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
  • C11D1/00—Detergent compositions based essentially on surface-active compounds; Use of these compounds as a detergent
  • C11D1/66—Non-ionic compounds
  • C11D1/83—Mixtures of non-ionic with anionic compounds
• • 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
  • C11D1/00—Detergent compositions based essentially on surface-active compounds; Use of these compounds as a detergent
  • C11D1/02—Anionic compounds
  • C11D1/12—Sulfonic acids or sulfuric acid esters; Salts thereof
  • C11D1/123—Sulfonic acids or sulfuric acid esters; Salts thereof derived from carboxylic acids, e.g. sulfosuccinates
• • 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
  • C11D1/00—Detergent compositions based essentially on surface-active compounds; Use of these compounds as a detergent
  • C11D1/66—Non-ionic compounds
  • C11D1/72—Ethers of polyoxyalkylene glycols

Definitions

• This invention relates to a detergent composition, in particular to a detergent composition for washing fabrics.
• Fabric washing compositions contain, as an essential ingredient, a detergent active system whose role is to assist in the removal of soil from fabric and its suspension in the wash liquor.
• Suitable detergent active materials fall into a number of classes, including anionic, nonionic and cationic materials and marketed products contain materials selected from one or more of these classes.
• dialkylsulphosuccinates A known group of compounds which fall into the class of anionic detergent active materials are the dialkylsulphosuccinates. These materials have been used as detergent active materials in products for other cleaning purposes, such as in dishwashing compositions. However, dialkylsulphosuccinates have not found favour in fabric washing compositions.
• dialkylsulphosuccinates in fabric washing can be achieved by specific selection of alkyl substituent groups, mixing with nonionic detergent active material, and washing in the presence of a predetermined level of electrolyte.
• a method of laundering fabrics which comprises laundering the fabric in an aqueous liquor which is a solution of a surfactant system comprising a mixture of:
• dialkylsulphosuccinate is symmetrical, i.e. both substituent alkyl groups contain the same number of carbon atoms. It is then possible for other dialkylsulphosuccinate molecules, with alkyl substituents of different chain length or with unsymmetrical substituents, to be present also. It is preferred however, that of all dialkylsulphosuccinate molecules present at least 55% of the alkyl chains, preferably at least 70% of the alkyl chains are of the same length.
• the optimum chain length for the alkyl substituents is related to the nature of the nonionic surfactant which is also present as an essential component of the compositions of the invention. It is preferred that the nonionic surfactant has an HLB above 10.5, preferably above 11. With such nonionic surfactant we have found optimum performance for diC9 alkylsulphosuccinate in which the C9 alkyl groups are of branched chain configuration.
• the weight ratio between the dialkylsulphosuccinate and the nonionic surfactant lies between 10:1 and 1:10, preferably between 7:1 and 1:7, most preferably between 4:1 and 1:4, in order to obtain the benefits of the invention.
• compositions of the invention In order for the compositions of the invention to exhibit optimum performance in the washing of fabrics, it is essential that sufficient electrolyte be present in the wash liquor.
• the appropriate quantity of electrolyte is suitably defined as a minimum ionic strength of 0.04 moles/litre.
• Ionic strength is related to concentration but takes account of the numbers of ions in a molecule and multiple charged ions.
• ionic strength is the same as the molar concentration. This is not so where more than two ions or multiple charges are involved.
• a 1 molar solution of sodium carbonate contains 2 moles/litre of sodium ions and 1 mole/litre of carbonate ions carrying a double charge.
• ionic strength is given in "Physical Chemistry" by Walter J. Moore, 4th Ed. 1963. Preferred ionic strength is from 0.05 to 1 mole/litre. It may be the case that both ionic strength and electrolyte concentration will exceed 0.04 moles/litre. Electrolyte concentration should not exceed 0.5 molar. A concentration below 0.2 molar is likely.
• the wash liquor will be formed by adding to water a detergent composition containing the surfactant system and electrolyte.
• the level of electrolyte in a wash liquor is a parameter which, in practice, is determined by the level of water-soluble salts in the detergent composition and the dosage for the composition.
• Detergent compositions are generally used in amounts greater than 1 gram/litre, usually in the range from 4 g/litre to 10 g/litre.
• a detergent composition to provide the required ionic strength when used at such a dosage will generally contain from 25% to 95% by weight of water-soluble salts (although the lower end of that weight range may necessitate dosage at a relatively high level).
• a detergent composition suitable for washing fabrics comprising: 2 to 50% by weight of a surfactant system which is a mixture of:
• the balance of the composition can be provided by other ingredients conventionally encountered in compositions for laundering fabrics.
• Preferred amounts of surfactant in the compositions range from 4 or 6% up to 30 or 35% by weight.
• Preferred amounts of water-soluble electrolyte range from 40 or even 50% up to 80 or 90% by weight. All percentages are based on the whole composition.
• the wash liquors and compositions of the invention should be approximately neutral or preferably alkaline, that is when the composition is dissolved at a concentration of 1 g/l (or more) in distilled water at 20°C the pH should desirably be at least 6, preferably at least 8, and yet more preferably at least 10.
• the compositions may include a water-­soluble alkaline salt. This salt may be a detergency builder (as described in more detail below) or a non-­building alkaline material.
• Suitable nonionic surfactants which may be used include alkoxylated materials which are the reaction products of compounds having a hydrophobic group and a reactive hydrogen atom, for example aliphatic alcohols, acids, amides or alkyl phenols with alkylene oxides, especially ethylene oxide either alone or with propylene oxide.
• alkoxylated nonionic detergent compounds are alkyl (C6-C22) phenols-ethylene oxide condensates, the condensation products of aliphatic (C8-C18) primary or secondary linear or branched alcohols with ethylene oxide, and products made by condensation of ethylene oxide with the reaction products of propylene oxide and ethylenediamine.
• Alkylene oxide adducts of fatty materials are preferably used as the nonionic surfactants.
• the number of alkylene oxide groups per molecule has a considerable effect upon the HLB of the nonionic surfactant.
• the chain length and nature of the fatty material is also influential, and thus the preferred number of alkylene oxide groups per molecule depends upon the nature and chain length of the fatty material.
• nonionic surfactants which may be employed include: C8 to C20 fatty acyl dialkanolamides, C6 to C20 alkyl polyglycosides and C6 to C20 alkyl aryl polyglycosides.
• Polyglycosides may have an average of from 1.5 to 10 glycoside residues in the molecule.
• the surfactant system may include other surfactant materials in addition to the specified dialkylsulphosuccinate and nonionic materials. These other surfactant materials may be selected from anionic detergent active materials, zwitterionic or amphoteric detergent active materials or mixtures thereof.
• any such further surfactant materials are present at a level which is no more than a minor amount of the total amount of surfactant in the composition.
• Electrolyte material which is present will generally be a water-soluble salt. This may be such a salt as will provide a benefit in terms of the fabric washing process such as a water-soluble detergency builder salt or a water-soluble alkaline salt. Alternatively the electrolyte may be constituted by a water-soluble filler salt such as sodium sulphate or sodium chloride. Salts from all three classes may be present.
• compositions of the invention contain a detergency builder material
• this may be any material capable of reducing the level of free calcium ions in the wash liquor and will preferably provide the compositions with other beneficial properties such as the generation of an alkaline pH and the suspension of soil removed from the fabric.
• Examples of phosphorus-containing inorganic detergency builders when present, include the water-soluble salts, especially alkali metal pyrophosphates, orthophosphates, polyphosphates and phosphonates.
• Specific examples of inorganic phosphate builders include sodium and potassium tripolyphosphates, ortho phosphates and hexametaphosphates.
• non-phosphorus-containing inorganic detergency builders when present, include water-soluble alkali metal carbonates, bicarbonates, silicates and crystalline and amorphous aluminosilicates. Specific examples include sodium carbonate (with or without calcite seeds), potassium carbonate (with or without calcite seeds), sodium and potassium bicarbonates and silicates.
• organic detergency builders when present, include the alkali metal, ammonium and substituted ammonium polyacetates, carboxylates, polycarboxylates, polyacetyl carboxylates and polyhydroxsulphonates. Specific examples include sodium, potassium, lithium, ammonium and substituted ammonium salts of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, oxydisuccinic acid, melitic acid, benzene polycarboxylic acids and citric acid.
• ingredients already mentioned a number of optional ingredients may also be present.
• other ingredients which may be present in the composition are polymers containing carboxylic or sulphonic acid groups in acid form or wholly or partially neutralised to sodium or potassium salts, the sodium salts being preferred.
• Preferred polymers are homopolymers and copolymers of acrylic acid and/or maleic acid or maleic anhydride.
• polyacrylates, acrylic/maleic acid copolymers, and acrylic phosphinates are examples of other ingredients which may be present in the composition.
• acrylic acid and/or maleic acid or maleic anhydride Of especial interest are polyacrylates, acrylic/maleic acid copolymers, and acrylic phosphinates.
• Suitable polymers include the following: polyacrylic acids, for example Versicol (Trade Mark) E5, E7 and E9 ex Allied Colloids, Narlex (Trade Mark) LD 30 and LD 34 ex National Adhesives and Resins Ltd, Acrysol (Trade Mark) LMW-10, LMW-20, LMW-45 and Al-N ex Röhm & Haas, and Sokalan (Trade Mark) PA-20, PA-40, PA-70 and PA-­110 ex BASF; ethylene/maleic acid copolymers, for example the EMA (Trade Mark) series ex Monsanto; methyl vinyl ether/maleic acid copolymers, for example, Gantrez (Trade Mark) AN 119 and AN 149 ex GAF Corporation; acrylic acid/maleic acid copolymers, for example, Sokalan (Trade Mark) CP4, CP5 and CP7 ex BASF, and the Alcosperse (Trade Mark) series ex Alco; acrylic
• the molecular weights of homopolymers and copolymers are generally 1000 to 150,000, preferably 1500 to 100,000.
• the amount of any polymer may lie in the range from 0.5 to 5% by weight of the composition.
• Other suitable polymeric materials are cellulose ethers such as carboxy methyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, hydroxy alkyl celluloses, and mixed ethers, such as methyl hydroxy ethyl cellulose, methyl hydroxy propyl cellulose, and methyl carboxy methyl cellulose. Mixtures of different cellulose ethers, particularly mixtures of carboxy methyl cellulose and methyl cellulose, are suitable.
• Polyethylene glycol of molecular weight from 400 to 50,000, preferably from 1000 to 10,000, and copolymers of polyethylene oxide with polypropylene oxide are suitable as also are copolymers of polyacrylate with polyethylene glycol.
• Polyvinyl pyrrolidone of molecular weight of 10,000 to 60,000 preferably of 30,000 to 50,000 and copolymers of polyvinyl pyrrolidone with other poly pyrrolidones are suitable.
• Polyacrylic phosphonates and related copolymers of molecular weight 1000 to 100,000, in particular 3000 to 30,000 are also suitable.
• ingredients which may be present in the composition include fabric softening agents such as fatty amines, fabric softening clay materials, lather boosters such as alkanolamides, particularly the monoethanolamides derived from palm kernel fatty acids and coconut fatty acids, lather depressants, oxygen-releasing bleaching agents such as sodium perborate and sodium percarbonate, peracid bleach precursors, chlorine-releasing bleaching agents such as trichloroisocyanuric acid, inorganic salts such as sodium sulphate, and, usually present in very minor amounts, fluorescent agents, perfumes including deodorant perfumes, enzymes such as cellulases, proteases and amylases, germicides and colourants.
• fabric softening agents such as fatty amines, fabric softening clay materials
• lather boosters such as alkanolamides, particularly the monoethanolamides derived from palm kernel fatty acids and coconut fatty acids
• lather depressants oxygen-releasing bleaching agents such as sodium perborate and sodium percarbon
• the detergent compositions according to the invention may be in any suitable form including powders, bars, liquids and pastes.
• suitable liquid compositions may be non-aqueous or aqueous, the latter being either isotropic or lamellar structured.
• the compositions may be prepared by a number of different methods according to their physical form. In the case of granular products they may be prepared by dry-mixing or coagglomeration. Dialkylsulphosuccinate is preferably not subjected to conventional spray-drying, because it is hydrolytically unstable.
• a preferred physical form is a granule incorporating a detergency builder salt. This may be prepared by conventional granulation techniques.
• the specified nonionic surfactants can be liquified by melting or solvent dissolution and sprayed onto preformed base powder granules, rather than including them in the slurry for spray-drying.
• a possible formulation for a granular solid composition of this invention is: % by weight Sodium dialkylsulphosuccinate 9 Nonionic surfactant 4 Sodium tripolyphosphate 24 Sodium alkaline silicate 5 Sodium carbonate 10 Sodium sulphate 23 Sodium perborate monohydrate 8 Moisture and minor constituents -- balance to 100% --
• the following examples compare the soil removal (specifically triolein removal) from fabrics by a variety of compositions.
• wash liquors were used to wash a fabric load in a Tergotometer at a liquor to cloth ratio of 40:1.
• the load consisted of a number of polyester monitors to which had previously been applied an amount of C14 tagged triolein.
• the wash time was 20 minutes with an agitation of 70rpm. Washes were isothermal at 40°C.
• wash liquors were made up containing 1 g/l of the surfactant mixture and with sodium chloride, serving to represent the electrolyte level which would derive from other components of the composition in practice.
• the nonionic surfactant used was a C12 alcohol ethoxylated with approximately 8 moles of ethylene oxide (HLB approximately 13.1).
• both alkyl chains of the dialkylsulphosuccinate used were C8 straight chain alkyl groups.
• the electrolyte concentration was varied; pH was 6.5.
• a fourth experiment used dialkylsulphosuccinate with C7 straight alkyl chains. Results were as set out in the following table.
• Example 1 was repeated at pH10. The higher pH was generated by using as electrolyte 1.8 g/l sodium tripolyphosphate, 0.48 g/l sodium silicate and 3.9 g/l sodium chloride. The results were as given in the following table, which includes Example 1 for comparison.

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Citations (4)

• 1988
  • 1988-10-20 GB GB888824600A patent/GB8824600D0/en active Pending
• 1989
  • 1989-10-02 EP EP19890310067 patent/EP0365170A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1989-10-03 AU AU42515/89A patent/AU608462B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1989-10-06 ZA ZA897629A patent/ZA897629B/xx unknown

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