Question

Give similarities and differences between Natural detergent and Man-made detergents.

Answer 1

A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties in dilute solutions. Detergents are commonly available as powders or concentrated solutions. Detergents, like soaps, work because they are amphiphilic: partly hydrophilic (polar) and partly hydrophobic (non-polar).

Complete answer:
Natural detergents:
i. Soap nut (ritha) and soap pod (shikakai) are natural detergents in common use.
ii. They contain a chemical named saponin.
iii. Use of soap nuts and soap pods do not have any harmful effect on human skin or on silk and woolen threads and clothes.
Man-made detergents are the chemically synthesized compounds which are also used as surfactants and are much more efficient than the natural detergents. Soap and synthetic detergents both are surfactants that remove grease and oil from surfaces and are used for washing purposes.

Differences and Similarities:
Natural detergents are the naturally occurring/derived plants (For instance, Soapberry commonly called Reetha, Scientific Name: Sapindus mukorossi) which can be used as detergents.
The similarity between the both is that both can be used as surfactants i.e. to remove oil and grease. One difference between the two is that natural detergents do not harm the environment.
Man-made detergents are the chemically synthesized compounds which are also used as surfactants and are much more efficient than the natural detergents. However, these are harmful to the environment.

Note: Soap and synthetic detergent-Soap and synthetic detergents both are surfactants that remove grease and oil from surfaces and are used for washing purposes. However, soap is made up of oil which is extracted from naturally occurring products, whereas, synthetic detergents are man-made and are synthesized chemically and derived from artificial products.
Both soap and soap for washing clothes-Normal body soap and soap for washing clothes are both meant for washing/cleaning purposes and therefore are effective in removing grease/oil. However, body soap/normal soap is much milder than the soap for washing clothes.