Radiometric method for the determination of ethylene oxide type surfactants

A radiometric method for the determination of polyethylene glycols and other non-ionic surfactants of ethylene oxide type has been elaborated. The method is based on the formation of an associate 133Ba-non-ionic surfactant - dicarbolide anion (/(C2B9H8Cl3)2Co/-) and its extraction into a nitrobenzene-chloroform (4:1) mixture. The extracted activity of 133Ba is proportional to the non-ionic surfactant concentration in the sample. The optimum conditions for the determination (e.g., the acidity of the solution, the barium concentration, the concentration of the extraction agent, etc.) and the factors influencing the determination of non-ionic surfactants in the actual waste solution after washing were studied. The possibility of the determination of non-ionic surfactants by the calibration graph method and by the method of standard addition was verified. (author)