Laundry detergency of palm oil on a polyester/ cotton blend was measured using an anionic extended surfactant/nonionic secondary alcohol surfactant blend under conditions corresponding to ultralow oil/water interfacial tension microemulsion formation. The oil removal for the surfactant blend could exceed 90%, which was greater than that for either component surfactant alone or for a commercial liquid laundry detergent. Presoaking produced better detergency than increasing the number of wash cycles beyond two due to fabric abrasion (leading to a brightness decrease) with an excessive number of wash cycles. Higher oil contact angles and shorter oil droplet detachment times were found to correspond to higher detergency. High speed photography showed that snap-off occurred rather than roll-up for these systems.
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