Which property of sulfuric acid makes it useful in the manufacture of detergents?

The property that makes sulfuric acid particularly useful in the manufacture of detergents is its high solubility in water. This characteristic allows sulfuric acid to easily dissolve and interact with other substances, fostering effective chemical reactions needed in the production of various cleaning agents. The solubility enhances the ability to form effective mixtures or solutions required to modify the properties of the detergents being produced, such as improving their cleaning power or altering their viscosity.

While the non-corrosive nature, high conductivity, and stability at high temperatures might be beneficial properties in other contexts, they do not directly contribute to the effectiveness of sulfuric acid in detergent formulation. For instance, sulfuric acid is actually known for being quite corrosive, which is not suitable for all applications, particularly where material safety is a concern. Furthermore, conductivity is more relevant to electrolytes than to the functionality of detergents. Stability at high temperatures is an important property in some industrial reactions, but in the context of detergent manufacturing, the solubility aspect is the key driver for its use.