Fluorescent whitening agent is a commonly heard and common chemical additive. Some people may have a slight understanding of it, while others may have a slight misunderstanding (thinking it is a carcinogenic product). So what exactly is fluorescent whitening agent? In which industries is it applied again? Will it have harmful effects on the environment and human health? Let's explore the truth.
1, Firstly, let's take a look at the definition. What is fluorescent whitening agent?
Scientific explanation: Fluorescent brightener is a fluorescent dye, also known as a white dye, and a complex organic compound. Its characteristic is that it can excite incident light to produce fluorescence, giving the dyed substance a sparkling effect similar to fluorite, making the substance visible to the naked eye very white.
Simply put, in a certain sense, fluorescent whitening agents absorb invisible ultraviolet light and emit visible blue light, thereby achieving whitening, brightening, and brightening. Its effect is not limited to white. In fact, it can make certain products appear bluer in blue, blacker in black, yellower in yellow, and redder in red This is what we call: brightening, brightening.
2, Category:
Fluorescent whitening agents can be divided into five categories based on their chemical structure:
1. Styrene type
2. Coumarin type
3. Pyrazoline type
4. Benzooxy nitrogen type
5. Phthalimide type
3, Application:
In fact, many industries are using fluorescent whitening agents, such as paper, plastic, leather, detergents, and so on. Fluorescent whitening agents are also used in many high-tech fields, such as fluorescence detection, dye lasers, anti-counterfeiting printing, etc. Even high sensitivity films used in high-altitude photography use fluorescent whitening agents to improve the sensitivity of photosensitive latex.
In China, fluorescent whitening agents were first classified as printing and dyeing auxiliaries, and then as dye products. Due to its unique properties and high demand for usage, it has been separated from the two industries mentioned above and become a separate category of fine chemical products. The first largest user of fluorescent whitening agents in China is detergents, the second largest user is paper, and textiles are the third largest user.
4, The impact on human body and environment:
For the human body:
(1) No irritation to the skin
After years of animal and human experiments, it has been shown that even if the skin comes into direct contact with pure fluorescent whitening agent CBS, it is non irritating to the skin and will not cause skin allergies.
In the book "Fluorescent Whitening Agents" written by Professor Shen Yongjia and others, it is pointed out that fluorescent whitening agents are not absorbed by the skin. Even if the fluorescent whitening agent CBS may have a small amount of adhesion to the skin during use, it will not react with human skin and can be easily completely washed away through daily washing activities (such as hand washing, bathing, etc.) without transdermal absorption. Therefore, direct contact between the skin and laundry detergent containing CBS will not cause harm.
(2) No adverse effects on wound healing
The article "Toxicological Properties of Fluorescent Whitening Agents" published in the German Journal of Dermatology in 1994 pointed out that even if textile materials containing fluorescent whitening agents are used in direct contact with wounds, they will not have adverse effects on wound healing and will not cause pathological changes to human skin.
(3) Metabolism
Fluorescent whitening agent CBS is water-soluble and can be quickly and completely eliminated from the body through normal metabolism. Studies on mouse metabolism have shown that after high-dose feeding of detergent with fluorescent whitening agent CBS, the vast majority of whitening agents will be rapidly excreted through the intestine and not absorbed by the intestine. There is no residual fluorescent whitening agent in its blood, liver, kidney, brain, muscle, and fat, which means it will not cause accumulation in the body. So even if a small amount of fluorescent whitening agent CBS enters the human body in daily life, it will be quickly excreted through normal metabolic processes.
(4) Fluorescent whitening agent CBS has no teratogenicity or carcinogenicity
Through acute toxicity studies on various animals and two-year chronic toxicity experiments on mice, it has been proven that CBS is a non-toxic substance with no teratogenicity, carcinogenicity, or mutagenicity.
The toxicity study of fluorescent whitening agent CBS (also known as FWA-5) in the test report "Risk assessment of the impact of household detergent ingredients on human health and the environment using fluorescent whitening agent FWA-5" by the European Detergent Association (A.I.S.E.) shows that fluorescent whitening agent CBS has no photo induced carcinogenic reaction. The German Ministry of Environment solemnly declared in 1983 that the fluorescent whitening agent CBS does not have any allergenicity or teratogenicity.
For the environment:
(1) CBS has high degradability
The usage of CBS in detergents is not high. After rinsing and dilution, and a general treatment of domestic sewage, CBS can be reduced by more than 95%, and the amount that enters the environment is very small. Even if a small portion enters surface water (such as rivers), it will undergo rapid photodegradation, and the products of photodegradation are also easily subjected to secondary degradation, that is, being eaten by microorganisms and decomposed into substances such as carbon dioxide that have no impact on the environment.
(2) No impact on the food chain
CBS is a water-soluble fluorescent whitening agent that does not remain in biological tissues and organs when ingested by fish. Laboratory studies have shown that even after living in high concentrations of CBS for a period of time, fish will not accumulate CBS in their bodies after leaving this environment for two days.
Based on long-term ecological research results, CBS has no harm to the environment.
5, Working principle:
Fluorescent whitening agent is a color conditioner that has the effect of brightening and brightening. Its principle of action is to absorb invisible ultraviolet light in the light and emit visible blue light, which complements the yellow light emitted by the fabric to form white light, increasing the white light emitted by the fabric. The flesh eye can feel that the white fabric becomes significantly brighter, which is the brightening effect. Fluorescent whitening agents can absorb invisible ultraviolet light (with a wavelength range of about 60-380 nm) and convert it into longer wavelength blue or purple visible light, thus compensating for unwanted slight yellow in the matrix. At the same time, they reflect more visible light than the original incident wavelength in the range of 400-600 nm, making the product appear whiter, brighter, and more vibrant.
6, Expert opinion:
On the afternoon of August 2, 2011, the China Washing Products Industry Association held an expert media conference on the safety of fluorescent whitening agents for detergents at the China Science and Technology Hall in Beijing. The invited experts for this conference are all well-known professors and researchers engaged in toxicology, medicine, fluorescent whitening agents, detergents, textiles, and dye research in China. Experts from various fields have interpreted fluorescent whitening agents from their respective professional perspectives and reached a unanimous conclusion: using fluorescent whitening agents in detergents is safe for human health and environmentally friendly, and is an irreplaceable functional additive in washing products.
Professor Shen Yongjia, a research expert in fluorescent whitening agents and doctoral supervisor at East China University of Science and Technology, said that fluorescent whitening agents are an optical conditioning agent. Its working principle is to convert invisible ultraviolet light into visible blue light, which is superimposed with the yellow light of the fabric itself to emit white light, achieving a soft and pleasing whitening effect. It has been widely used in many fields such as textiles, papermaking, detergents, plastics, etc. Professor Shen believes that the statement that "fluorescent whitening agents apply a layer of white material to clothes to cover up stains" is ridiculous, because fluorescent whitening agents, like water, are transparent and colorless, and cannot cover stains at all. We added it to laundry detergent because it has a color conditioning function that no product can replace.
Professor Wu Zhigang, a toxicologist and professor from the Department of Labor Health and Environmental Hygiene at Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, emphasized that the acute toxicity level of fluorescent whitening agents used in detergents is equivalent to that of table salt. They are non teratogenic, non carcinogenic, non mutagenic, non irritating to the skin, non allergic to the skin, non absorbable through the skin, and have no adverse effects on wound healing. Even if ingested by mistake, it will not accumulate in the body and can be quickly and completely excreted through normal metabolism. In addition, he also mentioned that the use of fluorescent whitening agents in detergents is environmentally safe, easy to degrade, and will not accumulate in living organisms. Fluorescent whitening agents for laundry detergents have been used worldwide for over 40 years, and their safety has been recognized by scientists, government departments, and relevant institutions in various countries.
That's why fluorescent whitening agents need to be added to plastic products, paper making, and washing to improve the appearance and quality of the products, so sales are not a problem. There are many types of fluorescent whitening agents, and there are also many types of plastic products. The fluorescent whitening agents added to different products are also different.
So when choosing fluorescent whitening agents, do not blindly choose professional fluorescent whitening agent manufacturers. Suzhou Jixin is a professional manufacturer of fluorescent whitening agents, dedicated to the production and research and development of fluorescent whitening agents, providing professional technical guidance. Welcome to consult and receive free sample trials!
