I.

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency names phosphorus, nitrogen,

ammonia and chemicals grouped under the term "Volatile Organic Compounds" as the

worst environmental hazards in household cleaners. According to the Canadian Labour

Environmental Alliance Society, dishwasher detergents are 30 to 40 percent phosphorus.

Nitrogen, phosphorus and ammonia are dangerous water contaminants in large

quantities. They are rinsed down drains and flushed down toilets as families clean the

house. Most pollutants are removed from the water by the waste treatment facilities

before the water is returned to the rivers, streams, lakes and other waterways. However,

those three household cleaning chemicals are not removed by waste treatment processes.

Instead, they enter the waterways and build up, causing an accelerated growth of some

types of plant life.

Ammonia, nitrogen and phosphorus are all fertilizers used in agriculture to help

plants grow in controlled environments on farms. When those same chemicals enter a

freshwater environment as residues of household cleaning, their levels are not controlled.

The result is excessive nourishment of some types of plant life in habitats native to

aquatic animals. This can lead to dense vegetation that clogs waterways, crowding out

animal life and other marine plants. At the end of these plants' chemical-accelerated life

cycle, they die in large masses, decaying and depleting the oxygen in the water. Algae

then grows, and the animals – freshwater shellfish, fish and others – die off as well; the
die-offs cause more decay. Soon, the water is no longer suitable for drinking, cooking or

bathing.

VOCs can cause health hazards by concentrating inside the household air, and

when windows are raised to ventilate while cleaning, the problem goes outdoors.

According to the EPA, VOCs contribute to smog, and the pollution is so severe in some

areas that legislation to ban or restrict the amount of VOCs in household cleaners became

necessary.

II. OBJECTIVES PROPOSED

1. To prevent the upcoming detrimental effect of phosphate pollution in the

environment

2. To reduce the phosphate loadings in wastewater

3. To provide a healthier and more environmental friendly substitute to

phosphate

4. To slow down accelerated water eutrophication

III. RELEVANT LITERATURE

Phosphates are common additives in detergents to soften the hard water. It

enhances the cleaning power of the detergents, which is very helpful in spiking its

popularity and while marketing. However, it causes health problems and major
environmental hazards. Phosphate residues on dish surface may cause nausea, diarrhea

and skin irritations. Phosphates are still active after waste water treatment. When they

enter waterways, they act as fertilizers and encourage overgrowth of algae, which leads to

drastic reduction of oxygen in water. This results in the depletion of other living

organisms like fishes in water bodies.

Research has shown that dietary saponins may have health benefits. A simple,

rapid method for the determination of saponins in legumes, using densitometry, is

described. Saponin preparations, after pretreatment to remove nonsaponin components,

are spotted in rows on a thin-layer chromatography plate, along with soya saponin

standards. The plate, without solvent development, is directly treated with sulfuric acid

and heated. Violet spots develop which have a density proportional to the amount of

saponin present. The standard curve has a correlation coefficient of 0.99 and is linear

over the range of 1.25 to 10 μg of soyasaponins applied. The method has a coefficient of

variation of less than 3% and compares favorably with quantitative thin-layer

chromatography. Using this method the saponin contents of defatted soy flour (0.58%),

dried navy beans (0.32%), and dried kidney beans (0.29%) were determined.

IV. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

1. Ground and extract samples with petroleum ether in a Soxhlet apparatus to

remove pigments and lipids and submit to four different methods of saponin

extraction:
 a. The saponin extract is to be prepared according to the method of

Livingston et al. (1977).

i. Extract samples (10 g) by refluxing for 2.5 h with 150 ml

ethanol/water (1:1) in a water bath at 95°C.

ii. Cool and filter samples. Wash the solids carefully with water.

Combine the filtrates and take to dryness in a vacuum drier at

45°C.

b. Extract legume samples (10 g) with 150 ml methanol in a Soxhlet

apparatus for 50 h. Remove solvent from extracts by evaporation in rotary

evaporator.

c. Mix the defatted samples (10 g) with 100 ml distilled water and extracted

for 5 h in a boiling water bath. Centrifuge the mixture at 6000 rpm for 10

min, then dried in a vacuum drier at 45°C.

d. Mix the aliquots (10 g) of the defatted samples with 100 ml of phosphate

buffered saline (PBS) pH 7.3 and shaken for 2 h. Centrifige the mixture at

6000 rpm for 10 min.

V. REFERENCES

 Jonita Davis. How Does Household Cleaner Affect the Environment? SFGate.

Available at: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/household-cleaner-affect-

environment-79335.html [Accessed 19 August 2017]

 Meena Rani K. Phosphorus Concerns with Detergent Use. NYC Environmental

Protection. Available at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/ms4/detergents_f.pdf

[Accessed 19 August 2017]

 D. M. Gurfinkel andA. V. Rao (2002). Determination of Saponins in Legumes by

Direct Densitometry. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Available at:

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf010754c [Accessed 19 August 2017]

 Khalil, El-Adawy (1993). Isolation, identification and toxicity of saponin from

different legumes. Food Chemistry. Available at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0308814694901201 [Accessed

18 August 2017]