Sustainable biosurfactants obtained from phytolacca dodecadra berries in the formulation of liquid laundry detergents and its performance evaluation

Liquid laundry detergent is in high demand on the market for cleaning and washing purposes. However, the widely used synthetic surfactants for formulating laundry detergents are expensive and have negative environmental impacts after use. Here, we report the sustainable biosurfactants obtained from Phytolacca dodecandra berries as a partial substitute for synthetic surfactants in the formulation of liquid laundry detergent. The active matter and the foam length of the plant extracts were determined and then introduced into the liquid laundry detergent formulation system. The ingredients used are linear alkyl benzene sulfonic acid (LABSA), sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES), caustic soda (NaOH), biosurfactants at various concentrations, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC), perfume, sodium chloride (NaCl), ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA), and deionized water. Different samples of this product were characterized and compared with liquid laundry detergents formulated using synthetic surfactants, considering factors such as total active matter, pH, density, viscosity, surface tension, biodegradability, washing performance, CMC, and emulsification power. The detergent with a high concentration of biosurfactants derived from this plant exhibited properties comparable to those of synthetic surfactants. The biosurfactants obtained by squeezing had an active matter of 2 % and a foam length of 100.30 ± 1.52 mL, which is greater than that obtained by the solvent extraction methods. The role of biosurfactants in this process is to act as an emulsifier and cleaner, offering environmental friendliness, affordability, easy biodegradability, local availability, and safety for users' health. The results in this work suggest that circular economy biosurfactants derived from plant sources hold great promise as key ingredients for future detergent formulations.