Question

Why the detergents with straight chain hydrocarbon groups are better than the detergents with branched chain hydrocarbon groups ?

Answer 1

straight chain hydrocarbon chain detergents are soft and biodegradable whereas the branched chain detergents are hard and non biodegradable. That is why they are preferred. Ex., Sodium alkyl sulphate - straight chain detergent: Sodium alkyl benzene sulphonates -branched chain detergent