Tetraacetylethylenediamine and laundry detergents

Introduction

Tetraacetylethylenediamine, abbreviated as TAED, is an organic compound widely used bleach activator in laundry detergents. It has an active role in cleaning, enabling safe and effective results in lower temperatures.

Uses

TAED has been used in cleaning products since the 1980s. However, its usefulness has increased with the rise of High-Efficiency (HE) washing machines and dishwashers. These HE machines use lower temperatures and less water to clean, which can contribute to conditions for increased microbial growth inside machines. Regular use of TAED-containing detergents has been shown to help limit microbial growth inside machines to safer levels.

TAED is a vital component of laundry detergents as an alternative to “active oxygen” bleaching agents, from sodium perborate to urea peroxide. While typical “active oxygen” agents work by releasing hydrogen peroxide during the wash cycle, that effect is only possible in temperatures below 60 °C (140 °F). On the other hand, TAED and its ability to form peroxyacetic acid allow efficient cleaning and bleaching, resulting in lower-temperature wash cycles.

It is a bleaching activator mainly used in detergents and additives for laundry washing and dishwashing. Typical concentrations of TAED range between 1.4% and 13% in these products. The amount of TAED which is used in household cleaning products in Europe was estimated to be 61,000 t in 2001. After starting the washing process, TAED is completely dissolved within minutes in the wash liquor and undergoes per hydrolysis in the presence of persalts such as perborate or percarbonate via triacetylethylenediamine (TriAED) to diacetyl ethylenediamine (DAED). A recent kinetic study of the perhydrolysis under conditions of the washing process (pH 10) has shown that TAED is converted >99% to DAED even at low temperatures (23 ℃).

Safety

A safety assessment by the Human & Environmental Risk Assessment (HERA) on ingredients of European household cleaning products concluded that “TAED contained in consumer washing and dish washing products as well as the amount of DAED formed during the washing process do not cause concern to human health.”