Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
  • C11D—DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
  • C11D3/00—Other compounding ingredients of detergent compositions covered in group C11D1/00
  • C11D3/02—Inorganic compounds ; Elemental compounds
  • C11D3/04—Water-soluble compounds
  • C11D3/08—Silicates
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
  • C11D—DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
  • C11D17/00—Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties
  • C11D17/0039—Coated compositions or coated components in the compositions, (micro)capsules
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
  • C11D—DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
  • C11D3/00—Other compounding ingredients of detergent compositions covered in group C11D1/00
  • C11D3/40—Dyes ; Pigments

Definitions

• the invention relates to coloured granules which can be used as speckles in detergent powders and to a process for manufacturing speckles.
• Coloured granules in detergent compositions are well-known in the art, especially in phosphate containing detergent compositions and the detergent speckles therefore are usually mainly based on soluble inorganic salts like phosphates, especially sodium triphosphate, sodium sulphate or mixtures therefrom, which granules have been coated/impregnated with a solution or dispersion of a colourant i.e. a dye or pigment.
• a colourant i.e. a dye or pigment.
• the speckles are green or blue. Speckles give the detergent composition a more attractive consumer appeal, moreover it is possible to incorporate special purpose ingredients via the speckles in the detergent composition.
• the amount of colourant in the granular material is so low as not to interfere with the washing process, moreover the speckles should be bright coloured and if possible the detergent speckle base material should serve a useful and practical purpose in the detergent composition.
• the detergent speckle base material should serve a useful and practical purpose in the detergent composition.
• the present invention provides coloured detergent speckles satisfying most of the above requirements in the form of granular alkali metal silicate which has been coated with a colourant i.e. a pigment or dye.
• the alkali metal silicate is sodium silicate, more preferably metasilicate and/or disilicate.
• Silicates have the functions of improving the washing effect and of corrosion inhibitor in detergent composition and consequently are a functional additive.
• silicate hydrates as the base material for the speckles according to the present invention and sodium silicate penta- and/or hexahydrate give optimal results.
• sodium silicate penta- and/or hexahydrate give optimal results.
• the base material for the speckles consists substantially of sodium silicate it is, however, also possible to use as the base material for the speckles a mixture of materials in which at least 50% of the dry weight consists ot alkali metal silicate, the remainder being other inorganic materials like eg. zeolite, sodium sulfate or sodium phosphate if the latter can be tolerated in the eventual detergent composition.
• the coloured silicate granules according to the present invention usually have an average particle size of 0.2 - 2mm, preferably from 0.8 to 1.6 mm, diameter. Granules with an spherical shape have advantages and then the diameter is taken to determine the size. Of course the actual size of the speckles desired depends on that of the detergent powder in which the speckles are incorporated.
• the colourant i.e. dye or pigment, which forms a coating on the alkali metal silicate granules is normally present in an amount of 0.1 to 2.0% (w.w.) of the granules.
• the colourant usually is a commercially available dye and compounds like Monastral Blue and Monastral Green + Unidispers Blue (ex CIBA-Geigy) are preferred. (Monastral dyes are ex ICI, England.)
• the coloured detergent speckles are usually incorporated in detergent powders in a level between 0.1 - 5%, preferably between 0.2 and 2.0%, by weight of the total detergent composition.
• the invention extends particularly to the use of sodium silicate having Na2O:SiO2 ratios from 1:1.2 to 1:3.3, preferably 1:1.5 to 1:3.0.
• the higher ratios are generally less preferred because of slower solution.
• the granules of alkali metal silicate can be prepared by a number of suitable procedures, for example metasilicate (Na2O:Silica ratio 1:1) can be granulated in a rotary barrel as described in GB 1149859 (Baker-Holloway).
• silicates in compacted form is particularly valuable for speckles intended for the higher density detergent powder compositions, that is having a bulk density above 700 g/l, preferably above 800 g/l.
• Sodium disilicate can be prepared with a bulk density between 700 and 900 g/l by compaction between rollers.
• Sodium metasilicate can be prepared with a bulk density between 880 and 1,000 g/l using granulation in a rotary barrel.
• a binder eg. silicate solution
• detergent speckles are manufactured by a number of methods.
• One method involved the spray-drying of a special coloured slurry but the obvious disadvantage is that thorough cleaning is required before normal detergent powder can be produced again.
• Another method involved spraying a coloured solution onto a spray-dried detergent powder, but this requires, as the previous method, a large amount of coloured solution.
• a solution of a colourant that also comprises a hydratable salt, preferably a warm and concentrated solution, to facilitate subsequent crystallisation.
• zeolite containing detergent compositions this method was found not quite practical because a high percentage of colourant was required.
• the coloured detergent speckles according to the present invention which are based on alkali metal silicate, can be prepared by spraying under suitable conditions a solution of a colourant on granular alkali metal silicate, which is kept in constant motion so as to avoid caking. This can be done e.g. by carrying out the operation in a fluidized bed, or in a mixer, followed by drying while keeping the granules in constant motion.
• Suitable equipment for this technique comprises fluidized beds, nozzles for the coloured liquid, for hot and cool air, Tellschig*-type mixers consisting of rotating drums and fitted with a spray-nozzle, Loedige-type mixers consisting of fixed drums with an internal scraper fitted with a spray-nozzle, Nauta*-mixers of a type consisting of a conical vessel with a rotating scraper fitted with a spray-nozzle etc. (*stands for tradename).
• the amount of dye solution or pigment suspension sprayed on the alkali metal silicate granules normally lies between 0.1 and 5.0% by weight, preferably between 0.5 - 2.0%, calculated on the alkali metal silicate.
• the particle size distribution of the starting granules determines the size of the coloured speckles and most alkali metal silicate granules are available in various, often uniform or narrow particle size ranges which can be chosen dependent on the size desired in the detergent composition.
• the solution which is sprayed onto the granular alkali metal silicate materiai usually contains from 0.05 to 50% of colourant preferably completely dissolved.
• solubility of e.g. the dye in the solvent to be observed. Water is preferred as the solvent but it is sometimes advantageous to use (aqueous) methanol to increase the solubility of the dye.
• the quantity of liquid sprayed onto the granules is normally between 0.1 and 5%, preferably between 0.5 and 2%, by weight calculated on the silicate and spraying normally is completed within a few minutes to half an hour, 2 to 10 minutes is typical.
• the detergent speckles so obtained are distinctive, of uniform colour, resistant to attrition and have virtually the same particle size distribution as the alkali metal silicate starting granules have.
• alkali metal silicates as a core for speckles is particularly efficient because, for one or more of the reasons,
• 1.5 kg sodium metasilicate pentahydrate granules with a particle size between 0.2 and 1.2 mm was placed in a Loedige mixer of 5 litres. The mixer was switched on and the contents were pre-heated to 35 - 45°C by blowing in hot air with a temperature of 50°C. An aqueous solution containing 25% by weight of Monastral Blue was sprayed onto the granules for 5 minutes. The amount of solution sprayed onto the granules was 1% by weight calculated on the metasilicate. Consequently only 0.25% of dye was used relative to the metasilicate. Drying was also carried out at a temperature of 35-45°C for a period of 20 minutes.
• the water content of the metasilicate was monitored during the drying and kept at around 43% by weight.
• the detergent speckles were then cooled to 20°C by blowing in cool air.
• the detergent speckles thus obtained showed excellent brightness, a deep hue, were uniformly coloured, colour-stable and the original particle size distribution had substantially been retained. Whe mixed in a detergent powder at a level of 1% by weight they imparted an excellent consumer appeal to the product.
• Sodium disilicate Na2O:SiO2 ratio of 1:2 was spray dried to provide granules.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Detergent Compositions (AREA)
• Silicates, Zeolites, And Molecular Sieves (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (7)

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Citations (4)

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• 1989
  • 1989-03-29 JP JP1075264A patent/JPH01299898A/ja active Pending
  • 1989-03-29 AU AU32233/89A patent/AU3223389A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1989-03-29 DE DE68913575T patent/DE68913575T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1989-03-29 EP EP89303091A patent/EP0336635B1/de not_active Revoked
  • 1989-03-30 ZA ZA892357A patent/ZA892357B/xx unknown

Patent Citations (5)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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