DE69401066T2 - LIQUID CLEANING AGENT BASED ON HIGH-FOAMING, NON-IONIC, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENTS - Google Patents

Abstract

A high foaming, nonionic surfactant based, light duty, liquid detergent with desirable cleansing properties and mildness to the human skin comprising: a water soluble nonionic surfactant as the major active ingredient, in an amount in excess of 50 % by weight of the total surfactant content; a supplemental amount of a water soluble, foaming, anionic surfactant excluding the ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfates; and a lesser amount of a water soluble, foaming zwitterionic betaine surfactant, a C12-14 alkyl monoalkanol amide, a C12-14 alkyl dialkanol amide, and an amine oxide.

Description

Related Registration

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application serial number 8/056,086, filed on May 3, 1993.

Background of the invention

The present invention relates to novel liquid light duty detergent compositions (light duty detergent compositions) with high foaming properties, containing a nonionic surfactant as the main active ingredient, complemented by minor amounts of a specific group of anionic surfactants and even minor amounts of zwitterionic betaine surfactant and an amine oxide in an aqueous medium.

Nonionic surfactants are generally chemically inert and stable to pH change, and are therefore well suited to mixing and formulating with other materials. The superior performance of nonionic surfactants in removing greasy soils is widely recognized. Nonionic surfactants are also known to be mild to human skin. However, as a class, nonionic surfactants are known to be low or moderate foamers. Consequently, in detergents that require copious foam and stable lather, the application of nonionic surfactants is limited. There has been considerable interest and effort to develop a high foaming detergent with nonionic surfactants as the main ingredient. However, little has been achieved to date.

The state of the art for liquid cleaning compositions for light use (fine cleaning compositions) containing non-ionic surfactants in combination with anionic and/or betaine surfactants, the nonionic detergent not being the main active surfactant, as described for example in US-A-3 658 985 according to which an anionic surfactant-based shampoo contains a small amount of a fatty acid alkanolamide. American patent US-A-3 769 398 describes a betaine surfactant-based shampoo which contains small amounts of nonionic surfactants. This patent states that the foaming properties of nonionic detergents make them not preferred for use in shampoo compositions. American patent US-A-4 329 335 also describes a shampoo which contains a betaine surfactant as the main ingredient and small amounts of a nonionic surfactant and a fatty acid mono- or diethanolamide. American Patent US-A-4,259,204 describes a shampoo comprising 0.8 to 20% by weight of an anionic phosphoric acid ester and an additional surfactant which may be either anionic, amphoteric or nonionic. American Patent US-A-4,329,334 describes an anionic-amphoteric surfactant-based shampoo which contains a larger amount of anionic surfactant and a smaller amount of a betaine surfactant and nonionic surfactants.

American patent US-A-3,935,129 describes a liquid cleaning composition based on the alkali metal silicate content and containing five basic ingredients, namely urea, glycerin, triethanolamine, anionic detergent and non-ionic detergent. The silicate content determines the amount of anionic and/or non-ionic detergent in the liquid cleaning composition. However, the foaming properties of these cleaning compositions are not discussed therein.

The American patent US-A-4 129 515 describes a heavy-duty liquid detergent for washing fabrics, which contains a mixture of substantially equal amounts of anionic and nonionic surfactants, alkanolamines and magnesium salts and optionally zwitterionic surfactants as foam modifiers.

In the American patent US-A-4,224,195 an aqueous detergent composition for washing socks or stockings is described which comprises a specific class of non-ionic detergents, namely an ethylene oxide of a secondary alcohol, a specific class of anionic detergents, namely a sulfur ester salt of an ethylene oxide adduct of a secondary alcohol, and an amphoteric surfactant which may be a betaine, wherein either the anionic surfactant or the non-ionic surfactant may be the major component. The specific class of anionic surfactants used according to this patent is the same group of anionic detergents which are expressly excluded in the present invention in order to eliminate the alkanol ethoxylate sulfation process and the potential dioxane toxicity problem. Furthermore, in this patent, highly foaming detergents are considered undesirable for the purpose of washing socks.

The prior art also describes detergent compositions all containing nonionic surfactants, as described in American Patents US-A-4,154,706 and 4,329,336, wherein the shampoo compositions contain a variety of specific nonionic surfactants to provide desirable lathering and cleaning properties despite the fact that nonionic surfactants are usually deficient in such properties.

American patent US-A-4 013 787 describes a piperazine-based polymer in conditioning and shampoo compositions, all of which may contain nonionic surfactant or all of which may contain anionic surfactant.

In American Patent US-A-4 450 091, high viscosity shampoo compositions are described which contain a mixture of an amphoteric betaine surfactant, a nonionic polyoxybutylene polyoxyethylene detergent, an anionic surfactant, a fatty acid alkanolamide and a polyoxyalkylene glycol fatty ester. However, none of the exemplified compositions contain a mixture of active ingredient in which the nonionic detergent is present in a major proportion, probably due to the low foaming properties of the nonionic polyoxybutylene polyoxyethylene detergent.

In the American patent US-A-4 595 526 a composition is described which comprises a nonionic surfactant, a betaine surfactant, an anionic surfactant and a C₁₂ to C₁₄ fatty acid monoethanolamide foam stabilizer.

However, none of the above-identified patents describe a high-foaming nonionic surfactant-based liquid detergent composition containing nonionic surfactant as the main active ingredient and minor amounts of supplementary high-foaming anionic sulfate or sulfonic surfactant, exclusively ethoxylated alcohol ether sulfates, supplementary foaming zwitterionic surfactant selected from betaine-type surfactants, amine oxide, alkyl monoalkanolamide and alkyl dialkanolamide, wherein the nonionic ingredient constitutes more than 50% of the total surfactant content.

Summary of the invention

It has now been found that a high foaming liquid detergent can be formulated with a non-ionic surfactant as the main active ingredient which has desirable cleansing properties and mildness towards human skin and avoids the dioxane toxicity problem associated with the sulfation process in the production of anionic ethoxylated alcohol ether sulfates.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide new, high-foaming, non-ionic surfactant-based, liquid cleaning compositions for light use (light cleaning compositions) which contain non-ionic surfactant in a concentration of at least 50% of the total surfactant content.

Another object of this invention is to provide novel nonionic surfactant-based liquid detergent compositions containing a major proportion of nonionic surfactant supplemented by minor proportions of anionic surfactant, zwitterionic betaine surfactant, alkyl monoalkanolamide, alkyl dialkanolamide and amine oxide.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a novel non-ionic surfactant-based liquid cleanser having desirable high foaming and cleansing properties and being mild to human skin.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new nonionic surfactant-based liquid detergent containing supplemental anionic surfactant, exclusively the ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfates, which eliminates the alkanol ethoxylate sulfation process and the potential dioxane toxicity problem.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention are set forth in the following part of the specification and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be obtained by the instrumentalities and combinations which are particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention as generally described and exemplified herein, the novel high foaming nonionic surfactant based liquid light duty detergent of this invention comprises alkyl monoalkanolamide and alkyl dialkanolamide in combination with four essential surfactants, a water soluble ethoxylated nonionic surfactant as the major active ingredient in an amount of greater than 50% by weight of the total surfactant content; a supplementary amount of a foaming anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of water-soluble organic sulfates and organic sulfonates, excluding the ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfates, a minor amount of a foaming, water-soluble zwitterionic surfactant selected from the class of betaines dissolved in an aqueous carrier, and an amine oxide, wherein the composition does not contain a polyoxyalkylene glycol fatty ester.

In particular, the present invention relates to a high foaming nonionic surfactant-based liquid detergent comprising more than 50% by weight of the total surfactant content of a nonionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of water-soluble primary aliphatic alcohol ethoxylates, secondary aliphatic alcohol ethoxylates, alkylphenol ethoxylates and alcohol ethylene oxide propylene oxide condensates; and supplemental amounts of anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of water soluble salts of C 1 to C 18 alkyl sulfates, C 8 to C 16 alkyl benzene sulfonates, C 10 to C 20 paraffin sulfonates, α-C 10 to C 24 olefin sulfonates, C 8 to C 18 alkyl sulfoacetates, C 8 to C 18 alkyl sulfosuccinate esters, C 8 to C 18 acyl isethionates, and C 8 to C 18 acyl taurates; a C₁₂- to C₁₄-alkylmonoethanolamide; a C₁₂- to C₁₄-alkyldiethanolamide; a Water soluble zwitterionic betaine surfactant and an amine oxide; wherein the total content of the amine oxide, the anionic surfactant, the alkyl monoethanolamide, the alkyl diethanolamide and the betaine surfactant is less than 50% by weight of the total surfactant content dissolved in an aqueous carrier.

This particular combination of ingredients in the proportions, by weight, of 10 to 30% nonionic surfactant, 1 to 10% anionic surfactant, 0.5 to 10% betaine surfactant, 1.0 to 5% amine oxide, 1 to 3% C₁₂ to C₁₄ alkylmonoalkanolamide such as C₁₂ to C₁₄ alkylmonoethanolamide, 1 to 3 wt.% C₁₂ to C₁₄ alkyldialkanolamide such as C₁₂ to C₁₄ alkyldiethanolamide, and the balance water, wherein the nonionic surfactant constitutes at least 50 wt.% of the total surfactant content, is critical to the high lathering and desirable cleaning properties of the present liquid cleanser and the property of maintaining mildness to the skin. The total amount of surfactants may constitute 17.5 to 51%, preferably 20 to 40%, most preferably 25 to 35%, by weight of the liquid composition. The present compounds do not contain polyoxyalkylene glycol fatty esters, abrasives, polymeric thickeners, clay thickeners, silica, scouring agents, clays, alkali metal carbonates or more than 3% by weight of a fatty acid or salt thereof.

Detailed description of the invention

The nonionic surfactant which constitutes the major ingredient in the present liquid cleanser is present in amounts of 10 to 30%, preferably 13 to 25%, most preferably 16 to 22%, by weight of the composition and provides superior performance in removing oily soils and mildness to the skin.

The water-soluble non-ionic surfactants used in the invention are commercially known and include primary aliphatic alcohol ethoxylates, secondary aliphatic alcohol ethoxylates, alkylphenol ethoxylates and ethylene oxide-propylene oxide condensates of primary alcohols such as Plurafac (BASF) and ethylene oxide condensates of sorbitan fatty acid esters such as Tween (ICI). The non-ionic synthetic organic cleaning agents are generally condensation products of an organic aliphatic or alkylaromatic hydrophobic compound and hydrophilic ethylene oxide groups. In practice, any hydrophobic compound having a carboxy, hydroxy, amido or amino group with a free hydrogen attached to the nitrogen atom can be condensed with ethylene oxide or with the polyhydration product thereof, polyethylene glycol, to form a water-soluble nonionic detergent. Furthermore, the length of the polyethenoxy chain can be adjusted to achieve the desired balance between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic elements.

The class of nonionic detergent includes the condensation products of a higher alcohol (e.g., an alkanol containing 8 to 18 carbon atoms in a straight or branched chain configuration) condensed with 5 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide, e.g., lauryl or myristyl alcohol condensed with 16 moles of ethylene oxide (EO), tridecanol condensed with 6 moles of EO, myristyl alcohol condensed with about 10 moles of EO per mole of myristyl alcohol, the condensation product of EO with a cut of coconut fatty alcohol containing a mixture of fatty alcohols with alkyl chains varying from 10 to 14 carbon atoms in length, the condensate containing either 6 moles of EO per mole of total alcohol or 9 moles of EO per mole of alcohol, and tallow alcohol ethoxylates, which contain 6 EO to 11 EO per mole of alcohol.

A preferred group of the aforementioned nonionic surfactants are the Neodol ethoxylates (Shell Co.) which contain higher aliphatic primary alcohols containing about 9 to 15 carbon atoms, such as C9 to C11 alkanol condensed with 8 moles of ethylene oxide (Neodol 91-8), C12-13 alkanol condensed with 6.5 moles of ethylene oxide (Neodol 23-6.5), C12-15 alkanol condensed with 12 moles of ethylene oxide (Neodol 25-12) and C14-15 alkanol condensed with 13 moles of ethylene oxide (Neodol 45-13). Such ethoxamers have an HLB (hydrophobic-lipophilic balance) value of 8 to 15 and give good emulsification, while ethoxamers with HLB values below 8 contain less than 5 ethyleneoxy groups and tend to be poor emulsifiers and poor detergents.

Other satisfactory water-soluble alcohol ethylene oxide condensates are the condensation products of a secondary aliphatic alcohol containing 8 to 18 carbon atoms in a straight or branched chain configuration condensed with 5 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide. Examples of commercially available nonionic detergents of the foregoing type are C11 to C15 secondary alkanol condensed with either 9 EO (Tergitol 15-S-9) or 12 EO (Tergitol 15-S-12) marketed by Union Carbide.

Other suitable nonionic detergents include the polyethyleneoxy condensates of 1 mole of alkylphenol containing 8 to 18 carbon atoms in straight or branched chain alkyl group with 5 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide. Specific examples of alkylphenol ethoxylates include nonylphenol condensed with 9.5 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of nonylphenol, dinonylphenol condensed with 12 moles of EO per mole of phenol, dinonylphenol condensed with 15 moles of EO per mole of phenol, and diisooctylphenol condensed with 15 moles of EO per mole of phenol. Commercially available nonionic surfactants of this type include Igepal CO-630 (nonylphenol ethoxylate) marketed by GAF Corporation.

Also included among the satisfactory nonionic cleaning agents are the water-soluble condensation products of a C8 to C20 alkanol with a heterocyclic mixture of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, wherein the weight ratio of ethylene oxide to propylene oxide is 2.5:1 to 4:1, preferably 2.8:1 to 3.3:1, the total of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide (including terminal ethanol or propanol groups) being 60 to 85%, preferably 70 to 80%, by weight. Such cleaning agents are commercially available from BASF-Wyandotte and a particularly preferred cleaning agent is a C10 to C16 alkanol condensate with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, wherein the weight ratio of ethylene oxide to propylene oxide is 3:1 and the total alkoxy content is 75 wt.%.

Other suitable water-soluble nonionic detergents, which are less preferred, are marketed under the trade name "Pluronics". The compounds are formed by condensation of ethylene oxide with a hydrophobic base formed by condensation of propylene oxide with propylene glycol. The molecular weight of the hydrophobic portion of the molecule is in the order of 950 to 4000 and preferably 200 to 2500. The addition of polyoxyethylene residues to the hydrophobic portion increases the solubility of the molecule as a whole to render the surfactant soluble in water. The molecular weight of the block polymers varies from 1,000 to 15,000 and the polyethylene oxide content can be from 20% to 80% by weight. Preferably these surfactants are in liquid form and satisfactory surfactants are available as grades L62 and L64.

The anionic surfactant, which is an essential component of the present liquid detergent composition, constitutes 1 to 10% by weight, preferably 2 to 9% by weight, most preferably 3 to 8% by weight thereof and provides good foaming properties. However, it is preferred to use reduced amounts to increase the mildness to skin property desired for the compositions of the invention and therefore the weight ratio of nonionic detergent to anionic surfactant should exceed about 3:1. In addition, the specific group of anionic surfactants used excludes the C8 to C18 alkyl polyethenoxy ether sulfate surfactants to avoid the dioxane toxicity associated with the process of sulfating ethoxylated alcohols. The ethoxylated alcohol ether sulfates are therefore specifically excluded from the specific group of anionic surfactants used.

The anionic surfactants which can be used in the nonionic surfactant-based liquid detergent of this invention are water soluble, such as triethanolamine, and include the sodium, potassium, ammonium and ethanolammonium salts of C8 to C18 alkyl sulfates, such as lauryl sulfate and myristyl sulfate; C8 to C16 linear alkylbenzenesulfonates; C10 to C20 paraffinsulfonates; alpha-olefinsulfonates having about 10 to 24 carbon atoms; C3 to C18 alkylsulfoacetates; C8 to C18 alkylsulfosuccinate esters; C₈- to C₁₈-acylisethionates; and C₈- to C₁₈-acyl taurates. Preferred anionic surfactants are the water-soluble C₁₂- to C₁₆-alkyl sulfates, the C₁₀- to C₁₅-alkylbenzenesulfonates, the C₁₃- to C₁₇-paraffinsulfonates and the α-C₁₂- to C₁₈-olefinsulfonates.

The water-soluble zwitterionic surfactant, which is also an important component of the present liquid detergent composition, comprises 0.5 to 10%, preferably 2 to 9%, most preferably 7 to 8% by weight, and provides good foaming properties and mildness to the present nonionic surfactant-based liquid detergent. The zwitterionic surfactant is a water-soluble betaine having the general formula:

in which R₁ is an alkyl group having 10 to 20 carbon atoms, preferably 12 to 16 carbon atoms, or the amido radical:

R - - - (CH₂)a-

is in which R is an alkyl group having 9 to 19 carbon atoms and a is a number from 1 to 4, R₂ and R₃ are each alkyl groups having 1 to 3 carbon atoms and preferably 1 carbon atom, R₄ is an alkylene or hydroxyalkylene group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms and optionally a hydroxyl group. Typical alkyldimethylbetaines include decyldimethylbetaine or 2-(N-decyl-N,N-dimethylammonium)acetate, cocodimethylbetaine or 2-(N-coco-N,N-dimethylammonium)acetate, myristyldimethylbetaine, palmityldimethylbetaine, lauryldimethylbetaine, cetyldimethylbetaine and stearyldimethylbetaine. The amidobetaines correspondingly include cocoamidoethylbetaine and cocosamidopropylbetaine. A preferred betaine is coco(C8- C18)amidopropyldimethylbetaine.

Semipolar, nonionic amine oxide surfactants include compounds and mixtures of compounds of the formula

in which R₁ is an alkyl, 2-hydroxyalkyl, 3-hydroxyalkyl or 3-alkoxy-2-hydroxypropyl radical, wherein the alkyl or the alkoxy contains 8 to 18 carbon atoms, R₂ and R₃ are each methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, 2-hydroxyethyl, 2-hydroxypropyl or 3-hydroxypropyl and n is 0 to 10. Particularly preferred are amine oxides of the formula:

in which R1 is C12 to C16 alkyl and R2 and R3 are methyl or ethyl. The above ethylene oxide condensates, amides and amine oxides are more fully described in U.S. Patent No. 4,316,824, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The concentration of amine oxide in the present compositions is 1.0 to 5 wt.%, more preferably 2 to 4 wt.%, and most preferably 2.5 to 3.5 wt.%.

The present composition contains a mixture of a C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl monoalkanolamide such as lauryl monoalkanolamide and a C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl dialkanolamide such as lauryl diethanolamide or coco diethanolamide, wherein the concentration of the monoalkanolamide is 1 to 3 wt% and the concentration of the dialkanolamide is 1 to 3 wt%.

All of the above-mentioned ingredients in this liquid fine cleaning agent are soluble or dispersible in water and remain so during storage.

This particular combination of C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl monoalkanolamide, C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl dialkanolamide, anionic surfactant, amine oxide and betaine surfactant provides a detergent system that works with the nonionic surfactant to produce a liquid detergent composition with desirable foaming, foam stability and cleaning properties as well as mildness towards human skin. Surprisingly, the resulting homogeneous liquid detergent exhibits the same or a better foam performance, both in terms of initial foam volume and foam stability in the presence of soils, and cleaning efficiency like an anionic surfactant-based liquid fine detergent (LDLD), as shown in the following examples.

The nonionic surfactant, the anionic surfactant, the betaine surfactant, the C12-14 alkyl monoalkanolamide, the C12-14 alkyl dialkanolamide and the amine oxide are solubilized in the water. Water-soluble hydrotropic salts including sodium, potassium, ammonium and mono-, di- and triethanolammonium salts may also be added to the composition. While the aqueous medium is primarily water, preferably these solubilizing agents are included to control the viscosity of the liquid composition and to control the low temperature turbidity/clarity properties. Typically, it is desirable to maintain clarity up to a temperature in the range of 5°C to 10°C. Therefore, the level of solubilizing agent is generally from 1 to 15%, preferably from 2 to 12%, most preferably from 2 to 8%, by weight of the detergent composition, with the level of ethanol, if present, being 5% or less by weight to provide a composition having a flash point above 46°C. Preferably, the solubilizing ingredient is a mixture of ethanol and either sodium xylene sulfonate or sodium cumene sulfonate, or a mixture of these sulfonates, or ethanol and urea. Inorganic salts such as sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, sodium chloride and sodium citrate may be added at concentrations of from 0.5 to 4.0% by weight to modify the cloud point of the nonionic surfactant and thereby control the turbidity of the resulting solution. Various other ingredients such as urea at a concentration of 0.5 to 4.0 wt.% or urea at the same concentration in combination with ethanol at a concentration of 0.5 to 4.0 wt.% may be used as solubilizing agents. Other ingredients which have been added to the compositions at concentrations of 0.1 to 4.0 wt.% are perfume, sodium bisulfite, ETDA, isoethanoic acid and proteins such as lexin protein. The foregoing solubilizing ingredients also facilitate the preparation of the compositions of the invention because they tend to inhibit gel formation.

In addition to the aforementioned essential and optional ingredients of the liquid fine cleaning compositions, one may also use normal or conventional adjuvants provided that they do not adversely affect the properties of the cleaning composition. Thus, various colorants and perfumes; ultraviolet light absorbers such as the Uvinols, which are products of GAF Corporation; sequestering agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetate; magnesium sulfate heptahydrate; fish silvering agents and opacifiers; pH modifiers, etc. may be used. The amount of such adjuvants in total will normally not exceed 15% by weight of the cleaning composition and the percentages of most such individual components will be a maximum of 5% by weight and preferably less than 2% by weight. Sodium formate may be incorporated into the formulation as a preservative at a concentration of 0.1 to 4.0%. Sodium bisulfite can be used as a color stabilizer in a concentration of 0.01 to 0.2 wt.%.

The present nonionic surfactant-based liquid delicate cleaning agents such as dishwashing detergents are readily prepared by simple mixing processes from readily available components which do not adversely affect the overall composition upon storage. However, it is preferred that the nonionic surfactant is mixed with the solubilizing ingredients, e.g. ethanol and, if present, adding the water to prevent possible gelation. The nonionic surfactant-based surfactant system is prepared by sequentially adding, with stirring, the anionic surfactant, the betaine surfactant, the amine oxide, the C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl monoalkanolamide and the C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl dialkanolamide to the aqueous solution of the nonionic surfactant which has been previously mixed with a solubilizing agent such as ethyl alcohol and/or sodium xylene sulfonate to assist in the solubilization of these surfactants and then adding, with stirring, the formula amount of water to form an aqueous solution of the nonionic surfactant-based surfactant system. The application of mild heating (up to 100ºC) assists in solubilizing the surfactants. Viscosities are adjustable by varying the total percentage of active ingredients. Usually no thickener is added, but thickeners may be added if more highly viscous liquids are desired. In all such cases, the product is pourable from a relatively narrow-mouth bottle (1.5 cm diameter) or a mouth, the viscosity of the detergent formulation not being so low as to be like water. The viscosity of the detergent is desirably at least 100 centipoise (cps) at room temperature, but may be up to 1,000 centipoise as measured with a Brookfield viscometer using a No. 3 spindle rotating at 12 rpm. Its viscosity may approach that of commercially acceptable ingredients currently on the market. The detergent viscosity and the detergent itself remain stable on storage for extended periods without color changes or settling of any insoluble materials. The pH of this formulation is essentially neutral to the skin, e.g. 4.5 to 8 and preferably 5.0 to 5.0.

These products have unexpectedly desirable properties. For example, the foam quality and cleaning power equal to or better than those of standard liquid delicate detergents, while using a non-ionic surfactant as the primary surfactant and minimal amounts of anionic surfactant, resulting in a mild, non-irritating liquid detergent.

The following examples are merely illustrative of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting thereof.

Description of the preferred embodiments EXAMPLE 1

The following formulations were prepared at room temperature by simple liquid mixing procedures as previously described.

(1) I.R.M. Anstell et al. The Journal of the American Oil Chemist Society, Volume 43, pages 576 to 580 (1966) EXAMPLE 1 (continued)

The Formulations B, C, D, E, G, H and I are comparative examples.

EXAMPLE 2

Example 1 of American Patent US-A-4,495,526 (designated L) and Formulation A of Example 1 of this application were compared in a hand dishwashing test. The test was carried out using olive oil, beef tallow and butter in a ratio of equal amounts. The results show that Formulation A of Example 1 gave better results than the standard Formulation L (Example 1 of American Patent US-A-4,495,526). This test was carried out blindly, with each experiment consisting of two runs for each product, and the test was carried out in hard water (300 ppm).

Results for Formulation A versus Formulation L

Claims (9)

1. High foaming, non-ionic surfactant based liquid detergent for light duty (fine cleaning) containing approximately, by weight, (a) 10% to 30% of water-soluble nonionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of primary and secondary C6 to C18 alkanol condensates with 5 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide, condensates of C8 to C18 alkylphenol with 5 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide, condensates of C8 to C20 alkanol with a heterocyclic mixture of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide with a weight ratio of ethylene oxide to propylene oxide of 2.5:1 to 4:1 and a total alkylene oxide content of 60% to 85% by weight, and condensates of 2 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide with sorbitan mono- and -tri-C₁₀- to C₂₀- alkanoic acid esters with an HLB of 8 to 15, (b) 1% to 10% of water soluble anionic detergent selected from the group consisting of C8 to C18 alkyl sulfates, C8 to C16 alkyl benzene sulfonates, C10 to C20 paraffin sulfonates, C10 to C24 alpha-olefin sulfonates and C8 to C18 alkyl sulfosuccinate esters, C8 to C18 acyl isethionates and C8 to C18 acyl taurates, (c) 0.5% to 10% of water-soluble betaine, (d) 1 to 3 wt.% of C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl monoalkanolamide, (e) 1 to 3 wt.% of C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl dialkanolamide, (f) 1% to 5% of water-soluble amine oxide and (g) the balance being water as an aqueous medium in which the nonionic surfactant, the anionic detergent, the betaine, the C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl monoalkanolamide, the C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyl dialkanolamide and the amine oxide are solubilized, the sum of B, C, D, E and F comprising from 15% to 48% by weight of the composition and the nonionic surfactant accounts for more than 50% by weight of the total surfactant content. 2. The liquid detergent composition of claim 1, further comprising from 1% to 15% by weight of a solubilizing agent which is a water-soluble salt of C1 to C3 substituted benzenesulfonate hydrotropes and mixtures thereof. 3. A liquid detergent composition according to claim 2, wherein the nonionic surfactant is a condensate of primary C8 to C18 alkanol with 5 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide. 4. The liquid detergent composition of claim 3, wherein the anionic detergent is selected from the group consisting of C₁₂ to C₁₆ alkyl sulfates, C₁₀ to C₁₅ alkylbenzenesulfonates, C₁₃ to C₁₇ paraffinsulfonates, and C₁₂ to C₁₈ α-olefinsulfonates. 5. The liquid detergent composition of claim 1, wherein the nonionic surfactant is present in an amount of 16% to 22% by weight, the anionic detergent is present in an amount of 2% to 9% by weight, and the betaine is present in an amount of 2% to 9% by weight. 6. A liquid detergent composition according to claim 5, wherein the anionic detergent is a C₁₂ to C₁₆ alkyl sulfate. 7. A liquid detergent composition according to claim 1, further containing preservatives. 6. Liquid detergent composition according to claim 1, further containing color stabilizer. 9. A liquid detergent composition according to claim 1, wherein the C₁₂₋₁₄ alkylmonoalkanolamide is a C₁₂₋₁₄ alkylmonoethanolamide and the C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyldialkanolamide is a C₁₂₋₁₄ alkyldiethanolamide.