Disadvantages of Detergents
Detergents are surface-active agents and cause a variety of water pollution problems.
• Many detergents are resistant to the action of biological agents and thus are not biodegradable. Their elimination from municipal wastewaters by the usual treatments is a problem.
• They have a tendency to produce stable foams in rivers that extend over several hundred meters of the river water. This is due to the effects of surfactants used in their preparation. Thus they pose a danger to aquatic life.
• They tend to inhibit oxidation of organic substances present in wastewaters because they form a sort of envelope around them.
