, use concentration, contact time, rinsing requirements, material compatibility, and user safety instructions must be reassessed |
Material compatibility | Can be used for light to medium cleaning of common acid-resistant surfaces such as glass, glazed ceramics, and stainless steel | Should not be used as a direct replacement | Sulfamic acid has stronger acid performance. When used on metals, plated surfaces, or special materials, corrosion risk, contact time, and rinsing requirements must be evaluated more strictly. In equipment cleaning, it often needs to be designed together with a corrosion-inhibition system |
Food-grade and industrial-grade selection | Available in different specifications, such as food grade, pharmacopoeia grade, reagent grade, or industrial grade, to suit different cleaning product requirements | Should not be substituted according to food-grade citric acid logic | Citric acid has food-grade and pharmacopoeia-grade quality standard systems, making it suitable for grade selection in cleaning products for food-contact surfaces. Sulfamic acid is more often used in strong descaling, equipment cleaning, and reagent applications. When used in household or food-contact surface cleaning products, regulations, grade, impurities, and labeling requirements should be reconfirmed |
6.2 Core Differences Between Citric Acid and Sulfamic Acid
Both citric acid and sulfamic acid can be used for acidic descaling, but their product positioning is different. Citric acid is oriented toward mildness, multifunctionality, and daily maintenance, while sulfamic acid is oriented toward stronger, faster, and heavy-scale treatment.
Comparison Item | Citric Acid | Sulfamic Acid |
Chemical type | Organic tricarboxylic acid | White crystalline solid acid |
Acid strength | Polyprotic weak acid with relatively mild acidity; can form citric acid/citrate buffer systems | Stronger acid performance; suitable for use as a strong acid source |
Main cleaning logic | Acid-assisted scale dissolution + metal ion complexation | Mainly rapid scale dissolution through stronger acidity |
Descaling speed | Suitable for light to medium scale | Suitable for heavier scale |
Metal ion complexation | An important function | Not a main advantage |
Mildness | More suitable for household and daily cleaning | More suitable for strong descaling |
Material risk | Relatively mild, but acid-sensitive materials should still be avoided | Higher corrosion risk; metal systems need to consider corrosion inhibition |
Typical applications | Kettles, tea deposits, coffee machines, bathroom water stains | Equipment descaling, industrial cleaning, heavy-scale acid cleaning |
Replacement relationship | Multifunctional acidic cleaning ingredient | Can replace part of the strong acid-source function, but should not fully replace citric acid |
7 Representative Chemicals Related to the Mechanism, Selection Logic, and Alternative Analysis of Citric Acid in Home-Care Cleaning
Table 1 Citric Acid Systems, Citrates, and Supporting Raw Materials for Powder and Effervescent Systems
Category | CAS No. | Aladdin Cat. No. | Name | Specification or Purity | Product Features and Applications |
Citric acid raw material | 77-92-9 | Anhydrous Citric Acid Powder | UltraBio™, anhydrous grade, ≥99.5% (T) | Used for studies on acid-assisted scale dissolution, calcium/magnesium ion complexation, and cleaning of tea deposits and limescale. Suitable for the development of powder cleaners, descaling powders, effervescent systems, and acidic cleaning formulations. | |
Citric acid raw material | 5949-29-1 | Citric Acid Monohydrate | Reagent grade, ≥98% (GC/T) | Used for mild acidic descaling, soaking removal of tea deposits, pH adjustment, and citrate buffer system studies. Suitable for the development of liquid descalers and daily-use cleaning products. | |
Citrate buffer raw material | 6132-04-3 | Sodium Citrate Dihydrate | Molecular biology grade, ≥99% | Used in citric acid buffer systems, pH stabilization, auxiliary metal ion complexation, and mild cleaning system studies. | |
Citrate buffer raw material | 68-04-2 | Trisodium Citrate | Anhydrous grade, USP | Used in citrate buffer systems, hard-water ion control, pH adjustment of cleaning formulations, and complexation synergy studies. | |
Citrate buffer raw material | 866-84-2 | Potassium Citrate Solution | — | Used in potassium citrate buffer systems, acidic cleaning formulation adjustment, and auxiliary metal ion complexation studies. | |
Supporting raw material for powder effervescent systems | 144-55-8 | Sodium Bicarbonate | Anhydrous grade, reagent grade, high-purity grade, ≥99.5% | Used in the development of citric acid effervescent cleaning tablets, descaling tablets, and instant powder products. Participates in effervescent release, disintegration and dispersion, and rapid distribution of the cleaning solution. | |
Supporting raw material for powder cleaners | 497-19-8 | S774703 | Sodium Carbonate | Anhydrous grade, PharmPure™, JP, BP, European Pharmacopoeia (Ph.Eur.), NF | Used in powder cleaners, alkaline builder systems, and supporting oxidative stain-removal systems. Can be used for acid–base reaction systems, powder matrix design, and comparative studies of cleaning formulations. |
Table 2 Alternative Acid Sources and Acid Blending Raw Materials
Category | CAS No. | Aladdin Cat. No. | Name | Specification or Purity | Product Features and Applications |
Strong alternative acid source | 5329-14-6 | Sulfamic Acid | ACS, ≥99.3% | Used for heavy-scale descaling, equipment scale cleaning, and studies on alternatives for acidic descalers. Can serve as a stronger acid-source alternative to citric acid or as a blending component. | |
Strong alternative acid source | 75-75-2 | Methanesulfonic Acid (MSA) | ≥99.5% | Used for high-strength acidic cleaning, metal surface cleaning, and limescale dissolution studies. Can be used for acid-source substitution, corrosion evaluation, and comparison of descaling efficiency. | |
Mild organic acid | 50-21-5 | DL-Lactic Acid | AR, 85–90% | Used for mild acidic cleaning, pH adjustment, limescale cleaning, and blended acid system studies. Suitable for comparison with citric acid in terms of acidity and cleaning performance. | |
Mild organic acid | 6915-15-7 | DL-Malic Acid | AR, ≥99% (T) | Used for organic acid blending, mild descaling, pH adjustment, and formulation acid-profile studies. Can be used as a comparable organic acid reference to citric acid. | |
Acidic cleaning raw material | 79-14-1 | Glycolic Acid | ≥98% | Used for acidic cleaning, mineral scale cleaning, metal oxide cleaning, and blended acid system studies. Can be used to evaluate descaling efficiency and material compatibility. | |
Acidic cleaning raw material | 7664-38-2 | Phosphoric Acid | HPLC grade, ≥85% | Used for acidic descaling, metal surface treatment, and inorganic acid cleaning system studies. Can be used to compare the descaling performance of citric acid and inorganic acids. | |
Mild complexing acid | 526-95-4 | D-Gluconic Acid Solution | 49–53 wt.% in H₂O | Used for metal ion complexation, hard-water control, mild acidic cleaning, and organic acid complexation system studies. Can be used in compatibility studies with citric acid for complexing performance. |
Table 3 Supporting Raw Materials for Complexation, Scale Inhibition, and Corrosion Inhibition
Category | CAS No. | Aladdin Cat. No. | Name | Specification or Purity | Product Features and Applications |
Biodegradable chelating agent | 51981-21-6 | N,N-Bis(carboxymethyl)-L-glutamic Acid Tetrasodium Salt | Active content ≥47% | Used for calcium/magnesium ion complexation, hard-water cleaning, descaling auxiliaries, and studies on metal ion control in cleaning formulations. Can be used for synergistic evaluation with the complexing performance of citric acid. | |
Complexing auxiliary | 527-07-1 | Sodium D-Gluconate | High-purity grade, ≥99% | Used for complexing calcium, magnesium, and iron ions and improving hard-water cleaning performance. Suitable for scale control, detergent builders, and acidic cleaning formulation studies. | |
Strong chelating agent | 6381-92-6 | Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid Disodium Salt Dihydrate | UltraBio™, ultrapure grade, ≥98.5% | Used for metal ion complexation, hard-water interference control, and comparative studies in descaling systems. Can be used to compare the complexing ability of citric acid. | |
Biodegradable chelating agent | 164462-16-2 | N-(1-Carboxyethyl)iminodiacetic Acid Trisodium Salt | ≥95% (T) | Used for calcium/magnesium ion complexation, detergent builders, hard-water cleaning, and low-phosphorus cleaning formulation studies. Can be used in citric acid blended complexing systems. | |
Scale-inhibition and corrosion-inhibition auxiliary | 2809-21-4 | 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic Acid (HEDP) | Moligand™, 60% aqueous solution | Used for scale inhibition, metal ion complexation, and supporting corrosion-inhibition studies in acidic cleaning. Suitable for equipment descaling, circulating water treatment, and blended acid cleaning systems. | |
Scale-inhibition and corrosion-inhibition auxiliary | 6419-19-8 | Nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) | ≥95% | Used for scale inhibition, calcium/magnesium ion control, and industrial cleaning formulation studies. Suitable for water treatment, acidic descaling, and deposit-control systems. | |
Metal corrosion-inhibition auxiliary | 95-14-7 | Benzotriazole | ≥99% | Used in corrosion-inhibition studies for copper and copper alloys. Suitable for evaluating material protection in acidic cleaning, metal surface cleaning, and descaling systems. |
Table 4 Supporting Raw Materials for Surfactants, Solubilization/Degreasing, and Oxidative Stain Removal
Category | CAS No. | Aladdin Cat. No. | Name | Specification or Purity | Product Features and Applications |
Anionic surfactant | 151-21-3 | Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) | ACS, ≥99% | Used for studies on wetting, dispersion, foaming, and soil detachment. Suitable for evaluating surfactant functions in acidic degreasers. | |
Nonionic surfactant | 68515-73-1 | Decyl Glucoside (APG) | Moligand™, 60% in H₂O | Used for mild cleaning, wetting, dispersion, and acidic hard-surface cleaning formulation studies. Suitable for developing household cleaning systems in combination with citric acid. | |
Amphoteric surfactant | 61789-40-0 | Cocamidopropyl Betaine | Active content 28–32% in water | Used for foam regulation, mildness improvement, and surface cleaning formulation studies. Suitable for wetting and synergistic soil removal in acidic cleaning systems. | |
Anionic surfactant | 68585-34-2 | Sodium Laureth Sulfate | 70% | Used for foaming, wetting, emulsification, and hard-surface cleaning studies. Suitable for acidic degreasers and composite soil cleaning formulations. | |
Solubilizing and degreasing raw material | 5989-27-5 | (R)-(+)-Limonene | Industrial grade, ≥90% (GC), sum of enantiomers | Used for oil-soil dissolution, odor adjustment, and acidic degreasing blend studies. Suitable for kitchen grease, composite soils, and hard-surface cleaning formulations. | |
Solubilizing and quick-drying raw material | 64-17-5 | E111989 | Ethanol | Premium grade reagent, water ≤0.3% | Used for solubilization, quick drying, low-residue hard-surface cleaning, and formulation stability studies. Suitable for glass cleaning and supporting acidic cleaning systems. |
Solubilizing and quick-drying raw material | 67-63-0 | Isopropanol (IPA) | Anhydrous grade, ≥99.5% | Used for degreasing, quick drying, solubilization, and hard-surface cleaning studies. Suitable for formulation evaluation on glass, metal, and plastic surfaces. | |
Solubilizing and degreasing raw material | 5131-66-8 | Propylene Glycol Butyl Ether | ≥99% (GC) | Used for solubilization, degreasing, and composite soil removal in water-based cleaning. Suitable for acidic degreasers and hard-surface cleaning systems. | |
Solubilizing and degreasing raw material | 29911-28-2 | Dipropylene Glycol Butyl Ether (DPNB) | ≥98%, mixture of isomers | Used for low-volatility solubilization, oil-soil dissolution, and hard-surface cleaning studies. Suitable for acidic degreasing, kitchen cleaning, and composite soil cleaning formulations. | |
Supporting raw material for oxidative stain removal | 15630-89-4 | Sodium Percarbonate | ≥13% active oxygen | Used for oxidative stain removal, tea-stain cleaning, and powder cleaner studies. Can supplement citric acid’s limitations in removing aged organic colored stains. In actual blending, storage stability, release reactions, and use safety with acidic components should be evaluated. |
Note: The above products are representative Aladdin products related to research and formulation development. They are mainly intended for scientific research, formulation development, performance evaluation, or comparative experiments, and should not be used directly as the basis for determining regulatory suitability in consumer products, food-contact surface cleaners, or cosmetic-related products. For specific catalog numbers, specifications, grades, SDS, COA, and applicability, please refer to the Aladdin website, the latest quality documents, and actual application requirements.
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