Detergent

Term · Environment · MLC-T-ENV-007793

1. Synthetic washing agent that helps to remove dirt and oil. Some contain compounds which kill useful bacteria and encourage algae growth when they are in wastewater that reaches receiving waters.

2. Synthetic washing agent that helps remove dirt and oil. Some contain compounds that kill bacteria or encourage algae growth.

3. A chemical composition that cleans.

4. Purifying or cleansing agents, usually salts of long-chain aliphatic bases or acids, that exert cleansing (oil-dissolving) and antimicrobial effects through a surface action that depends on possessing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties.

Table 1. Record
Identifier	MLC-T-ENV-007793
Field	Environment
Subject	Air
References	Terms of Environment; I-BEAM Glossary of Terms; NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Record as JSON

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-007793",
  "term": "Detergent",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. Synthetic washing agent that helps to remove dirt and oil. Some contain compounds which kill useful bacteria and encourage algae growth when they are in wastewater that reaches receiving waters.\n\n2. Synthetic washing agent that helps remove dirt and oil. Some contain compounds that kill bacteria or encourage algae growth.\n\n3. A chemical composition that cleans.\n\n4. Purifying or cleansing agents, usually salts of long-chain aliphatic bases or acids, that exert cleansing (oil-dissolving) and antimicrobial effects through a surface action that depends on possessing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties.",
  "subject": "Air",
  "references": [
    "Terms of Environment",
    "I-BEAM Glossary of Terms",
    "NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/detergent/"
}

Record 7,793 of 30,736 in Environment terminology (MLC-0121). Request the full dataset.