Preperation of Sodium Alkylbenzene Sulphonate
The method of preparation of a sulphonate paste described in this Unilever Laboratory Experiment is basically the same as that used by Unilever in the large-scale production of soapless detergents at the time of publication in 1964. The required reactants included an alkylbenzene hydrocarbon supplied by the Unilever Education Section together with oleum (20% free sulphur trioxide) and a concentrated solution of sodium hydroxide. The glassware suggested means that this is an experiment that is unlikely to be appropriate in most post-16 schools and colleges today.
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