Is Alconox detergent the same as Liquinox detergent?

Q. Is the Alconox powder equivalent to the Liquinox liquid? If these are the same could you please provide me with some sort of documentation saying that Alconox is the powdered form of Liquinox and that they are interchangeable?

A. Liquinox™ Critical Cleaning Liquid Detergent is a liquid hard surface cleaner concentrate.  It is designed to be the functional equivalent of Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner which is a powdered hard surface cleaner concentrate. Liquinox detergent was designed as a liquid replacement for Alconox detergent. For each functional ingredient in Alconox, there is a functionally equivalent ingredient present in Liquinox at a concentration designed to give functionally equivalent performance.

Of the six ingredients in Liquinox, two are identical to those found in Alconox. The other four are chosen for equivalent cleaning functionality with good shelf life characteristics in a liquid form. If we just made a liquid Alconox, it would have a very poor shelf life measured in weeks.

The key ingredient for cleaning by wetting, emulsifying and dispersing is the surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate. This ingredient is identical in both cleaners. The surface tension, which correlates with wetting, emulsifying and dispersant characteristics, is 32 dynes per cm in both Alconox and Liquinox detergent.

Cleaning is also assisted by chelating and sequestering agents that tie up calcium, magnesium, iron and other ions that will tend to form insoluble complexes with soils.  Alconox and Liquinox detergents both contain chelating and sequestering agents that are effective for this purpose. Alconox powder relies on polyphosphate chelant/sequesterants, which are perfectly stable as powders, but which do not have long term stability as liquids. In Liquinox detergent, liquid stable organic chelants are used. Alconox and Liquinox cleaners are both detectable by total organic carbon (TOC) and other surfactant detection methods. The sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, which will test TOC positive, is theoretically the last ingredient to rinse away in both formulations.

Need more information on Alconox and Liquinox detergent?  Click to download each detergent’s technical bulletin and/or Safety Data Sheet (SDS).

To test an Alconox, Inc. detergent for free, please complete the questionnaire at Get Sample.