Introduction: As the population grows, the demand for food increases and at the same time the amount of detergents used increases, which has a negative impact on the environment. Research shows that food contains surfactants that also have a cleansing effect. Surfactants are divided into synthetic and natural. One of the most commonly used synthetic surfactants is sodium dodecyl sulphate, which is mainly found in cleaning and hygiene products. Based on the principle of green chemistry, the search is on for suitable substitutes for synthetic surfactants, namely natural surfactants, especially saponins. They occur in all parts of plants but are also found in the seeds of pulses (peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans). Purpose: The aim of the master thesis was to determine whether natural surfactants can be a suitable substitute for synthetically obtained surfactants. Methods: In the first part, we demonstrated how much surfactant (saponins) each selected legume (peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas) contains. We then tested the effectiveness of each extract compared to a synthetic surfactant in removing selected soils (albumin, glycerol, starch). For each extract, we also tested the physical properties, namely surface tension reduction, foaming power and foam resistance, and emulsification index. Finally, we also used FTIR analysis to compare the composition of the extracts and sodium dodecyl sulphate. Results: The saponins from legumes successfully lowered the surface tension of water. They also formed emulsions and persistent foams. They effectively removed selected impurities. Using FTIR analysis, we found that the composition of the extracts and standard saponin was similar. Discussion and conclusion: We found that legume saponins have good potential to remove selected contaminants. The most successful in removing contaminants was a synthetic surfactant. We found no differences in contaminant removal between the legume extracts, as all legumes were similarly effective in removing the selected contaminants. Higher concentrations of saponin extracts removed contaminants better than lower concentrations, but not in all cases.
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