"Bio" Detergent
Last night it was my turn to buy laundry soap. I found myself in an unfamiliar aisle confronted with boxes marked "Bio" and "Non-Bio". I had no idea what this meant. A fellow shopper told me that "Bio" meant "contains harsh chemicals that might cause skin irritation", so I bought the non-bio and resolved to do some research later.
It looks like "Bio" is short for "biologically active", in reference to enzymes which are added to break up stains. Proteases for proteins, lipases for grease, amylases for carbohydrates. The enzymes break down polymer chains into simple monomers. Every living thing contains and uses enzymes. We've got amylases in our saliva, lipases in our pancreas, and proteases in our stomach.
Enzymes are catalysts that aren't consumed in reactions. In theory I guess this means you could put a drop of amylase on a loaf of bread and come back to a pile of glucose if you wait long enough. On the other hand enzymes are organic folded proteins that probably don't last very long in the environment. And even if they do, the harm of environmental protein, grease, and carbohydrate polymers being broken down into monomers seems minimal. Especially when the environment is teeming with bacteria which use the same kinds of enzymes to do the same thing.
Concern seems warranted for the detergent surfactants - especially sulfanates that don't biodegrade, and phosphates that cause blooms of bacteria and algae. But I'd think that if you've got more enzymes you need less surfactants. There's also an incentive to do so, since manufacturers could claim that the same size box does 30 loads instead of 25.
The bit about "harsh chemicals that might cause skin irritation" also seems a bit farfetched. The enzymes comprise about 2% of detergent, and it ought to get washed off. It seems unlikely that trace remnants of trace amounts could cause irritation, and that's what tests seem to show. I guess it's possible, but it seems no more likely than fragrances or softeners or whatever else.
Caveat: This is all based on a basic knowledge of biochemistry and an hour or so of googling. I may have overlooked a crucial detail and gotten this totally wrong, but provisionally this seems correct.
It looks like "Bio" is short for "biologically active", in reference to enzymes which are added to break up stains. Proteases for proteins, lipases for grease, amylases for carbohydrates. The enzymes break down polymer chains into simple monomers. Every living thing contains and uses enzymes. We've got amylases in our saliva, lipases in our pancreas, and proteases in our stomach.
Enzymes are catalysts that aren't consumed in reactions. In theory I guess this means you could put a drop of amylase on a loaf of bread and come back to a pile of glucose if you wait long enough. On the other hand enzymes are organic folded proteins that probably don't last very long in the environment. And even if they do, the harm of environmental protein, grease, and carbohydrate polymers being broken down into monomers seems minimal. Especially when the environment is teeming with bacteria which use the same kinds of enzymes to do the same thing.
Concern seems warranted for the detergent surfactants - especially sulfanates that don't biodegrade, and phosphates that cause blooms of bacteria and algae. But I'd think that if you've got more enzymes you need less surfactants. There's also an incentive to do so, since manufacturers could claim that the same size box does 30 loads instead of 25.
The bit about "harsh chemicals that might cause skin irritation" also seems a bit farfetched. The enzymes comprise about 2% of detergent, and it ought to get washed off. It seems unlikely that trace remnants of trace amounts could cause irritation, and that's what tests seem to show. I guess it's possible, but it seems no more likely than fragrances or softeners or whatever else.
Caveat: This is all based on a basic knowledge of biochemistry and an hour or so of googling. I may have overlooked a crucial detail and gotten this totally wrong, but provisionally this seems correct.