CA1330348C - Nonaqueous liquid nonionic laundry detergent composition and method of use - Google Patents

Abstract

NONAQUEOUS LIQUID NONIONIC

LAUNDRY DETERGENT COMPOSITION AND METHOD OF USE

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A liquid heavy duty laundry detergent composition comprising suspension of builder salt in liquid nonionic surfactant. To improve biodegradability of the composition, the composition contains as a liq nonionic surfactant a propoxylated ethoxylated fatty alkyl alcohol in wh the proplyene oxide groups are adjacent to the alkyl group and the ethyl oxide groups are adjacent to the hydroxy group.

Description

- 13303~8 NONAQUEOUS LIQUID NONIONIC
LAUNDRY DETERGENT COMPOSITION AND METHOD OF US~

BACKGROUND OF TI~E INvENTloN
(I) Field of Invention This invention rel~te8 ~o fabric treating com!)osil:ions.
Thi~ inventlon purticularly relutes to laundry detergen-t:.
composi~ion6 cont~ir~ing El 6u6pension of b~ilder 8alt ir~ non~or~c surfact~nt~
which composition6 nre ~tflble agllin8t phEI8e Bepar~tion and gelation and ~re easily pournble and to the u6e of theue ~!ompo~lt~ong ~or cle~ning soiled ~Qbric~s. More particularly this invention rel~te~ to nonlor~c 8urf~ct~nt detergent composl~iong ~ which the non~on~;s 6UrfBCt~nt i8 highly biodegrsdable .
. (2) Discussion of Prior Art Liqu~d nonsqueous heavy duty laundry detergent compo~tion~ g~re well known in the art. For instance, compogition~ of that type msy comprise liquid nonionic fiurfactant in which l~re di6perged particle~ of ~ bu)~der, as shown ~or instance in the U.S.P. No6. ~,316,812, 3,630,929 ~nd ~,264,466 and British Patent Nos. 1,205,711, 1,270,090 ~nd 1,600,981.
Ille related C~nadian E)aten-t app1ications ~ssigr~d -t~o the c,~n assic~e a 498,815 r~ed December 31, 198~; ~ ~e 478,380 filed ~pr~ 4, 1985;
478,379 filed Apr~ 4, 1985;
516,756 filed Augu6t 19, 1986; snd :~
515,291 rlled Augu~t 5, 1986. .
These ~pplications ~re directed to liq~Lid non&glueou~ non~onlc l~lu~dry detergent composit;ons. The washing power of ~ynthetic norlionic ~urr~ct~nt detergents ~n laundry detergent compo~lt~on~ CD~ be increa~ed by the addition of builder~. $~
. '."
a --~ ¦ Liquid detergents are ofte~ e~ ~o be more convenient to employ I than dry powdered or partieulate products ~nd, there~ore, have found ¦ substantial favor with consumers They are read;ly measurable, ~peedily l dissolved in the wash water, cspable of being easily applied in concentrated ~olutions or dispersions to soiled areas on garments to be laundered and are non-dusting, and they usually occupy les~ ~torage ~pace~ Additionally, the liqws~ detergents may have incorpor~ed in ~he~ fo~ulaffon~ ma~e~ials which could not stand drying operations without de~erlora~ion, which mater~ are often desirably employed in the manu~ac~u~ of par~cul~te detergent products. Although they are posg~;ged of m~ny adv~n~age~ s~ver unitRry or particulate solid productg, liquid detergent~ often h~ve ~ain inherent disadv~ntages too, wh;ch have to be over~ome to p~uce acceptable commerci~l detergent productE;. Thus, ~;ome such productg exhibit ~ low degree of biodegradability ";eparate out on gtor~ge, have a high pour point temperature, foam excessively in use, and others 6ep~rate out on sxloling and are not readily redispersed. In gs)me ca~eg the product ~ oosity changes and it becomes either too thick to pour or so thin ~ to appear wateryO
Some clear products become cloudy and others gel on standing.
The conventionally produced and com~Der~ally a~ilable synthetic nonionic' surfactant detergents generally cont~in only polyethoxy group80 Though some of the conventionally u~ed nor~ionic ~urf~ctQnt8 Cont~in both polyethoxy and polypropoxy groUp8. The propoxy groups, howeYer, ~
usually present in only minor ~mounts. The ethoxy 8~nd propoxy group~ are generally r~ndomly distributed in the ~thoxy propDxy chain attached to the fatty alcohol ~nd the ethoxy group is gener~lly attached to ehe ~cyl group of the fatty alcohol.
The biodegradability of the con~ren~onally used nonionic ~urfac~ants vary to a wide degree deper~ding on the pre~ence of the propoa~y group and the location of the propoxy group, and the loeation and distribution in the 30 polyalkoxy chain of the propoxy and ethoxy group conBtituentB of Ul¢ chain.
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. ~ 62301-1433 . 1 330348 Applicants found for example that 8 nonionic surfsctant of the formula R-(OC2H4)y(0C3H6)xOH, th~t is where the polye~hoxy group wnS ~t~ached to the ~Ikyl group of the fatty alcohol nnd the polypropoxy group wag ~ ched to the hydroxy group thal the surfactant w~s only a~o~ 20 percent or le~s blodeg~adnble.
Applicants on the other hE~nd une~pectedly fous~d ~h~ when the nonlonic surfactant had the formula R-(C3H6)X(C2H4)yH
thnt 16 when the polypropoxy group ~a8 ~Ittached ~o the ~kyl group of the f~tty alcohol and the polyethoxy group ~RS ettaehed to the hydro~cy group that the surfact~t was gt least 60 percen~ d u~ually gt le~g~ ao percent biodegrsdable. Some specific nonlonic gurfgctantg of the preBent invention were found to be 90 to 100 percent biodegr~dable.
The biodegradability o~ the nonlon~c 6ur~ctont~; of thè presen~
lnvention is determined by OECD ~creenLng metho~d.
In addition to the problems of low b~odegrad~blllty snd ~ettling or phase separation the nonaqueou6 l~quid ~undry deter~entg bgged on liquid nonionic surfactants suffer from the drawback th~t the Tlon~onics tend to gel I when added to cold water. Thi~ iB a partlcularly import~nt problem in the ordlnary use of European household ~utomat3c wn~hing m~ch~ne~ where the user places the laundry detergent compos}tlon In ~ dl8pen81ng unlt (e . g.
dlspensing drawer~ of the m~chlne. During the operatlon of the m~chlne the detergent In the dispenser 18 ~ub~eeted to ~ 6treAm of cold W~ter to tran8fer . ; ;`''''''' ' '~'~'';:'',,' it to the main body of wash sollt3ion. Especially during the win~er months ¦ when th~ detergent composition and water fed to the dispenser are particularly cold, the detergent viscosity ineIe~ses markedly ~d a gel forms, As a result some of the compo~ition ig not flushed completely o~ the dispenser during operation of the machine, and a deposit OI ~he compositior builds up with repeated wssh cycles, eventually requiring the user to flush the dispenser with hot water.
The gelling phonomenon can ~0 be a problem lYh~never it ~is desired to carry out washing using c~ld water ag may be re~ommerlded ~or certain synthetic and delicate fabric8 or ~abric8 which san ghr~c in w~rm or hot water .
The tendency of concen~ra~ed detergent ~ompodtions t~ gel during storage is aggre~rated by ~storing the compo6i~ions in unhe~ted Btorage ~reas, or by shipping the composition~i during ~vinter months i~ unheated transportation vehicles.
Partial solutions to the gelling problem in aqueous, ~ub~tan~ally builder-free compositions have been proposed, or e~Esmple, by diluting the liquid nonionic with ce~ain visco~ty controll~ng 601vene~ and gel-~nhiblting ~gents, such afi lower Alkanols, e.g. ethyl alcvhol (Elee U.S.P.. 3,953,380), alk li metal formates and adipates (see U.S.P. 4,368,147), hex~rlene glycol, polyethylene glycol, ete. and nonionic structure mt>diiEication and opt~mization. As an exsmple of nonionic surfacta~t modi~c~tion one particularly succe~sful result has been schieved by ~cldlf~ing the hydroxyl moiety end group of the nonionic molecule. The advantage~ of intr~ducing ~
carboxylic acid at the end of the nonionic includa gel inhibition upon dilution; decreasing the nonionic pour point; and form~ffon of gm anionic surfactant when neutralized in the washing liquor. Nonionic ~tructure optimization has centered on the ch~n length of the hydrophobl~li~ophil~c moiety and the number and make-up of lkylene oxide (e. g. etl;ylene oxide) units of the hydrophilic moiety. For examplle, it ha~ ~een found that ~ C13 '':', ,~

~, 1 3 3 0 3 ~ 8 52301-1433 , ~
~ fatty alcohol ethoxylated with 8 moles of ethylene oxide .~ presents only a limited tendency to gel formation~
Nevertheless, improvements are desired in tlle biodegradability, stability and gel inhibition of nonaqueous liquid fabric treating compositions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with tne present invention a laundry detergent composition which preferably i9 ill a concentrated ¦ highly biodegradable, nonaqueous liquid form, can be prepared by using as a principle surfactant a propoxylated ethoxylate fatty alcohol in which the propylene oxide groups are adjacent to the alkyl and the ethylene oxide groups are adjacent to the hydroxy gro~p.
The inventors, unexpectedly found that when the `~
propylene oxide groups were adjacent to the alkyl R group and the ethylene oxide groups were at the end of the molecule adjacent to the OH group that the nonionic surfactant was highly biodegradable, e.g. more than 80 percent biodegradable. ~ ~ -On the other hand, applicants found that when the ethylene ~ ~
: .....
oxide groups were adjacent to the alkyl R group and the propylene oxide groups were at the end of the molecule adjacent to the OH group that the nonionic surfactant exhibited a low degree of biodegradability, e.g. less than 20 percent biodegradable.
The highly biodegradable propoxyla~e/ ethoxylated ;~
fatty alkyl alcohol nonionic surfactant~ the present invention have the general formula~
: .
R-(oc3H6)x(oc2H4)yoH

wherein R represents a Cg to C26 aliphatic group having less than 20% of the carbon atoms of said R group in a branched configuration, preferably alkyl, more preferably Cg to C

'~: :

t . '~ ~-, ~ 330348 62301-1433 alkyl, x+y equals 20 to 100 percent, preferably 40 to 80 percent of the number of carbon atoms of the aliphatic group, x is at leas~ one, preferably at least 2, more preferably at least 3 and y is at least one, preferably at least 2, more preferably at least 3. The compounds in which R contains 8 to 11 or 21 to 26 carbon atoms are new.
In preferred compounds of the invention (a) R
represents Cg to Cl1 alkyl and x is at least 3 and y is at least 3; (b~ R represents Cg to Cl1 alkyl and x is at least 2 and y is at least 2 and x+y is 4 to 16 (preferably x+y is 5 to 10); (c) x is 2 to 15 and y is 2 to 15; and, (d) less than 10% of the carbon atoms in the R group are branched.
Thus, the present invention relates to lA] the highly biodegradable propoxylated ethoxylated fatty alcohol nonionic `~
surfactants of the above formula, lB] the heavy duty laundry detergent composition comprising the nonionic surfactants of the above formula, and lC] a method for cleaning soiled fabrics which comprises contacting the soiled fabrics with the laundry detergent composition.
The propoxylated ethoxylated fatty alcohol nonionic surfactants of the present invention are at least 60 percent, ;~
preferably at least 80 percent biodegradable. The propoxylated ethoxylated fatty alcohol nonionic surfactants of the present invention can be used as the only nonionic '`~ `

D -6a-1 3 3 0 3 4 8 62301 1~33 - surfactant detergent or it can be used in mixtures with the conventional commercially available nonionic surfactants. I~
is preferred that the propoxylated ethoxylated fatty alcohol nonionic surfactant comprise at least 50 percent and more - preferably at least 70 percent of the nonionic surfactants used in the detergent composition.
According to the present invention there is provided a heavy duty laundry detergent composition comprising a compound of the formula R-(OCH3H6)X(Oc2H4)yoH
wherein R represents a substantially straight-~hained C8 to C
aliphatic group having less than 20% of the carbon atoms of said R group in a branched configuration, the value of x~
equals 20 to 100 percent of the number of carbon atoms of the R
group, and x is at least one and y is at least one, in an amount of about 10 to 60 percent by weight, and at least one of the group consisting of~
up to about 50% by weight of a detergent builder salt, up to about 30% by weight of an acid terminated nonionic surfactant, up to 2~ by weight of an alkanol phosphoric acid ester stabilizing agent.
The invention further provides a heavy duty laundry detergent compositlon comprising a ccmpound of the formula . ~ .
R-(OCH3H6)x(OC2H4)yOH
wherein R represents a substantially straight-chained C8 to C26 ~;
aliphatic group having less than 20% of the carbon atoms of said R group in a branched configuration, the value of x~y equals 20 to 100 percent of the number of carbon atoms of the R
group, and x is at least one and y is at least one, in an amount of about 20 to 50 percent, 7 :~
~' .:
.~,~ ' 1 3303~8 62301-1433 a detergent builder salt in an amount of about 10 ~o 40 percent, an acid terminated surfactant in an amount of about 5 to 25 percent, an alkylene glycol mono-alkyl ether in an amount of about 5 to 15 percent, and an alkanol phosphoric acid ester in an amount of about 0.1 ;
to 1.0 percent.
The invention also provides a heavy duty laundry detergent composition which is nonaqueous and comprises a . ~ ~
highly biodegradable liquid nonionic surfactant of the formula .: :
R-(0C3H6)x(Oc2H4)yOH~
wherein R represents Cg to C18 alkyl having less than 20% of ~ the carbon atoms of said R group in a branched configuration, ¦ x+y equals 4 to 16, x is at least 2 and y is at least 2, in an amount of 20 to 50 percent, ;~
acid terminated surfactant in an amount of about 5 to 25 percent, sodium tripolyphosphate builder salt in an amount of about 10 to 40 percent, alkylene glycol monoalkylether in an amount of abou-t 5 to 15 percent, alkanol ester of phosphoric acid in an amount of about 0.1 to 1 percent, sodium perborate monohydrate bleaching agent in an amount of about 8 to 15 percent, and tetraacetylethylene diamine (TAED) bleach ac~ivator in an amount of about 4 to 8 percent.
In order to improve the viscoslty characteris~ics of the composltion an acid terminated nonionic surfactant can be added. To further improve the viscosity characteristics of the 7a ~.
~:;

: 1 330348 62301-1433 composition and the storage properties of the composition there can be added to the composition viscosity improving and anti gel agents such as alkylene glycol mono alkyl ethers and anti settling agents such as phosphoric acid esters and aluminum stearate. In preferred embodiment of the invention the .: :: .
detergent composition contains an acid terminated nonionic surfactant and/or an alkylene glycol mono alkyl ether, and an anti settling agent.
Sanitizing or bleaching agents and activators `~
:~
therefore can be added to improve the bleaching and cleansing characteristics of the composition.
In an embodiment of the invention the builder components of the composition are ground to a particle size of less than 100 microns and to preferably less than 10 microns to further improve the stability of the suspension of the builder components in the liquid nonionic surfactant detergent.
In addition other ingredients can be added to the composition such as anti-encrustation agents, anti-foam agents, optical brighteners, enzymes, anti-redeposition agents, perfume and dyes.
The presently manufactured washing machines for home use normally operate at washing temperatures of up to 100C.
Up to 18.5 gallons (70 liters) of water are used during the wash and rinse cycles.
About 175 gms of powder detergent per wash is normally used.
: ~.

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' In accordance with the pres~n~ inven~ion there is proYJded a liquid heavy du~y laundry detergent composition comprising a highly biodegradable nonionic surfactant which surfactant consist~ of propoxylated ethoxylated I fatty alkyl ~lcohol in which the propylene ox:ide g roup~ ~re ~ttached to the 5 ¦ alkyl and the ethylene oxide groups are ~.t~ached a~ one end to the tsrminal propylene o~ade group and At the other end to the hydroxy groupO
Accordingly, in one aspect the present in~renffon thePe ~ proYided a liquid heavy duty laundry deterge~t ct>mpoffi~on ~Qmpo~ed of a ~uspension of ~ builder salt in the liquid nonionic ~ur~ct~t.
According to another aYpect, the invention pro~ride~ a 3iquid heavy duty laundry detergent composition in which the nonionic surfactsnt Ls h~ghly bio~egradable, the compo~tion i8 gtabl~, non-8e~tling in stor~ge snd non-gelling in ~tor~ge and in u&e. The liquid cs~mpo&3tion~; o~ the present invention are easily pourable, ea~;ily measure~ ~nd ea~;ily put into the washing machine.
According to another aspect, the inYention pron~es B me~hod for dispensing a highly biodegradable ~iqu~d nonionic laurl~ry detergent composition into and/or with cold water without undergoing gelaffon. In particular, a metnod i8 provlded for f~ing a C:on~ner with a nonaqueous liquid laundry detergent composition in which the detergent is composed, at least predominantly, of a highly biodegr~dable liq~d nol~ionic ~urface active agent of the present inYentiorl snd for dispensin~ the cosnposition i~3rom the cont~iner into an aqueou~ wash bath, wherein ~he dispensing is effected by directing a stream OI unheated water onto the s~omposltion ~ueh that the composition is carried by` the stream of water into the wash bath.
ADVANTAGES O~ TH~ PRIOR ART
The liquid heavy duty laundry detergent COII~pO8i~118 OI the pr~sent invention have sub~tantially improved biodegr~dability be~ause th~y oomprl~e as a principle essential constituent of the compositions a prnpoxylated ~

.. .. . . ., . ~ ~ ~ .

e~hoxylated f~tty ~cohol in which th~ propylene o~dde groups are nttached to the alkyl ~nd t~le ethylene oxide groups ~re ~Ittnched to the hydroxy group.
The composition9 o~ the present invent50n have the ~dvantages Or having a Jow pouring temperature, being nongelling in contact with water, being nonfoaming and having good detergency performance.
The propoxylnted ethoxylated fatty ~cohol nor~onlc E~urfactant~ of the present invention exhibit a high ~e~ee of biodegradab~lty, e g. they are more than 80 percent blodegrada~le, ~hey ure low f~amlng In u~e, they exhlbit a low pour point, e.g. -2C. ~nd they ~re nongelllng ln cont~ct with water nt 5~C. The nonlonic 8ur~acti~t of the pre8~nt ~nventinn ~IBO exhlblt good detergency perormnnce.
The concentrated nonaqueouEI llqu~d nonionic ~urfnct~nt laundry detergent compositiona of the pre8ent invention hnve the added ndvantllges o~ being 6table, non-aett~ng ln 6torage, and non-gell~ng in ~tor~ge. The liquid compo6ition6 ~re ea~dly pournble, ea8ily meagured ~nd eagily put ~nto the laundry wa6hing machine~.
AIMS OF THI~ INVENT!ON
The present invention seeks to provide a highly biodegradable propoxylated ethoxylated fatty dcohol nonionic surfactnnS
detergent Ln whlch the propylene oxide grOUpB cr~ ntt~ched to the alkyl group and the ethylene oxide group~ aM st~nched to the hy~roxy group.
The invention also seeks to provide liquid Eabric treating eompositions which are ~u6penaions of bullder calt ln the propoxylnted e~hoxyl~ted fatty alcohol ~ur~actant whleh are ~torllge 3tllble, e~dly pournble nnd di6per~ble ln cold, wllrm or hot water.
This invention further seeks to formulate a built heavy duty :~
nonequeous liquid nonionle surfaet~nt lnundry deter~nt eompo~tlon~ which contaln the propoxylnted ethoxylated fatty ~Ieohol non~on~e ~ th~ prlnelple nonionie ~urfactant and which ean be poured at ~11 temperAtureB and wh1ch can be repeatedly dispersed from the dispen~lng unit o~ ~uropean 8tyle Il e . ' ,~ ' ¦ automatic laundry washing machineg without îouling or plugging of the dispenser even during the w~nter month~.
This invention also seeks to provide low foamingt nongelling, 6~sble suspens~ona of hesvy duty buil~ non~queous liqu~d non~onlc Inundry detergent compo~itiong r hich ~nclude aa the princlple surfnctant the propoxylated e~hoxylsted fgtty alcohol Eluirf~c~antg of the pre!3ent lnvention.
This invention also seeks to provide non-gelling, stable ~ufipenfiJon~ of henvy duty bullt non~queoug Uqu~d nonJonlc ~undry deterE~ent compositlon whlch include aT~ E~mount ol` phogphorlc ~clsl nlknnol ester snd/or alumlnum fstty ncld ~alt ~nt~-gettling agent ~h~ch 1~ ~ufflclent to incrense the stabilily of the compo~l ion, i.e. pre~ent g~tUlng of builder particles, etc., prefersbly whlle reduclng or at le~t ~ithout Inc~ea~lng the pla~tic viscosity of the composition.
The invention will become more apparent from the Eollowing detailea description of preferred embodiments which are generally provided for by preparing n deter~ent ~ompo61tion by addlng to the nonaqueous liquid nonionic surfRctant of ~he pr~gent invention an e~fective amount of a builder ~;alt and inorganlc or organlc ~brlc treating l sdditit,res, e. g. vi~cosity improving ~nd an~l-gel agen~3, antl-aottllng sgents, 1 antJ-lncrustntlon sgents, blenching ~Igentn~ bleac!h Elct~YEISor~, ~nt~-foELm ngents optlcal brightener~ en~ymeg~ ~ntl-redepo~ion ~gcnta, p~rlume and dye6.
DETAILED DESCR!PTION OF THE INVleNTlON
I The highly biodegradEIb~e propoxylated elho~ ted fa~ty glkyl ~lcohol nonlonic ~urfnctants of the present ~nvention ha~re the gene~ ormul~a R~(C3H6)~(C2H4~rH : -wherein R represent~ C8 to C21; alkyl, pre~er~bly C ~ to ClB blkyl, snd more preferably Cg to Cll ~nd C12 to C15 Qlkyl. Tho Y~Ue o~ the lnteger~ s~y equal 20 to 100 percent, prefernbly 40 to 80 p~rc~nt snd ~ore pref~r~bl~y 45 ; ~'~ .
.,~ .
_ __ __ ~ , ~~ " ~ '' ; .~

~ 1 33034~
to 60 percent of the number of carbon atom~ of ~he R nlkyl. The ~r~lue of x is at least 1 and prefer~bly at leas~ 2 and more preferably x i8 3 or more.
The propoxylated ethoxylated fatty slcohol nonionic ~urfactsnts of the present invention are at least 60 percent, preferably at lea~t 80 percent and more preferably at least 90 percent biodegradable.
The highly ~iodegradable nonionic synt~etic organic de~ergents of the present invention are produced by ~1~ the conden~don of a ~tty aliphatic slcohol with propylene o~de or polypropylene gls~col ~ollowed by ~2~ further reaction of the ~rst condensation prod uct obt~ned ~th ethylene oslde or polyethylene glycol.
The fatty alkyl alcohol reactg w~th ehe propy~ene oxide or ~solypropylene glycol to sttsch a linear low molec~llar weight, e.g. 2c=2 to ~5, prefer~bly 2 to 8, and more preferably 3 to S, ~hain of propylene oxide polymer. The propylene o~ade chain normally s.ttsche~ to the alkyl group Bt a primar'y or secondary carbon of the ~atty ~cohol. The fatty alcohol propylene o~de condensate is then reacted with e~hylene ox~de or polyç~thylene glycol to ~Idd the desired number of e~hylene oside group8. The ethylene o~de group~
normally join or attach to the ter~al propylene o~ide group ~d ~ondense to form a low molecular weight, e.g. ~2 to 15, pre~erably 2 to 8~ end more preferab~y 3 to 6, chain of ethylene o~clde polymer terminated by the hydroxy group.
By carrying out separate propylene o~dde Dnd ethylene oJdde condensation reactions a low molecular weight linear propylene o~Qde polymer attaches to t~.e primary or secondary carbon atom of the fatty ~lcohol snd a low moleculsr weight line~r ethylene o~ide polymer ~ttache~ to the terminal propylene oxide molecule. The end OI the ethylene ox~de poly~Der chain h~s a hydroxy group.
The highly biodegradable nonionic sur~ctang detergents ~ the present n~ention nre polypropoYylate etho~yl ~ed ItpDph!les wherein sha declred ~ ~ 1 3303~8 hydrophi~e lipophile balanc~ is obtained fr~m the nddition of th~ hydrophi polypropoxy polyethoxy groups to the lipophilic aliphatic moiety.
A preferred class OI the noluonic detergents are the Cg to C18 fatty alkyl alcohols which cont~in ~ to 16 propylene o~nde ~u~d e~hylene oxide groups, i . e . x+y=4 to 16 . Other clgsse~ of ~he nonionic detePgent~ are the Cg to Cll fatty alkyl alcohols in which x+y~S ~o 10, snd the C12 to ~15 fatty alkyl alcohols in which x+y=5 to 15.
The higher molecular weight Clg-C26 f~tty al~cyl ~cohol propylene oxide ethylene oxide conden~ateg, exhib~t a hig~ deg~ee of biodegrad~b~llty but tend to more essily ~rm gelB in the detergent ~oncentrate ~nd In 80me .
instances msy be ~olid~ at room temperatu~. Though ghe Clg-C26 surfactants may contribute to gelation of the liqu~d detergent they can, if desired, be added to the deterges~t compo ition in gmall amount~ this i~
pnrticularly true where low gel forming concentrates are not needed~
In the preferred polylower alko~ylate~ higher alk~nolg, to ob~ain the best balance of hydrophohilic and ~popllilic mt)itieg ~he number of lower alko~nes, i.e. the sum of x~y, ~vill ugually be ~rom 20 to 100 percent of the number of carbon atomg in the higher ~cohol~ pre~er~ly 40 ~o 80 percent and more prefer&bly 95 to 60 percent thereof. The nonionic surfactant detergent component of the composition will preferably contain at lea~t 50 percent, preferably at least 70 percent of the highly biodegradqble nonionic surfactant of the present invention.
Suitable highly biodegrndable propoxylated etho~cylated ~atty alkyl alcohol~ of the preqent invention are as follows:
R-(C3H6)x(C2H4)yH
. R x l. C12-C15 3 . 5 2. S~12-C15 5 41 3, C9-C11 3 5 .

4. Cg-C11 2 d, - . . . . ` . ~

I 1 3303~t8 -R - x 5. Cg-Cl8 3 6 6. Cg-Cl8 2 4 . With respect to both the preferred Cg-C18 and less preferred C19-C26 nonionic detergents the alkyl groups present therein are generally linear although a smaLI amount of branching mBy be tolera~ed, 6UC~1 E18 a~ a carbon next to or two carbons removed from the terminal c~rbon of the straight chain and away frs)m the propoxy chain, ~ 8u~h br~nched a.llsyl ls not more than three carbons in length. Normally the p~oportion of cE~rbon atoms in such a branched configuration w~ be minor, e.g. Iegg than 20 perc~nt of the total carbon gtom content of the ~kyl. Simil~.rly ~lthough linear ~lkyls which are terminaUy joined to the propoxy ch8ing are highly preferred and are considered to result in the best combination of detergency, biodegrad~bility and nongelling characteristicg, medial or ~econdary joinder of the alkoxy, i.e. propoxy chain8 to the glkyl may occur. It i~ usually present, i. e. the branch chain alkyl, in only a minor proportion of 6uch alkyls, e. g. generally less than 20 percent thereof and p~eferably les~ than 10 percent thereof. .
The propoxylsted ethoxylated fatty alkyl alcc~hol nonionic 8USiEaCtallt6 of the present invention can be used as the only nonionic 6ur~nctant detergent or it can be used in mixtures with the converltional commerclally available , . ~

~ j ", 1 330348 ~
. ¦ nonionic ~urfactant detergents. The propoxyl~ted ethoxylated ~atty ~lcohol ¦ nonionic surfactant of the present inven~ion can compFise 40 to 100 percent, preferably 50 to 100 percent and more pre~rably 70 ~o 100 percent of the I nor~ionic surfactE~nt component of the detergent compositiO51.
1 Conventional No~uonic Surfac~ant DeterFent The conventional nonionic fiynthetic Orga~Lic detergentfi ~hat can be u~ed with the highly biodegr~dable propoxylated ethogylated ~tty ~lcohol surfactants of the pre8ent inven~ion m{~y ~ ay Df a w~de ~&riety of sueh compounds, which are well known . Typical 8~t~ble nonion~c ~actants ~re tho6e disclosed in U.S. patent~ ~,316,812 and 3,630p~29, Usually, the nonionic detergent8 ar8 poly-lower alkosylated lipophile~
wherein the degired hydrophile-lipophile b~.lance i6 obt~ed ~rom addiffon o$
a hydrophilic poly-lower alkoxy group to a lipophilic mo~ety. A preferred class. of the nonionic detergent employed i~ the poly-lower sL~coxylated higher alkanol wherein the alkanol is of 9 to 18 carbon ~tom~ ~d wherein the number of mols of lower alkylene o~nde (o~ 2 or 3 carbo~ a~oms) is from 3 to 12, Of such materialg it ~s preferred to emp~o~ tho~e wherel3l the hig~er ~:
alkanol is a higher fatty alcohol of 9 to 11 or 12 to 15 carbon atc>ms and which contain from 5 to 8 or 5 to 9 lower alkoa~y groups per mol.
Preferabl~r, the lower alkoxy i~ ethoxy but in gome in~tances, it may be de8ir~blv mixed with propoxy. .
Exemplary of 8uch compoundg are tho8e wher~in the alkanol is of 12 to 15 carbon atoms and which contain about 7 ~:~hylene oxide groups per mol ~
e.g. Neodol~25-7 fmd Neodol 23-6.5, which product~ are eD~de by Shell Chemical Company, Inc. The former is a conden~ation product of ~ ~ixture of higher fatty alcohols averaging about 12 to 15 carbon atom~, wlth about 7 mol~ of ethylene oxide and the latter l8 a correspond~ng mi2ctur2 ~her~in the carbon atom content of the higher fatty alcohol i8 12 to 13 and the number of ethylene oxide groups present averages abou~ 6 . 5 . The higher alcohols are primary alkanols. ~ :
~ rR~ ' 14 : :
' ';: . .................... .... ... . .

) 1 330348 ~ ~ ~ Y
Other e~amp]es of such detergents include Tergitol 15-S-7 ~.nd Tergitol . . ... ; 15-S-9, both of which are linear secondaIy ~cohol ethoxyl~tes made by Union Carbide Corp. The former is mixed ethoxylEItion product of 11 to 15 carbon atoms linear secondary alk~nol with ~even m91~ of ethylene o~de and the latter is a similar product bUt With nine molg of e~hylene oxide being reacted .
Al80 u6eful in the pre~ent composition ag a component o the nonionic detergent are higher molecul~ weight nollionic~ ;uch as Neodol 45-11, which are silmlar ethylene oxide ~onden~at~on produc~8 of ~igher ~atty slcohols, with the higher fgtty a.lcohol being of ~4 So 15 ~rbon stom6 and the number of ethylene oxide group~ per ma3 being abou~ llo SUC21 product~
sre slso made by Shell Chemical Company.
Other useful nonionics are represented by the commer~lly well known clsss of nonionics 601d under the trademark Plurafac. The Plurafacs ~re the resction product of a higher l.inesr alcohol and a ~ure of ethylene and propylene oxides, contsining ~ m~xed chain of ethylene o~dde ~d propylene oxide, terminated by a hydroxyl group. Example~ include P~oduct A (B
C13-C15 fatty slcohol condensed with 6 mole~ ethylene oxlde 0nd 3 moles propylene oxide~, Product B (Q C13-C15 ~at~y alcohol condensed with 7 moles propylene oxide and 4 mole~ ethylene oxide) ~ Product C (a C13~C15 fatty alcohol condensed with 5 moles propylene oxide and 10 mole~ ethylene oxide), Plurafac B26, and Product D (a mL~ture of equal part~; Product C: and Product B).
Another group of liquid nonicnic8 ~e s~ommer~lly a~ b~e from Shell Chemical Company, Inc. under the Dobsnol trademark: Doba3lul ~1-5 ~ sn ethoxylated Cg-Cll fatty ~lcohol with an s~rage OI S moles ethylene o~dde and Dobanol 25-7 i8 an ethoxylated C12-C15 fatty alcohol ~rith an average of 7 moles ethylene oxide per mole of fatty alcohol.
When greater proportions OI non-terminally slkoxylate~ ~lkanol~, 30propylene oxide-containing poly-lower alkoxylated ~lkanol~ and le~s R /~

.

- 1 330348 ~
hydrophile-lipophile balanced nonionic detergent than mentioned above a~e employed ~nd when other nonionic detergen~s are used instead of the preferred nonionics recited herein, the produet resulting may not have ~8 good detergency, 5tability, sriscosity and non-gelling p~ope~ies ~s the preferred compositions but use of the vi~3cosity Qnd gel controlling compounds of the invention can also impro~e the p~ope~ie~ of the detergents based on such nonionicg. In 60me case8, ~6 sYhen ~ higher molecular weight poly lower alkoxylated higher allcanol i~ employed9 o~ten for its detergencY.
the propor~ion thereof will be regulated or ~mited ~n aceors~3lc!e ~ith the results of routine experiment6, to obtAin ~he deslred ,detergency ~nd 8till have the product non-gelling al~d of d88ir~ 1BO7 ~Lt ~ been found that it i6 only rarely nece8~ary to utili~e the h~gher m~lecular weight nonionics for their detergent proper~es ~ince ~he pre~erred nonionlc~
described herein are excellen~ detergentE; and additionally, per~t the attainment of the de6ired visco~ity in the liquid detergent wlthout g~lation at low temperatures.
Another u~eful group of non~onie gurfac~ants are the "Sur~acts~t T"
~eFies of nonionics avai~ble from BPi'ds2~ Pet~leum. The Surfactant T
noruoI~ics are obt&ined by the ethoxyla~on of ~eeondar~r C13 f~tty elcohols having a` narrow ethylene oxide distribution. l'he SurI&ctant T5 h~ an average of 5 moles of ethylene oxide; Surfactant T7 ~n average of 7 moles o~
ethylene oxide; Surfactant T9 an average of 9 mole3 of ethylene oxide and Surfactant T12 an average of 12 moles of ethylene 02dde p~r ~le of secondary C13 fatty alcohol.
In the compositions of this ~nven~don, preferred ¢on~leDtional r~onlon~c surfactants include the C13-Cl5 secondary fatty ~lcohols ~rith relati~ely narrow contents of ethylene oxide in the range of fr~ about 7 ~ ~ IlDo~e~, and the C9 to C1l fatty slcohol~ ethoxylated with ~bout 5-6 moles ethylene oxide .

1 33n34g Mlxtures of two or more of the conYen~ions~ liquid no~lion~c 6urfactanta can be used with the highly biodeg3 adl~ble propo~ylRted ethoxylat~ f~tty ~Icohol surf~ct~nt of ghe pre~en~ in~ren~ion and in Ewme cD.~es advantages c~n be obtained by the u6e of such mixture8~
Acid Terminated Nonior~c 5ur~ct~nt The ~iscosity snd gel propertieg of the lis~uid ~e~erg~nt c~mp~sit~na can be irnproved by incl~ in the compo81~0n u~ effEsl:~ve amowlt ~n aeld terminsted liquld nonionic ~urf~îan~. The a~d ~ t~d no~onic surfactanta consist of ~ non~onlc gur~ot~t lirhi¢h h~ b~#?n modl~ed to convert a free hydroxyl group ther~o to a m~YIety ha~ r~ carbo:cyl group, ~UCIl a~ ~n egter or 8 par~al eBter o~ no~a~lc ~ur~actant ~nd a polycarboxylic acid or ~nhydrlde.
~s disclosed ~ the ~am~nly as~;igned Canadian patent application &~ial No. 478,379 filed ~ril 4, 1985, the free carbo~yl group ~fied nonionic surEactants, which may be broadly characterizea as polyether ~arboxylic acids, functian to lower the tenperature at which the liquid nonionic EQm~s a gel with water.
The addltion of the ~cld tersnlnated nordonic 13ur~ct~nt~ to the 15quid nonionic surfactant n~d8 in the di~pelle~bil~ty of th~ tlon, i. e.
pourabiitty, and lower~ the ten~peratur~3 at which the ~ d nolllonlc surfnctants form ~ gel in water ~Ithout n decre~e ln thelr stablllty a¢ulnn~
~ettllng. The Qcid termin~ted nonlonic surf~ctan~ Cta ln gh8 WB~ ng mach~ne water with the alk~linity of the dl~per~ed b~dlder E~lt pha~e s~f the detergent compo~ilion and act~ ~IB an effectlve ~onlc sur~8ctant. .
Specific examples include the h~ esters of Produ~t A ~Ith ~ucdn~c anhydrlde, the ester or h81f ester of Dob~nol ~5-7 Wlth su~lnlc anhydr~de, ~nd the ester or hslf e~ter oi Dobanc~ 5 w~$11 BUCC~ O anhydrlde. Inætead of succinlc nnhydrlde, other polyc~rboxylic acldg or anhydrldea esn bs used, e.g. male~c Acid, maleie acid anhydrided~ d.tric ~cid and the L~a.
The Ac~d term~nat~d nonionia aùrf~c~ant~ e!an be prep~d a~ ~ollow~:
~ .
17 ~

~ , ' ' ,'`'`;,,',. 1 . ~

, ~ .

~ 1 330348 Acid Terminated Product A. 400 g of PI~oduct A nonioNC ~urfactant which is a C13 to C15 alkanol which ha~ been slkoxylated to introduce 6 ethyleneox~de and 3 propylene oxide units p~r alkanol unit i8 mixed with 32g of ~uccinic anhydride and heated for 7 hourg at 100C. The mixture i8 cooled and filtered to remove urlr~acted ~uccinic m~teri~l. Infrared analy~is indicated that about one half of the nonionic gur~act~t h~s been conYerted to the scidic half-e~ter thereof.
Acid Terminated Dobanol 25-7. s22g of Dobanol 25-7 nonionic surfactant which i8 the product of ethosylation ~ a C:12 to C15 ~kanol ~d has about 7 ethyleneoxide un~ts per molecule of alk~ol ~8 mlxed With 100g of 6uccinic anhydride and 0, lg o~ pyridil~e (which ~ct~ ~ an este~ cation cstalyst) and heated at 260C for 2 hour~ ed and filtered to remove unreacted succinic material. Infrared arlaly6i~ ateg that ~ubstantielly all l the free hydroxyls of the ~urfactant have reacted.
1 Acid Terminate Dobanol 91-5. 1000 g of Dobanol ~1-5 noniollic surfactant which is the product of ethoxylation of a Cg to Cll alk~nol and has about 5 ethylene oxide units per molecule of ~k~ mi~ced ~rlth 265g of succinic anhydride and 0.1g of pylqdine ~atalyat ~nd heated at 260C for 1 2 hours, cooled and filtered to remoYe unrea~ted BUC~iIliC m8teri~1. In~rared ¦ analysis indicates that substantially all the free hydroxyls of the surfactant have reacted.
Other esterification catalysts, such as an slkali metal ~ o~cide (e. g.
sodium methoxide) may be used ~n place o~, or in lldm~cture wlth, the pyridine.
The acidic polyether compound, i.e. the ac~d ter~ated nonio~c surfactant is preferably added di~olved in the nonionic ~urfact~nt. ~ -BUILDER SALTS
The liquid nonaqueous nonionic surf~ctant u~ed ill the ~omposi~ons of the present invention has dispersed and suspended therein f~ne particle~ of organic and/or inorganic detergent builder salts.

~rganic Builder Sal-ts The preferred oryanic build~r salts o~mprises aIkali ~etal salts oE
polyacetal car~oxylic acid Canadian application Ser. No. 516,256, aIkali me-~al sllts oE lc~er polycarkoxylic acids Canadian applicatiQn Ser. ~. 515~182, aIkali metal sal-ts oE nitril~triace-tic acid (NT~) C~na~ian application Ser. ~D.
. 515,181, and aIkali metal alphahydroxy acrylic acid polymer C3nadian applica~ion Ser. ~o. 516,2~7.

In certaln detergent cDmpo~on~ th~ ~foremen~oned organlc bu~der B~t~ c~n be uged ~ the pr1ncipl~ bu~der B81t ~nd can be u~ed wlthout the ~ddltion of an inorganic bu~de~ 6~, gu~h ~ p~Iypho~phate bu~der ~t, or u~Ih only a ~mEII ~mounS of a polypho8pha~ bu~der EElt, or the polyphosphate can be the p~lnclple bullder Balt-Other organic buiiders that earl be us~d ~re polymer~ ~nd copolymers of :~
polyacrylic acid ~nd polymaleic anhys~ide and the ~ li me~ 881tB thereof.
l~lore. speciflcally such builder gglt~ ean oos~ of a copolymer which ~ the reaction product of llbout equsl moleg of methllcryl~c ac~d and m~lelc :
anhydride which hss been completely neutrQ~zed to form the ~odlum ~t thereof. The btlilder i~ eommerclally a~ ble under the trad~nark of ::
Sokalan CP5. This bnilder ~er~re~ when u~ed e~en ~: sm~ll Qmounta to l inhibit encruststion, i.e. 1B ~m snt~l-enertlatat:ion agent.
Since the composltion~ of t~le in~ention ~re generally hlghly concentrated, and, th2refore, m~y be used ~t rela~l~rely lo~ dosages, it 1~
desirable to supplement the bu~lder wlth ~n ~u~ bu~lder such ~ ~n alkali met~l lower polycarboxyllc acld ha~rlng hlgh calclum ~nd m~gnesium binding capacity to inhibit lncru~t~tion which could s3ther~se b~ ~uaed by formQtion of insoluble cslc1um snd m~ sium ~elts. B~table sllcoli metQl polycarboxyll~ scid~ metal Balte of cltric u~d tart~rlc acad, e . g.
monosodium citr~te ~anhydrous), trl~diuso cltrate, glut~rlc ~ctd ~alt, glucomic acid salt ~nd di~c~d Bi~llt with longer tha~O
Exsmples of org~nic ~llcalirle ~equestr~t bullder BDlt8 wh~ch ~n 'b~
used or which c~ ba u~ed in sdmixtur~ with s~ther organic ~nd inorganic bullders are alk~ll m~t~l, ammo~um or eubs-cltut~ amoDorlium, ' 1~ ' ' _ . ' ' ' , f ,~ -! ` 1 330348 ~. ~minopolycarboxylates, e. g. sodium and potassium ethylene diaminetetraacetnte ~EDTA), godium and potgssium nitriloacetaees (NTA~ and trieth~nolarnmonium N-(2-hydroxyethyl)r~trilodiacetates. Mixed satts of these aminopolycarboxylates nre ~lso su~table.
Other suitable builders of the organic type include carboxymethylsuccinateg, tartrona~es and glycollate~.
Inor~anlc B~tder ~;alts The in~ention detergent compo8it~0ng can al~o ~clud~ inorganic water soluble and/or water ~nE;oluble dete~gent Ibullder 8~tg. Su~able inorgan~c alkaline builder Balt8 that ca~ be u~3ed ~ alJ~ali metal carb~aate, !borates, bicarbonntes, and ~ilic~tes. (Ammonium or gu~titu~ed ~amonium Balt8 can also be used.) Specific exampleg of guch g~ltg ~ um csrbon~e, ~diuD3 tetraborate, 60dium bicarbonate, sod~lLm ~egquicarbonate ~d potassium bicarbonate .
The ~lkali met~ tefi are useful builder gQlts which ~80 funetion to adju6t or control the pH and ~o make the cs)mposi~lon ~ffcorro~ve ~o ;
washing machine parts. Sodlum silicates of Na20/S~02 rat~ o~ from 1.611 to 113.2, e6pecial1y sbout 112 to 112.8 ~e preerred. Pot~s~um slllcates o~
the same ratio~: can al80 be used. The prefer~ alkali ms~sl silicaee is sodium disilic~te. -Though the~ detergent composition can be phosphate or ps)lypho~phate free or substantislly polyphosphate free , small a mouult~ c~ t1~ conventlonal polyphosphate builder salts csn be added where the local leg~61ation pern~t~
such use. Spedfic examples of such builder salt~ ~ ~odium tripolyphosphate (TPP), sodium pyrophosph~te, pota~sium pyropllosphate, potassium tripolyphosphate and sodium hex~metaphosph~eO The æodi~lm tripolyphosphate (TPP) i8 a preferred polyphosphat~. In the form~tion~
where the polyphosphate is added it is ~dded in ~n ~mount of O to 50%, such a~ O to 30% and 5 to 15. A8 mentioned preriously, howe~er, the formulations be polyphosphate free or sub~tantially polyphosphate free.

. '~
, ` ~ I 1 3303~
Other typic~l sllieable bullder~ inelude, ~or exarnple 9 tho~3e discloaed in U.S. Patent~ 4,316,812, 4,264966 ~nd 3,630,929. T~e inorg~c ~ ne builder E;~ltB CBn be used w~th the nonlonic surfnctnnt detergent oompound or in admixture with other org~nlc or inorg~nlc bu~lder s~lt~.
The water ~ oluble cry6tal~ e E~r~d E~vrphous ælumino8~te ~eollte~
can be used. The zeol~te~ generally hsv~ the formula (M20)g- (Alao3)y~ (Sl~a~ w~ao whereln x iR l, y is from 0, 8 to 1. 2 ~d prefer~bly 1, ~ ~ fr~m 1. 5 to 3 . 5 or higher and prefer~l~ly 2 to 3 and w 1~ from 0 to ~, prefersbly 205 to 6 and M is preferably ~;odium. A typlu~ ecllte ~ t~ ~ or ~lar BtI'llCtUre, wlth type 4A p~rffcularJy preferred. The preferre~ ~lU~o~ teB h~ve c01clum ion exchEmge capacitles o~ llbou~ 200 milllequ~Ydellt~ per ~ram or grester, e.g. 400meq Ig.
.YBriOU8 ~rystslline zeollt~s (i.~. alumino~ te~3 that csn be u~d ~e described in Briti6h Patent 1,504,168, U.S.P. 9,409$136 ~nd Can~d~an Pstents 1, 07 2, 335 snd 1, 087, 477 ~
An e~mpl~ ~ amorphous ~eollte~ u~eful hereln csn be ound In Belglum P~tent 835,351~
. .

Oth~r msterisls such a3 clay6, pa~ticularly of the w~ter-insoluble type~, msy be u6eful ad~uncts in compo~tlons of thls lnvcntlon. P~rticul~rly useful IB bentonite. Thi6 materlf~ prlm~rlly montmorlllonlte ~hll!h 18 ~ hydruted alumlnum sil~cate ~n whleh about 1/~th of the ~l~num atoms D~y be ~placed by magne6ium atom~ and with whleh varylng Rmowltn of hydro~æn, ~lum, pot~ssium, calc~um, etc., may be loosely combined. Tgle ~nto~ltu ln ~t~
more puriffed orm (l.e. free from sny grlt, ~end, etc.~ ~uit~ble for detergents conts~ns at le~st 50% montmor~llonite and thus 1tB ~t~Q~ e2CCI1ange ~, capaclty ~6 at les6t nbout 50 to 75 meq per 100g of bentonit~. P~rffcularly ~, preîerred bentonIte6 ~re the Wyomin.g or Western ll.S. bentonite~ ~hlch h~Ye been sold ~ Tl~o-~el8` 1, 2, 3 ~nd 4 by Geor~la X~ol~n Co, ~hes~

. .

~ ~ bent tes are hnown to soften te~ e~ Q~ ~e8cnOed ,.. Eir~ti~ atent 401, 411 ~
to Marriott snd British Patent ~61,221 to Marriott and Guan Viscosi~y Control and Anti Gel Agents The inclusion in the detergent eompo6ition of an e~fectiYe amount of low molecular weight amphiphilic compound8 which ~unction aa ~iscosity control and gel-inhibiting agents for the nonlonic gurfactarlt sub~t~tially improve8 the storage properties of the ~:ompo~tion. The llmp~ph~l~c ~mpounda c~n be considered to be an~agoug in c~emical fitructure ~o ~ etho~YIated ~nd/or propoxylated fatty ~cohol liqt~id non~ c ~ur~actanes but hn~e relQtively short hy~carbon chain le~ C2 ~ C~) ~d a low content of ethylene oxide (about 2 eO 6 ethylene o~dde ~oups per molecule).
Suitable amphiphilic compound8 c~n be ~repre3er~ted lby ~he ~ollowing general formula ~.
. RO(CH2CH2O)nH. :
where R is a C2-C8 ~lkyl group, and n i8 a number of ~rom about 1 to 6, on average.
Specifically the compound; are lower (C2 to C3) ~lkylene glycol mono .
lower (C2 to C5) slkyl ethers.
b~ore speci~lcally the compounds ~Ire mono di- or tr:l lower (C2 to C3) alkylene glycol mono lower (Cl to C:5~ alkyl ethers.
Specific examples of suitable amphiphilic ~ompowlds include ethylene glycol monoethyl ether tc2Hs-o-cH2cH2oH)~
diethylene glycol monobutyl ether (C4Hg-O-(CH2CH2O)2H), tetraethylene glycol monobutyl ether (C4H7-O-(CH2CH2O)~,H) ~nd dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether (cH3-o-~cH2c~o)an. Dliethylene gly~ol monobutyl ether is especially preferred.
The inclusion in the composition of the k~w molecular ~eight lvwer Qlkylene glycol mono alkyl ether decreases the vi8C08ity of the compo~tion ~
6uch that it is rDore easily pourable, Lmproves the sta~lity ~galn~t ~ettl~g -.' :~

~, . ~

¦ and improves the disper~ibility of the compo~iUon on the ~dd~t~on to w~m ¦ w~ter or cold water.
l The compo~itions of ~h~ pre~ent invention h~ve improved vi~co~ity snd ¦ staollity ch~racteri6tis~B Eu~d remain at~ble ~nd pour~ble at tempe~ture~ a~
¦ low 85 sbou2 5C and ~ower.

1 3_~
I
In an embodlment of th~ rentlon tlle phy~ t~b~lity of the suOpension of the detergent bulld~r compowld or oompou~d~ ~d ~ny other 1 suspended addil~ve, guch 8E~ bleE~c2~1ng ~g~t, etc., ~ the ~quid ~rdhicle 1~
10 l lmprovcd by the pre~ence of 8 ~b~ 8$~ h ia an a~ 01 este:l~ of pho6porlc scid or an ~uminum salt of ~ higher filtty laaldD
Improvements Ln gtabL~ty of the compo~ltion mlly ~ chie~ed in oerta~n formu~a~ion6 by incorporAt~on of ~ sou~l effe~U~a n~ount of ~n acdd~¢ orgar~c l phosphorus compound h~v~ng sn ~cld~c - POH gruup, ~uch ~ ~ part~ ester ¦ of pho~phorous acld ~nd an aLkanol.
As aisclosed in tke ccmlDnly assigned Canadian patent application Serial Nb. 478,379 fi1ed Apri1 4, 1985, the acidic organic ph~sphorous ou~pound having an acidic - POH group can increase the stability of the suspension oE
bui1del6 in the nonaqueous liquid nonionic surfactant.

The acidic orgsrlo phosphorus c~mpound may be, for in~t~n~e, B part~
e~ter of phosphorlc acld and Im ~lcohol slach aA ~n alk0nol wRlich h~
lipophllic ch~ cter, ha~ng, for ~n~t~nce, more than 5 b~n 8to~DEt, ~B.g. 8 to 20 cnrbon ~toms.
A spec~c ex~npla 18 a p~rtial ester of phosphorie ~cid and ~ C16 to Cl~l alkan~ 13mplpho~ ~B32 from l~rchon~; It 18 mBd~ Up oS ~Ibs:~ut ~5P~
monoester ~nd 6596 diester~
The lnclu~ion of quite sm~ mounte of the ~a~dic org~c pho~phoruus compound mskeB the suspen~lon signiflc~tly ~re ~tsble ~gdn~t setSllng on ~Trade mark . '.:

- 1 3303~8 6~ndlr;g bu~ rema~ns pournble, while, for ~he Ic~w concentration of ~tab1li~er.
e.g. below about 19~, it~ pla6tlc ~i~co~ity will generally dec~Lse, Further 1mprovement6 in the stabll~ty E~nd ~t~-settling properties of the compo6ition may be a~:hieved by the add~on of ~ ~mtlll effec~ve ~mount of n alumlnum 6alt o~ a higher fatty ~cid to the compo~ltion.
The aluminum Balt ~l~b~l~z~g {~gentg are the ~ubjeot matter of the c~nly assign(3d Canadian patent aF~lication Serial ~. 502,998 fil~d -February 28, 1986.
The preerred higher ~llph~tlo gtty ~ l have f~D ~bout 0 to about 22 c~rbon ~Itom3~ more pr~f~r~.bly from ~bout 10 to 20 ~bon lltoms, dnd espeeially preer~bly ~rom a~out 12 to 18 ~?on ~tom~. T31e ~11phatic r~dical m~y be saturated or unf~aturgted ~nd ~y b~ str~ight or br~nehed.
A~ in the ca~e of the non~onie gurf~ctfmt~, ml~cture~ of fa~ty acid~ may aleo be ~sed, such 118 ~hose de~lved rsm natural 80ua ce~, sueh A~ t~llow fatty ~eid, coeo fatty aeld, ete.
Examples of the fs~ty ~cid~ rom whieh the slulDinum s~lt ~t~lll~er~ c~
be formed inelude, decEnoie scld, dodecano~e acid~ p~mitle ~cld, myri~tle aeid, ~te~rie ~cid, deic acld, Qleosanole ~cld ~ tdlow fatty acld, coco f~tty aeid, mL~tture~ of these ~clds, ete. The alumlnum salt~ of th~ne ~
generally ~ommercially av~ilPble, and sre preerAbly u~d lln the trlaGld form, e. g. alumlnum stearate a0 s.lum~num tr~stearate Al(C17H35CQIO~3 . The mononcld 6alt8, e.g. alum~num mcJnoste~ralLe, AI~OH~aCC17~350O(~) and dlacid aalts, e.g. ~lumlnum dl~te~r~te, ~I~C)H)~C17H35COO)g, ~d mlXtUreB
of two or three of the mono~ nd l~ 0~d aluminum ~lt~ c~ a1BO be u6ed. It 18 most preferred, however~ l~h~t the ~r~eld olumlnum u~lt comprises at least 3096, preferably nt le~st 50%~ e~peclallg pref~rablg at ls~t 80% of the total tlmount of sluminum ~tty acld ~olt~
The aluminum aal~, as mentloned ~bove, are eom~r¢lally ~ble andl c~n be e~s~ly produced by, for example, ~apo~fy3n~ ~ f~tty a~ld, ~ . ¢

~ IJ
1 ~30~8 animal fRt , ~tearic acid , etc ., followed by treatmen~ of the resulting ~oap with slum, alumina, etc.
Although applicant6 do not wish to be bound ~y any particular theory of the manner by which the alumLnum galt ~unction6 ~o preYent Bett~g OI
the 6uspended particles, it ifi pre~iumed that ~he aluminum salt increRfies the wettability of the fioIid gurfaceg by ~he no~ionic P~urf~ct~t. T~ incre~6e in wett~biIity, therefore, 811OWB the su8p2nded p~rtlcle~ to ~ e~ly remain in fiu~pension.
Only very sm811 ~mounte of the alum~ stt st~biliz~ig 8gent is required to obtain the significant ~mprovemenlt~ in physic~l stsbility-In addition to itB aetion ag a phy~ tabilizing ggerlt, the aluminum s~lt hss the ~dditional sdvQntages oveP other physilcal stab~ ing agents th~t it i6 non-ionic in character and i~ compatible w~h the noniol~ic surfactant component and doe~ not interfere with the oYer~ll tleerlFency OI the composition; it exhibits some anff-foaming ef~ect; it can ~uncgion to boost the sctivity of fabric 60fteners, and ~t confers a lorl~er relaxatlo~ me to the suspensions.
Bleaching A~ents The` bleaching agents ~re classified broadly, gor con~re~ience, ~8 ~0 chlorine blesche~ and oxygen bleaches. Chlorine bleaches are typified by ~odium hypochlorite (~laOCl), pota~Rium dichlor~iso~yarlurate (59% avallable chlorine), and trlchloroisocyanuric ~cid (95% a~r~ilable chlor~ne30 Oxygen bleache~ are preferred ~nd are represented by pe~ompolarlds ~hi~h liber~e hydrogen peroxide in solution. Preferred esample~ include sod~ nd pota~ium perborates, percarbonates, and perphosphates, arld pDt~s~i monopersulfste. The perbor~te~ particularly ~iLum perborF,te monohydrate, are especially preferred.
The peroxygen compound ~8 preferably used ~n admi~ture ~th an activator therefor. Suitable activators which c~n lower the effective operating temperature of the peroa~de bleaching agent sre disc~ or 1~ ~s :

¦ ex~mple, in U.S.P. 4,264,466 or in column 1 of U.S.P~ 4,430,294~
I
¦ PolyQcyl~ted compound~ ~re prefPrred ~ctlv~tor~; am~ng these, c~mpountla ¦ such a~ tetr~cetyl ethylene dl~mlne ~nTAEDn) and pentQ~cetyl elueose 5 ¦ part~cul~rly preferred-Other u~eful llctlvatorE~ lud~3, or e~uDple ~ ~ce~yl~allcyl~c sc~d derlvaUve~, ethyllden3 benzogte aceS~te ~d ItN g~lt~, ~thyll~ene c~rbo~ylalLe acetnte and ltE~ aslLEI, ~.lkyl ~d ~.lke~ l BU~ e ~nhydrlde, tetrascetylglycourll ~TJ~GUn~, ~nd ~ d~F~vEIffve~ of Ules~ O~h~r useful cla8ses of activ~tors ~ disclos~d, ~o~ c~ Dp~0D ~ U.~.P, !1,111~8g6, 4,422,950 and ~,BB1;78~.
The bleach ~c~lv~tor uguglly interact~ wlth the pero3~ en compolmd to ~orm a pero~ygcid bleaching ~ t ~r~ the wa~h ~ter. 1~ i~ preîerred to include B ~equestering agent of high oomple~g po~er t~ ~nhiblt as~y undesired reaction between Eluch peroxyElcid ~nd hydrogeD pero~dde in the wash solution in the presence of met~ iorl~.
Suit~ble se~luegterlng ~gentg lor thi8 purposs illclude 6~1u~ salts of nitr~otri~ce~c acld (NTA), ethylene d~glne ietr~asetic llcid ~DTA), diethylene trismine pen~ etlc ~ d (DETPA), dlethylene tr~mlne 20 pent~methylene phosphon~c acid (DTPMP3 ~old under th~ tradensme Dequest 2066; ~d ethylene dlamine te~r~methyl~n~ phospho~c ~cld (EDIT~MP~3.
The seque6tering ~gent~ c~n be used slone or ln adml~cture.
In order to ~rold 108a of pem~ide bleaching ~gent, e. ~. sod5um perbornte, resultlng fro~ enzym~-induced deco~Dpos~tlon, Isuch 88 by ~t~ e enzyme, the oompositlon3 msy ~ddl~onally ~elude ~n ~n~e ~hibitor compound, i. e . a oompound c~pabh of inhlb~tin¢ en~yme-induced deoomposition of the pero~dde bleschlng agent~ Sultsble tnhlbitor c~powld~
sclo~ed ln V.S.P. 3,606,~9D~, , .. .

Of special interest as the inhibitor compound, mention can be made of hydroxylamine sulfate and other water-soluble hydroxylamine salts. In the preferred nonaqueous compositions of this invention, suitable amounts of the ! hydroxylamine salt inhibitors can be as lo~ as about 0.01 to 0.4%. Generally, however, suitable amounts of enzyme j inhibitors are up to about 15%, for example, 0.1 to 10%, by weight of the composition.
In addition to the detergent builders, various other detergent additives or adjuvan~s may be present in the detergent product to give it additional desired properties, either of functional or aesthetic nature. Thus, there may be included in the formulation, minor amounts of soil suspending or anti-redeposition agents, e.g. polyvinyl alcohol, atty amides, sodium ~arboxymethyl cellulosa, hydroxy-propyl methyl cellulose. A preferred anti-redeposition agent is sodium carboxymethyl cellulose having a 2:1 ratio of CM/MC which is sold under the trademark Relatin DM 4050.
Optical brighteners for co~ton, polyamide and .
polyester fabrics can be used. Suitable optical brighteners include stilbene, triazole and benzidine sulfone compositions, especially sulfonated substituted trlazinyl stllbene, sulfonated naphthotriazole stilbene, benzidene sulfone, etc., most preferred are stilbene and triazole combinations.
Preferred brighteners are Stilbene Brightener N4 which is a dimorpholino dianilino stilbene sulfonate and Tinopal* ATS-X
which is well known in the art.
Enzymes, preferably proteolytic enzymes, su~h as subtilisin, bromelin, papain, trypsin and pepsin, as well as amylase type enzymest lipase type enzymes, and mixtures thereof can be used. Preferred enzymes include protease slurry, *Trade-mark 27 `.~

~ 1330348 62301-1433 esperase slurry and amylase. A preferred enzyme is Esperase*
SL8 which is protease. Anti-foam agents, e.g. silicon compounds, such as Silicane* L 7604 can also be added in small effective amounts.
Bactericides, e.g. tetrachlorosalicylanilide and hexachlorophene, fungicides, dyes, pigments (water dispersible), preservatives, ultraviolet '~

'~

'-~''' ' ~ , ' ~

*Trade-mark 27a :- ~ -~ 1 330348 ¦ absorbers, anti-yellowLr~ agents, E;uch as ~ dium carbo7~ymethyl cellulose, ¦ pH modifiers ~nd pH bu~fers, color safe bleache~, perfume, ~nd dyes and ¦ bluing agents such E~s ultr~marine blue can be used.
I The composi~ion may algo contain an inorganic in601uble ~hiclcening agent ¦ or dispergant o~ very high 8urface ar~a ~;uch ~g ~nely divi~ed ~l~ica of extremely f~ne pa~ticle ~ze (e.g. of 5-~00 millimicrong dlgmeters such ~ sold ~under the name Aerosil~ or the o~her highly ~o1um~noug ~norgan~ carrier materials discloged ~n U.S.P. 3,630,92~ p~po~ion~3 of 0.1-109~, e.g. 1 to 5%. It is preferable, howe~er, ~hag ~~ orl~ w~ch ~onn perosgacdd~ in the wash bath (e. g. somposi~orl~ con~ining p~ ompourld and activator therefor) ~e substantially ~ of ~uch compo~ds ~nd o other silicates; it has been fo~nd, for ing~ance ~ ~ica and ~c~te~ promote the unde~ired decomposiffon of the peroxyacid.
In an embodiment of the invention the stabili~y o~ the builder ~lts in the composition during stor~ge and the di~pers~bi~ty of the ~npos~tion in water is improved by grinding and reducing ~e pa~ e of the 6alid builders to less than 100 microns, preferably les~ than 40 ~cavns ~nd more preferably to less than 10 microns . The ~ d builders p e . g. alkall sl~et~l polyphosphates, sre ~nerally supplied ~n p~le ~es of about 100, 20~ or 400 micrdns. The nonionic liquid surfactant phsse c~n be ml~ced with the 601id builders plqor to or ~ter carrying out the grind{ng operation.
In a preferred embodimen~ of the irl~renffon; the Imixtur~ of llquit~
nonionic surfactant and solid ingredient~ is sub~ected to an attrition type of mill in which the particle ~izes of the so~d ~ngredientLs ~ educed to less than about 10 microns, e.g. to &n average part~le ~i~e iD~ 2 to 10 mlor~n~ or even lower (e.g. 1 D~cron). Preferably le~s t~han about 104, e~peciall~r leBB
than about 5% of all the suspended partiele~ ha~e particle.slze~ grea~er th~n 10 microns. Compositions whose ~sper~ed particles are of ~uclh ~mall ~d~
have improved ~tability ag~inst separation ~r ~ettling on storage. ~ddiffo~
of the acid terminated nonionic sur~actant compound ~id~ in the d~sper~b~ty . ~ P ~ 1< ' . ~ . .
2~
. ' '"'. ~ :
L
....... .... ~

~ 1 330348 ¦ of the dispersions without 8 correspondil~g decrease in the di6persions ¦ stAbility against 6Pttling.
In the grinding opergtion, it i8 preferred tha~ ~he proportion of ~ d l ingredients be high enough (e. g. at leagt about 40% ~uch ~ about 50%) that ¦ the 601id particles ~re in contgc~ with each other an~ llre not aub~tantially 6hielded ~rom one anot~er by the n,onlonic æur~actgnt liquid. ~ter the grinding 6tep any rem~ining liquid noDioDic ~urfac~nt ca n be ~Ldded to the ground formulation. Mills w~ich employ g~.nding b~3 (b~ ~ or similar mobile grlnding elementa have giYerl ~rery ~d r~ tg., Thu8~ one ~ y use a laboratory batch attrltor hgv~ng 8 mm diameter g~egei~e ~ng b~l~. ~or l~rger scale work a conffnuougly operat~g m~ ~n ~ch lthere ~re I mm or 1.~ mm diameter grinding balls worki~g ln ~ ~ery ~mall gap between a stator snd a rotor operating at a relatively high speed ~e.g. a CoBall ~11) may be employed; when uging guch a mill, it i8 ~egirable ts~ p88B the blend of lS nonionic surfactant and golidg ~rst ~hrough a ~11 ~h~ch d.oe~ not ef~ect EU~h fine grinding (e.g. a eolloid mill) to reduce ~he par~cle gi~e to less than 100 microns (e. g. to about 40 microll~;) prior to ~he 8~t~p of grindlng to sn : `
average particle dismeter below ~bout 10 mlcron8 in t2 e ¢onffnu~u8 ball m~ll.
In the preferred heaYy duty liquid l~undry detergnt Co~apoE~ition8 of the inver~tion, typical proporffons 5percent bssed on the tot~l weight of composition, unless otherwise spec~led) o~ the ingPedients are ~ ~oLlowe: :~ `
Highly biodegradable propo~rylated ethosylated ~atty alkyl ~loohoJ liquid nonionic 8urfactant detergent in the ran8~e of about lD to 60, euch ~ 20 to ~0 snd 30 to 40 percent.
Acid terminated nonionic ~urfact~t may be omitted, it ~ lprefer~d :~
however that it be added to the composition in an gmount irl the range o~
about 0 to 30, ~uch ~8 5 to 26 and 5 to 15 perCRnt. .
` C)rganic builder salt ~ the range of ~bout û to S0, such as 10 to 40 and 25 to 35 percent.

, 1 330348 ^ `

Polyphosphnte detergent builder salt in the range of abou~ O to 50 percent, such El~ O to 30 and 5 ~o 15 percent.
Copolymer of poly~cryla~e ~md polymaleic anhydMde alkal~ metal ~alt anti encrustatiOn agent in ~he ~g~ of 8bout 0 ~o 10, such a~ 2 to 8 and 2 to 6 percent .
Alkylene glycol monoallcyletl~er anff-gel agent in an amounlt in ~he r~ge of about O to 20, such as 5 to 15 snd 8 to 12 pe~t.
Phosphoric ac~d alkanol e8ter 8~ab~izir~g ~ sn~ ~ the rang~ of 0 to 2.0 ~ .
or 0.1 to 1.0, such as 0.10 to 0.5 percent.
Aluminum ~alt of ~atty aci~ 8ta~1izing agen~ he r~nge of ~b~t 0 to 3.0, such a~ 0.1 to 2.0 and 0.5 to 1.5 perc~nt.
It is preferred that at lea~t one of pho~phorlc ac~d e~ter or aluminum salt stabilizing agen~s be included in the compoE~i'don.
::
Ble~ching agent in the range of about O to 35, ~uch as S to 30 and 8 to 15 percent.
Bleach activator in the range of about O to 2B, such as 3 to 20 ~nd ~ to 8 percent.
Seque~tering agent for blesch ~n the r~nge OI about 3 to 3.0, prefer~bly 0.5 to 2.0 and 0.5 to 105 percent.
An~-redeposition agent in the r~nge o~ RboUt O to 3.0, such ~8 0.5 to 2.0 ~nd 0.5 to 1.5 percent.
Optic~l brightener in the r~nge of about O to 2 . O, such ~8 0 .1 to 1. 5 and 0.3 to 1.0 percent.
Enzyme~ in the range of about O ts) 3.0i such as 0.5 to 2.~ and 0.5 to 1. 5 percent .
Perfume in the r~nge of about O to 2.0, such n~ 0.10 to 1.0 and 0.5 to 1.0 percent.
Dye in the r~nge of about O to l.O, such ~ 0.0025 to 0.050 and 0.2~ to 0.0100 percent.

3~ ;
' '' '~

. .______ _ :

.... ~.. : . , .. ~

1 3303~8 Various of th~ previously mentioned additives can optionally be ~dded to achieve the desired function of the added materials.
Mixtures of the acid ter~inated nonionic allrfactant and the alkylene glycol alkyl ether ~ti-gel agents cnn be used and ln BOme cages adv~tage~
can be obt~ined by the use of 6uch m~xtu~ alone, r~r ~ith the addition to the mixture of ~ 8tabilizing and anti 8ett3~g ~gen~ 9 e . g. pho8pholqc acld alkanol ester. ~ -In the selection of the additlve~3, they w~ ~e c~ogen to be comp~tible with the main con6tituents of the deterg~snt com;pogition. In U~s appJ~cation.
as mentioned above, sLl proportion~; ~nd perc~nt~ y we~ght of the entire formulation or composition unless otherwi~e indieated.
The concentrated nonaqueoug nonionic liquid detergen~ compo6ition of the present invention di~penseR readily in ~he water in the ~a~h~8 machine.
The presently used llome waghis~g machineg norm~y use 175gms of powder detergent to wash a full load of laundry. In llceord~nce ~IU- the present invention only about 77 ml or about 100 gm8 of ~he ~on~entr~ted liqu~d -~
nonionic detergent composition is needed.
COMPARATIVE Tl~ST$
., _ '.
In order compare the physical properties of the propoxylated ethoxylated fatty alcohol nonionic surf~ct~mts of the present in~en~on ~ith the conventional commercially nvsllable nonion~c ~urfactants the belo~q descFibed comparative tests were c~rried out.
1. A nonionic surfactant of the formula R-(OC3H6~(0C2H~)yOH
wherein R i8 C12-C15, X eqUQlB 3 and y equ~ 5 i~ compared to Product D~
2~ with regsrd to the biodegradability of the respec~e ~urfactant~. The Product D as described above i8 a ~xture of equal part~ of Product B (a Gl3-C15 fatty ~lcohol condensed with 7 moles of propyle~e o~ide ~nd 4 moles of ethylene o~de) and Product C ~a C13-C15 ~atty alcohol cotldensed with 5 moles propylene oxide ~nd 10 moleQ of ethyl~ne o~dde).

~ ~ ` 1 330348 -11l the Product B E;urfactar~t the propylene oxide molecules are not att~ched to the alkyl portion of the Eiurfactant structure.
In the Product C surfactant the propylene oxide molecules are not ~ttached to the ~Ikyl portion of the surfact~nt structure S The comparative biodegr~dability te8tg are cQrried out using the procedure desoribed earlier 8t p~ge 4 of the Rpecification. Thc te~ts show that the surfact~nt of the pregent inven~on ~g at lea~t 90 percent biodegradable and that the Produc~ D i8 leg~ th~ 40 percent biodegradable.
The b~odegradable chsrac~e~Bticg of the ~urfactant ~ ~he present invention are thus superior to tho~e of Product D.
2. The nonionic ~urfactgntg of the pre~ent ~nvention e~bit low fosming characteri6~ics in use. In order to demonstr~te the low ~osming charscteristics the nonionic sur~actan~ of the present in~ention oâ the ~boYe comparative test 1, wag compared wi~h the conYen~onglly used Surfsctant T
7l9. The Surfsctant T ~/9 that was used wRs obta~ned by etho~ylating a secondary C13 ~tty alcohol with an average of 7~9 ethylene oxide group8 per mole of fatty alcohol. Conventional fo~ming tests are carried out.
The test results thus show th~t the nonion~c ~ur~actant of the preserlt invention is low foaming as compared to the sonventionally used Surfact~nt T7/9 nonionic ~urfactant.
3. The nonionic surfactant of the present lI~vention used ~n the above comparative test ~ is compared to Surfactant T7/9 to determ~ne the pour . . .

i 1 33034~ ~ I
point characteristics of each surfactant. The pour point ~emperature in ench case was determined by increasing 810wly the ~emperature 2C/minute. The pour point, temperature i6 the temperature gt which the nonionic begin~ to nOw~
The comparative tests result~ ghow that the surfnctant of the pre~ent invention exhibits a lower pouring temper~.ture ~ -2C. a8 compared to the Surfactant T 7l9 which exhbii~s a pouring temperature of ~3C.
4. In order to determine the gellir~.g sharE~c~eP~tics of t}~e nonionlc surfactant of the pregent invention of the a~ove ~egt 1, it ~a~ compsred to 10. Product D and Surfac~ant T719. The teB~ ~g carAed out by congsc'dng the respective surfact~nts with water at 5C. gnd meagu~g the ~risco~ity concentration relationship.
The compsrative tests show that the nonior~c gurfactant of the present invention does not gel in contact With water at 5C. (though an incre~e in : :
viscosity of the surfactant ~ noted) whereag the Product D snd the I Surfactant T7/9 on contact with water at 5C. do gel.
::

3 1 330348 ~
In u preferred embodiment of the invention ~he ~etergent compos~tion of a typic~l formulation is formulated using the below named ingredienta:

Highly biodegradable propoxylated ethoxylated fatty alkyl alcohol nonionic gurfactgnt detergent. 30-~0 Acid terminflted surfactant. 5~1$
Sodium t~ ypho8phate builder 8al'C. 25-35 Anti-encru~tation agent (Sokalan CP-5)~ 0-10 Organic builder s~lt. 3~
Alkylene glycol monosL'cyl ether. 8-12 Alkanol phosphoric acid e8ter tl~mpIPhos 5632). 0.14.5 Anti-redeposition agent (Relatine DM ~050) 0-3D0 ., Alkali metal perborate bleaching agent. 8-15 Bleach activator (TAED). 4-8 Sequestering agent (Dequest 2066)~ 0-3.0 Optical b~ightener (ATS-X). 0.3-1.0 Enzymes . 0 . 5-1. 5 Perfume, 0 . 5-1. 0 . ' ...

3~1 `
. , . ..
. , .

1 3303~8 The present invention is further illustrated by the following example.
EXAMPL~ 1 A concentrated nonaqueous liquid nonionic surfactant detexgent composition is formulated from the following ingredients in the amounts specified.
Weight Highly biodegradable nonionic(l)surfactant of the formula R-(OC3H6)X(Oc2H4)Y 38.7 Acid terminated Dobanol 91-5 reaction product with succinic anhydride. 5.0 Sodium tripolyphosphate. 26.0 Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether. 6.0 Alkanol phosphoric acid ester (Empephos 5632~. 0.3 Anti-encrustation agent (Sokalan CP-5). 4.0 Sodium perborate monohydrate bleaching agent. 12.0 Tetraacetylethylene diamine ( TAED) bleach activator. 4.0 Sequestering agent (Dequest 2066). 1.0 Optical brightener (Tinopal ATS-X) 0.5 Anti-redeposition agent (Relatin DM 4050). 1.0 Protease (Esperase SL8). 1.0 -~

Perfume. _0.5 100. ~:
(1) RaC12-C15, x=3, and y-5.
The formulation is ground for about 1 hour to reduce the particle size of the suspended builder salts to less than 40 microns. The nonionic surfactant component of the formulation is found to be 90 percent biodegradable. The formulated detergent composition is found to be stable and non-gelling in storage and to have a high detergent capacity and to be non-foaming in use.
The f~rmulations can be prepared without grinding the ~ `
builder salts and suspended solid particles to a small particle size, but best results are _ 35 ~ ~ ~ ` 1 3303~ -¦ obtained by grinding ~he forrnulation to reduce the particle size of the ~uspended ~olid p~Lrticle~.
The builder ~alts carl be used as pro~vided, or the builder salt~ and 8uspended 601id p~ticle~ can be grolmd or parti~lly ground prior ts~ m~n~
S them with the nonionic gurfactant. The grinding c!m be carried out in part prior to mixing and grinding completed sfter mi~ng or the entire grindi~l operation can be ~arried out after ~dng w~th the liquid 8urfuctant. The formulation8 containing suspende~ builder and E~o~d p~icle~ le88 th~n 100 microns in size are preferred.
The highly biodegradable propoxylated etho~ylatsd fa~ty alsol-ol nonionic ~urfactant detergents of the present in~rention can be u~ed to formulnte polyphosphate builder salt, low polyphogphtlte builder ~slt and no polyphosphate bu~lder ~alt detergent compositions and ~n ~e ~sed a8 the only. or as the principle nonionic surfactsnt in aqueous lbuitt or nonbuilt he~y detergent compoEiitions.
It i~ under~;tood that the foregoing det~ed descrlptlon is given merely by way of illu~trstion and that ~rariations ~nay b~ msd~ therein ~ithout depsrting from the spirit of the invention. ¦

. ~"~ . :: :

Claims (25)

1. A heavy duty laundry detergent composition comprising a compound of the formula R-(OC 3H6)x(OC2H4)yOH
wherein R represents a substantially straight-chained C8 to C26 aliphatic group having less than 20% of the carbon atoms of said R group in a branched configuration, the value of x+y equals 20 to 100 percent of the number of carbon atoms of the R
group, and x is at least one and y is at least one, in an amount of about 10 to 60 percent by weight, and at least one of the group consisting of:
up to about 50% by weight of a detergent builder salt, up to about 30% by weight of an acid terminated nonionic surfactant, up to 2% by weight of an alkanol phosphoric acid ester stabilizing agent.

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein R represents C9 to C18 alkyl, and x is at least 2 and y is at least 2.

3. The composition of claim 1 wherein R represents C9 to C11 alkyl and x is at least 3 and y is at least 3.

4. The composition of claim 1 wherein R represents C12 to C15 alkyl and x is at least 3 and y is at least 3.

5. The composition of claim 1 wherein less than 10% of the carbon atoms of the R group are in a branched configuration.

6. A heavy duty laundry detergent composition according to claim 1 wherein x is 2 to 15 and y is 2 to 15.

7. The detergent composition of claim 1 wherein R
represents C9 to C18 alkyl, x is at least 2 and y is at least 2 and x+y = 4 to 16.

8. The detergent composition of claim 1 wherein R
represents C9 to C11 alkyl, x is at least 2 and y is at least 2 and x+y = 5 to 10.

9. The detergent composition of claim 1 wherein R
represents C12 to C15 alkyl, x is at least 2 and y is at least 2 and x+y = 5 to 15.

10. The detergent composition of any one of claims 1 to 9 additionally comprising one or more detergent adjuvants selected from the group consisting of bleaching agent, bleach activator, optical brightener, enzymes and perfume.

11. A heavy duty laundry detergent composition comprising a compound of the formula R-(OC3H6)x(OC2H4)yOH

wherein R represents a substantially straight-chained C8 to C26 aliphatic group having less than 20% of the carbon atoms of said R group in a branched configuration, the value of x+y equals 20 to 100 percent of the number of carbon atoms of the R
group, and x is at least one and y is at least one, in an amount of about 20 to 50 percent, a detergent builder salt in an amount of about 10 to 40 percent, an acid terminated surfactant in an amount of about 5 to 25 percent, an alkylene glycol mono-alkyl ether in an amount of about 5 to 15 percent, and an alkanol phosphoric acid ester in an amount of about 0.1 to 1.0 percent.

12. The detergent composition of claim 11 additionally comprising an alkali metal perborate bleaching agent in an amount of about 5 to 30 percent, tetraacetylethylene diamine (TAED) bleach activator in an amount of about 3 to 20 percent, and optionally one or more detergent adjutants selected from the group consisting of anti-encrustation agent, anti-redeposition agent, sequestering agent for the bleach, optical brighteners, enzymes and perfume.

13. The detergent composition of claim 11 which is nonaqueous and in which the surfactant is liquid and the builder salt comprises sodium tripolyphosphate.

14. A heavy duty laundry detergent composition which is nonaqueous and comprises a highly biodegradable liquid nonionic surfactant of the formula R-(OC3H6)x(OC2H4)yOH, wherein R represents C9 to C18 alkyl having less than 20% of the carbon atoms of said R group in a branched configuration, x+y equals 4 to 16, x is at least 2 and y is at least 2, in an amount of 20 to 50 percent, acid terminated surfactant in an amount of about 5 to 25 percent, sodium tripolyphosphate builder salt in an amount of about 10 to 40 percent, alkylene glycol monoalkylether in an amount of about 5 to

15 percent, alkanol ester of phosphoric acid in an amount of about 0.1 to 1 percent, sodium perborate monohydrate bleaching agent in an amount of about 8 to 15 percent, and tetraacetylethylene diamine (TAED) bleach activator in an amount of about 4 to 8 percent.

15. The detergent composition of claim 14 which is pourable at high and low temperatures, is stable in storage and does not gel when mixed with cold water.

16. The detergent composition of any one of clams 1 to 9 in which the nonionic surfactant is at least 80 percent biodegradable.

17. A method for cleaning soiled fabrics which comprises contacting the soiled fabrics with the laundry detergent composition of any one of claims 1 to 9.

18. A method for cleaning soiled fabrics which comprises contacting the soiled fabrics with the laundry detergent of any one of claims 11 to 15.

19. A method for cleaning soiled fabrics which comprises contacting the soiled fabrics with the laundry detergent of claim 16.

20. A compound of the formula R-(OC3H6)x(OC2H4)yOH
wherein R represents a substantially straight chained aliphatic group having 8 to 11 or 21 to 26 carbon atoms and having less than 20% of the carbon atoms in the R group in a branched configuration, the value of x and y equals 20 to 100 percent of the number of carbon atoms, and x is at least one and y is at least one.

21. The compound of claim 20 wherein R represents C9 to C11 alkyl and x is at least 3 and y is at least 3.

22. The compound of claim 20 wherein less than 10% of the carbon atoms of the R group are in a branched configuration.

23. The compound of claim 20 wherein R represents C9 to C11, x is at least 2 and y is at least 2 and x+y = 4 to 16.

24. The compound of claim 23 wherein x+y = 5 to 10.

25. The compound of claim 20 wherein x is 2 to 15 and y is 2 to 15.

SMART & BIGGAR
OTTAWA, CANADA
PATENT AGENTS