Definition

Noun: - A sulfonate of alkyl benzene. This is a type of synthetic organic compound, specifically a salt or ester of an alkylbenzenesulfonic acid. It is a key ingredient in many industrial and household cleaning agents, particularly in detergents.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The wastewater contained high levels of alkylbenzenesulfonate from the laundry detergent.
  • Early synthetic detergents were primarily based on branched-chain alkylbenzenesulfonates, which were slow to biodegrade.
  • The chemist analyzed the surfactant mixture to determine the concentration of linear alkylbenzenesulfonate.

Advanced Usage

• Environmental Context: The term is often discussed in environmental science regarding biodegradability. "Linear alkylbenzenesulfonate" (LAS) is the modern, more biodegradable form that replaced the persistent "branched alkylbenzenesulfonate" (BAS) in detergents.
  • Regulations now require the use of linear alkylbenzenesulfonate to reduce environmental impact.

Variants and Related Words

• Alkylbenzenesulfonic acid (n): The parent acid from which an alkylbenzenesulfonate is derived.
• Linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) (n): A specific, biodegradable form with a straight-chain alkyl group.
• Branched alkylbenzenesulfonate (BAS) (n): An older, less biodegradable form with a branched alkyl group.
• Sulfonate (n): A broader class of compounds containing the -SO₃⁻ group.

Synonyms

• Detergent surfactant (in a specific, functional context)
• LAS (when referring specifically to the linear form)
• Anionic surfactant (in a broader chemical class context)

Related Phrases

• Alkylbenzene sulfonate: An alternative spelling and word order for the same compound.

Noun

1. sulfonate of alkyl benzene