Surfactant Selection

The chosen surfactant for decontaminating MSW is Dawn dish soap because of its minimal risks, accessibility, and effectiveness. The study from Roosen et al. showed this type of detergent to be one of the most effective at cleaning various plastics for further use. We also found that ionic detergents, like Dawn, would dissolve membrane proteins. It is also generally known for being easily accessed and versatile, while also being gentle and virtually harmless. The use of an acid wash or other harsher methods could introduce new risks to the lab setting that could be avoided by using Dawn.

Researchers from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) were washing plastic with a sulfuric acid wash and Dawn dish detergent.

This table was created by comparing the safety data sheets for each product. Product selection was based on what the researchers at INL used. From this table, we determined that Dawn is the safest.

A study by Brown et al. tested 2 washing agents on MSW and reported the liquid oil yield for each after pyrolysis. Dawn was shown to produce the greatest yield of the desired product while decreasing the yield of char and gas.

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