CA1173821A - Lubricant composition - Google Patents

Lubricant composition

Info

Publication number
CA1173821A
CA1173821A CA000382713A CA382713A CA1173821A CA 1173821 A CA1173821 A CA 1173821A CA 000382713 A CA000382713 A CA 000382713A CA 382713 A CA382713 A CA 382713A CA 1173821 A CA1173821 A CA 1173821A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
lubricant composition
composition according
water
lubricant
general formula
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000382713A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Michael T. Offiler
Cornelis N.M. Smeulders
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Unilever PLC
Original Assignee
Unilever PLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Unilever PLC filed Critical Unilever PLC
Priority to CA000382713A priority Critical patent/CA1173821A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1173821A publication Critical patent/CA1173821A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Abstract

C 586 (R) ABSTRACT

A substantially soap-free lubricant composition, especially adapted for use as a lubricant for slat conveyors or conveyor belts, is disclosed comprising:
(a) a carboxylated nonionic of the general formula:

R-[O-(CH2)m]n-COOM?
wherein R is a saturated or unsaturated alkyl group;
m = 2-3; n = 3-7 and M is H, an alkali metal or alkanol amine cation;
(b) an acyl sarcosinate of the general formula:

RCON(CH3)CH2COOM, wherein R is a C11-C19 alkyl or alkylene group; and M is H, an alkali metal or alkanol amine cation; and (c) water; and optionally a conventional nonionic surfactant having an HLB value prefer-ably between 10 and 12 for improved detergency.

The lubricant composition shows good lubricating ability, is low-foaming, insensitive to water hardness, has good cleaning efficiency and shows no tendency to cause blockage of distri-bution nozzles.

Description

1 3L 73~
- 1 - C.586 (R) This inYention relates to a lubricant com~osition especially adapted for use as conveyor belt lubricant.

The majorlty of modern bottle filling and capping machines in S food and other industries are equipped with slat or chain belt conveyors for transporting the bottles to and from the machines.
Dur;ng operation an aqueQus lubricating solution is sprayed via jet nozzles onto the moving conveyor belt to ef~ect smooth trans-port of the bottles and cleaning of the chain belt.
The traditional type of formulation for conveyor belt lubricants is based on fatty acid soap solutions, with or without other additives, such as sequestrants, surfactants, solvents, etc.
Although soap itself is a very good lubricant, it suffers from probtems of excessive foaming in soft water, or of calcium soap preeipitation in hard water, which ~ay cause blockages in the automatic lubricant syste~s, espec~ally in the nozzles. Zn order to reduce this blocking tendency, high amounts of sequestrants have been used to soften the water, but under these conditions such formulations would aga;n suffer from excessive foaming.

In hard water the use concentration of a lubricant containing a se-questrant, which is needed to prevent the blockage of nozzles, is determined by the water hardness. This often results in ~uch higher concentrations of the lubricant being used than is necessary for adequate lubricity. However, a high concentration for this traditional type of formulation inevitably causes excessive foaming under these conditions.

In practice, foam can be a problem in three ways:
(i) It falls off the conveyor onto the floor benea~h and builds up into an unsightly '~ountain' of suds.
(ii) It climbs up the bottles when they are held stationary on a moving conveyor. If the bottles are labelled, the label will be moistened by the foam and become more susceptible to physical damage. Even if this does not happen, it may cause . ~

:

1 ~73~ ~
- 2 - C 586 ~R) staining of the label after the foam has collapsed.
(iii) Foam on the bottom of washed bottles can cause problems with automatic bottle scanners.

Blackening of conveyor belts is another problem with poor lubri-cants. This could occur if clean bottles were held stationary on an initially clean conveyor lubricated with an inadequate product, It may also occur if soil, e.g. milk spillage, in the vicinity of bottle fillerst is not adequately emuls;fied or dispersed by the lubricant.

Hence, good lubricating ability, low foaming, insensitivity to water hardness, good cleaning efficiency and no tendency to blocking are essential properties for a good conveyor belt lu^
bricant.

A further equally important requirement is that it should work under acid conditions. This is important, for example, in soft -- drinks bottling plants, where many products are acidic and will inevitably contaminate the conveyor, particularly in the vicinity of the bottle fillers.

The attainment of all these combined properties in conveyor lu--br;cant compositions is a matter of difficult formulation.

Built soap ~or~lulations which exhibit good lubricity and satis factory hard water tolerance are genera~ly unsatisfa~tor~ owing to their tendency to excessive foaming. Many mdter;als which might be expected to defoam cold soap solutions were quite disappoint-ing on examination and cannot be used. Moreover, the dif~icultand complex formulation needed to achieve the necessary require-ments ~or a good conveyor lubr;cant tend to m~ke the product rather expensiVe.

The present invention now provides an improved lubricant composi-tion suitable for use as a conveyor belt lubr~cant based on a . simple and~ cost-effectlve formulation.
, - , ; - .,, - " ~" ." -, - -, ~ .. . . ;, ..
... ,.~ . ~"

. ~ .
:-.
, ~173~
~ 3 ~ C 586 (R) The lubricant composition of the invention is substantially freefrom a fatty acid soap and comprises:
(a) a carboxylated nonion;c of thè general formula:
R-~~~CH2)m~ n~CM
wherein R ls a saturated or unsaturated C14-C20 alkyl group;
m = 2-3; n = 3-7 and M is H, an alkali metal or alkanolamine cation; ;
(b~ an acyl sarcosinate of the general formula:
/~
R-C -~-CH2-COOM

wherein R is a Cll-C19 alkyl or alkylene group; and ~ is H, an alkali metal or alkanolamine cation; and (c) water.
Generally the carboxylated nonionic and acyl sarcosinate mixture in the composition of the invention is neutralized to g;ve a pro-duct pH of between i and 11, preferably between 8 and 9, particu-larly about 8.5. Alkali hydroxides, such as sodium hydroxide and potass;um hydroxide, or alkanolamines, such as monoethanolamine or diethanolamine , are examples of suitable neutralizing agents.

Advantageously, the weight ratio of çarboxylated nonionic to acyl sarcosinate in the composition of the invention is from about 2:1 to 1:2. A preferred ratio is 3:2, which will give a product suit-able for use in a w;de range of water hardnessl i.e. from 7ero to
3 mol m 3.

The degree of alkoxylation (n) in the carboxylated nonionic mole-cule is important. A lower degree of ethoxylation causes an impro-vement in lubric~ty and a further reduction ln foam, but at the expense of the composition becoming more sensitive to hard water.
The degree of ethoxylation therefore should not be tower than 3.
A higher degree of ethoxylation causes a reduction 1n lubricity and an increase in foam. The degree of ethoxylation therefore should not be higher than 7.

, 1 1 738.?,1
- 4 - C 586 ~R) A preferred carboxylated nonionic is:
C18H35-[0-CH2-cH2~5 COOM.
A preferred acyl sarcosinate is oleyt sarcosinate having the formula: O
C17H33C -N-CH2-cOoM
CH3.

Apart from the components already mentioned, it may be desirable to also include in the lubricant composition of the invention a conventional nonionic surfactant compound, particularly a low-foaming nonionic surfactant. The incorporation thereof will have the effect of improved detergency, which can be of import-ance, e.g. in dairies.
Examples of su;table nonionic surfactants which may be used in-clude in particular the liquid reaction products of ethylene oxide with C6-C12 alkyl phenols or with aliphatic ~C8-C1~) pri-mary or secondary linear or branched chain alcohols, and products made by condensation of ethylene oxide with propylene oxide or the reaction products of propylene oxide and ethylene diamine.
Other so-called nonionic surfactants include long chain tertiary amine oxides and long chain tertiary phosphine oxide. Nonionics having an HLB value of from 10-12, preferably from 10.5-11, are particularly suitable, such as nonyl phenol condensed with ~-6 ethylene oxide groups (NP/5-6 EO).

Though any ~orm would be possible, the lubricant compositions of the invention are preferably presented in liquid form. These li-quids will generally comprise about 5-20~ by weight of the active components (a) and (b), i.e. carboxylated nonionic and acyl sarco-s;nate, together. Higher active mixture contents may be presented as viscous liquid or paste~like products.

In use the composition of the invention is normally diluted with water to an active concentrat;on of about 150-750 mg/liter. In li-quid composition terms a dilution of from about 0.1-0.5% is nor-mally applied.

, , : ' - ~ :

~ ~ ~ 3 ~
- 5 - C 586 ~R) _x~, The following composition was_prepared and tested against two commercial products, Jetloob~ex J.R. Grace and Zefa ~ Super H
ex Lever Industrial.
~position 1 ~0 by weight Akypo~ R050 (carboxylated nonionic) 9 Hamposyl ~ O (acyl s~rcosinate) 6 KOH 1.6 Water 83.4 iS C18H35- [~CH2~cH2]5 -COO~ ex Chem-y Hamposyl ~ O is C17H33C~ -I-CH2-COOH ex W.R. Grace.

The Composition 1 of the invention and the commercial products ~ere tested at various use concentrations and diluted with water of various degrees of hardness, for frictional drag ~measure of lubricity), solution appearance and foam.

~ ~he results are illustrated in the following Table.
Table of Resu~ts Test Product Use Conc. Water Fric- Solution Foam Hardness tional Appear--3 Drag ance _ (mol m 3 (kg)*
_ aJetloob 0~33 1 2slightly) ~/+
turbid ) b do. 0.25 1 3 turbid O
c do. 0.20 1 4 do.
d do. 0.25 O 1.5clear +~
e do. 0.20 0.5 1Sltu9hrblYd O
f Zefd 0.33 1 1 turbid 9 do. 0.25 1 4 do.
h do. 0.33 O 1.5clear .
_ ~ __ _~ ~ _._ i I 0.33 O 1.5clear 0/~
k I 0.25 O 1.75 clear O
l I 0.33 3 1 clear -/o 11~3~
- 6 - C.5~6 ~R) The drag was measured on 12 half filled one-litre milk bottles which were held stationary on a moving slat con-veyor ~oam code ++ excessive ~ acceptable 0 moderate - slight ~-- none The hardest water used in the tests with the commercial products was actually still relatively soft. Despite this, none of the products gave clear solutions when diluted to a concentration of 0.33% or less with it. The turbid;~y was due to calci~m soap formation which would invariably cause jet nozzle blocking problems.

The tests a-e show that if "Jetloob" is d;luted to a concentra-tion of less than 0.33% in water of 1 mol m 3 hardness, lubric-ity will be only mediocre. That this was due to the hardness ; salts in the water rather than the low concentration is shown by the fact that 0.2% solution in 0.5 mol m 3 hard water gives good lubricity (cf. test e).

Both ~etloob and Zefa gave clear solutions in totally soft water (tests d and h). They would not cause jet blocking prob-lems and could be used at low concentrations; unfortunately, however, thPy both foam excessively and therefore are unsuit-able.

The Composition I of the invention was clearly superior to both comnlercial produets ~etloob and Zefa in both hard and soft water.

Example II
The Composition I of Example I was also tested over a two-week period at various use concentrations in a problem area (relative-Iy tall bottles with narrow bases). No problems were encountered at use concentrations down to 0.2% in soft water. The conveyors werè noticeably cleaner with this product than with the soap-, .. . ... .. . ...
based products of the art.
'' ~:, ~ ' - :.

, , 11 ~ 3 ~ ~ 1 C 586 ~R) Examples III - YI
The follow;ng examples are further illustrative lubricant compo-sitions w;thin the invention:
Composition III IV V VI
C18H35- ~0-CH2-CH2~ 5-COOH 4.5 6.0 3.0 3.0 C17H33CON ~CH3]CH2COOH 3.0 9.0 12.0 12.0 KQH 1.0 1.5 1.6 Water 85.5 83.5 83.4 85.0 Nonyl phenol/5-6 ethylene oxide 6.0 _ . ' , The compositions IV - V are usable for soft water.

.. .

, :

- . . - .: -., .,, .. - . .

- . , ~.
. : :

Claims (9)

- 8 - C 586 (R) THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A lubricant composition, characterized in that it is sub-stantially free from fatty acid soap and comprises (a) a carboxylated nonionic of the general formula;
R-[O-(CH2)m]n-COOM
wherein R is a saturated or unsaturated C14-C20 alkyl group; m = 2-3; n = 3-7 and M is H, an alkali metal or alkanolamine cation;
(b) an acyl sarcosinate of the general formula:

R-CON(CH3)CH2COOM

wherein R is a C11-C19 alkyl or alkylene group;
and M is H, an alkali metal or alkanol amine cation; and (c) water.
2. A lubricant composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the carboxylated nonionic (a) and acyl sarcosinate (b) are present in a weight ratio of from about 2:1 to 1:2.
3. A lubricant composition according to claim 2, characterized in that said weight ratio of (a) to (b) is 3:2.
4. A lubricant composition according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises 5-20% by weight of the active components (a) and (b) together.
5. A lubricant composition according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a pH value of between 7 and 11.
6. A lubricant composition according to claim 5, characterized in that the pH is between 8 and 9.
7. A lubricant composition according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a conventional nonionic surfactant.

- 9 - C 586 (R)
8. A lubricant composition according to claim 7, characterized in that the nonionic surfactant has an HLB value of from 10 to 12.
9. A lubricant composition according to claim 8, characterized in that the HLB value is from 10.5 to 11Ø
CA000382713A 1981-07-28 1981-07-28 Lubricant composition Expired CA1173821A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000382713A CA1173821A (en) 1981-07-28 1981-07-28 Lubricant composition

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000382713A CA1173821A (en) 1981-07-28 1981-07-28 Lubricant composition

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1173821A true CA1173821A (en) 1984-09-04

Family

ID=4120548

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000382713A Expired CA1173821A (en) 1981-07-28 1981-07-28 Lubricant composition

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1173821A (en)

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP0044458B1 (en) Lubricant composition
US10400190B2 (en) Use of O/W emulsions for chain lubrication
CA1143718A (en) Lubricant composition
US3860521A (en) Soap based chain conveyor lubricant
US6372698B1 (en) Lubricant for chain conveyor belts and its use
US5565127A (en) Surfactant base for soapless lubricants
EP1842898B1 (en) Use of lubricant composition for lubricating a conveyor belt
EP2105493B1 (en) Dry lubrication method employing oil-based lubricants
KR20010049188A (en) Alkaline ether amine conveyor lubricant
US11840676B2 (en) Lubricant compositions and methods for using the same
US20040235680A1 (en) Conveyor lubricant with corrosion inhibition
EP1646706B1 (en) Chain lubricants
CA1173821A (en) Lubricant composition
WO1996002616A1 (en) Lubricant compositions
US20050288191A1 (en) Conveyor system lubricant
US7718587B2 (en) Composition and method for lubricating conveyor track
EP0739407A1 (en) Lubricant compositions
JPH0995692A (en) Water-soluble lubricant composition
JP2023098537A (en) Lubricant composition for conveyor

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
MKEX Expiry