The use of chelating agents in all textile processes is very importa nt as these control the presence of metallic ions.
The application of DABEERSEN chelates eliminates the metal impurities which precipitate during the washing stages. This is achieved even when water with a low hardness is employed, as metal impurities are usually found in fibres.
DABEERSEN chelates should also be employed during the bleaching process as this prevents the break down of bleaching peroxides. This break down reaction is catalysed by manganesium, copper or iron which, if found in the fibre, would cause the appearance stains and even fibre breakage.
Metal ions cause precipitates formation with dyes or colour changes in specific areas of the fabric. The DABEERSEN chelates eliminate these even when complexed with the dyes.
The increase in the amount of cultivation use per hectare causes a rapid exhaustion of soil nutrients. Fertilising simply replenishes the macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), nevertheless, all crops require a series of elements which are only present in small quantities in the soil - micronutrients such as iron, manganesium, zinc. If a plant is lacking micronutrients, or these are not found in a nutrient availability form e.g. having formed non soluble precipitates, then the normal development of the plant will be altered. In fruit trees, the lack of iron causes the leaves and buds to turn yellow (chlorosity) whilst copper deficiency leads to leaf rot and reduces the quality of the fruit. In the case of maize, the lack of copper provokes the desiccation of leaf tips and the lack of zinc causes a drop in bud growth.
To prevent and correct these deficiencies, S.A. DABEER offers a full range of micronutrient chelates:
-KELANTREN, DABIRON, and DABEERSEN iron chelate range.
-DABQUELAN zinc, manganesium, copper and cobalt chelate range.
-DABQUEL magnesium and calcium chelate range.
-DABQUEL-MIX micronutrient’s mixture range.
DABEERSEN products are also used to stabilise water-soluble herbicides and to prevent the formation of compounds between the herbicide and the metallic ions found in water.
Hard water and the presence of heavy metals cause the appearance of precipitants, change of colour and rancidification in detergents together with the loss of bleaching effectiveness due to their decomposing factors.
The application of DABEERSEN prevents these problems and stabilises the essences employed in detergents.
Traditionally, washing machine detergents contained high concentrations of polyphosphates. However, due to the negative effect these had on the environment (causing water eutrophication) they have been replaced by various components: zeolites, enzymes, polyacrylates and chelate agents. Chelates help avoid the precipitation of magnesium salts and calcium and inhibit the decomposition of bleaching agents (sodium perborates, PBS) which is catalysed by the presence of metallic traces.
Industrial and institutional detergents are usually composed of a great amount of soda as a degreasing substance and a chelate substance such as DABEERSEN Na4 40%L (tetrasodium EDTA salt) or DABEERSEN 217L 40% (trisodium NTA salt) to prevent magnesium salt and calcium precipitation deposits on glass which gives it a whitish and dull appearance.
The application of DABEERSEN 503 delays polyphosphate hydrolysis making these more stable to temperatures even in the presence of iron traces.
All cosmetic products contain ingredients that are sensitive to metallic ion traces. After some time, this leads to the appearance of turbidity, change of colour and smell, etc. These irregularities may be prevented by adding DABEERSEN chelate agents. By adding small quantities of DABEERSEN we may prevent the rancidification and discoloration in soaps and creams with high lanolin content. Moreover, our sequestering agents eliminate discoloration in depilating products based on sulfitors, as the iron traces found within easily lead to oxidation when in contact with air. Dye turbidity and change of colour, due to the presence of calcium, magnesium, copper and other metals, is also prevented.
In hard water areas (with high magnesium and calcium content) it is advisable to apply DABEERSEN agents to soaps and shampoos to retain their detergent and foamability qualities.
In cellulose pulp manufacturing, the presence of metallic ions derived from the water or from the wood itself, lowers the effectiveness of the bleaching agents (peroxide or hydrosulphites) as these catalyse the break down decomposition and unable the pulp to reach the desired shine and whiteness. In the TCF (Total Chlorine Free) process for cellulose pulp, it is essential to eliminate all the metal impurities (principally manganesium and iron) which catalyse the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. To do so, DABEERSEN 503 (sodium DTPA salt) is used as chelating agent.
Iron causes unwanted paper dyeing, reduces rigidity and decomposes the oxidant used for bleaching. Copper or manganesium traces are harmful to paper destined to food packaging as they accelerate food rancidification. The DABEERSEN sequestering agents deactivate and eliminate the metallic traces which cause all of these problems.
The DABEERSEN chelating agents eliminate the metal impurities which affect the stability and physical properties of polymers.
A longer life is assured in the case of aqueous resin emulsions whilst they stabilise and help to avoid precipitation in latex emulsions.
DABEERSEN is employed in the building up of PVC to prevent the metallic traces which negatively affect the properties of polymers.
These are also used in the polymerisation via redox of styrene with butadiene acting as a source of ferrous ions, by doing so, a much more homogenous and uniform polymer is achieved.
Metal traces decay food products. These metals come from the manufacturing process or are even present in the food itself.
The presence of iron or copper catalyses the oxidation of fats and oils, this leads to mayonnaise or sauce emulsions to lose their natural taste, to change colour and to turn rancid. Another problem caused by these metals is the darkening of potatoes once cooked; this is due to the formation of very colourful complexes with the metals in question.
Shellfish containing high quantities of copper, zinc and iron. It loses flavour, colour and begin to smell badly once packaged due to these metals.
DABEERSEN Na2Ca prevents all these unwanted reactions through deactivating the metals. This product has been officially authorised as an EEC food additive (Directive Nº 95/2/EC) in sauces, vegetables, mushrooms, tinned fish and shellfish.
Metal traces produce unwanted effects in pharmaceutical product manufacturing: oxidation, changes of colour, precipitation, etc. All of these problems are eliminated through use of DABEERSEN sequestering agents.
These are used in vitamins to avoid decomposition. They stabilise proteins and antibiotics.
DABEERSEN sequestering agents are employed in treatment for metal poisoning, as anticoagulation in human blood and in gallstone dissolution.
DABEERSEN iron salts are used to restore haemoglobin and recently a new application for DTPA (DABEERSEN 503) has been discovered in Medicine: paramagnetic lanthanide chelates which are very effectively employed as contrast agents in MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging).
DABEERSEN products are used in photography to avoid the formation of turbidities and foams in the development bath and the oxidation of the developing liquid caused by heavy metals.
The DABEERSEN NaFe and FeN iron salts are employed in hardening-fixing baths to oxide the silver and to remove it from the photographic film. The DABEERSEN chelates prevent the precipitation of metallic compounds and increase the iron reactivity versus the silver.
Chelate agents are used in metal electroplating as they allow more homogeneous and pure metal deposits. These are also employed in non electrolytic immersion baths, e.g. an excellent copper deposit on steel is obtained if the steel piece is immersed in a bath containing a solution of Cu-EDTA. The Cu-EDTA chelate acts as a source of Cu ions freeing the cupric ion as it reduces and deposits on the metallic surface.
Likewise, chelate agents are used in metallurgy: one method of separating ore from the deads is that of flotation. The floatation method is based on the selective absorption on the ore surface of hydrophobic substances, this way the ore floats on the surface of the tank and is separated from the deads which stay on the bottom. The application of a chelate agent such as EDTA restores the hydrophobic properties of the ore and permits a selective separation of its components.
There is a very wide range of applications for chelating agents in chemical analysis. These are used in gravimetric analysis with the chelate agent acting as a mask. This, for example, allows the radium in the presence of barium to be determined by adding EDTA, by doing so, we may precipitate the radium sulphate remaining the Ba-EDTA chelate in solution.
EDTA is used in a wide number of complexiometric and potentiometric titration. It has also been used in separating metals in exchanging ionic resins and has been applied with success in separating lanthanide and actinide.
