EP0410054A1

EP0410054A1 - A cleansing composition and a process for preparing the same

Info

Publication number: EP0410054A1
Application number: EP89307680A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ching-Teng Chen; May-Ying Lee; Chi-Hsiung Shih
Original assignee: CHEN CHING TENG; LEE MAY YING; SHIH CHI HSIUNG
Current assignee: CHEN CHING TENG; LEE MAY YING; SHIH CHI HSIUNG
Priority date: 1989-07-27
Filing date: 1989-07-27
Publication date: 1991-01-30

Abstract

This invention relates to a cleansing composition which is not harmful to human skin and is environmentally safe. The composition may be prepared by mixing mint oil, lemon oil, rhubarb powder, rice powder, and additives together to form a mixture to which is then added an equal volume of cryolite powder treated water to form the finished product. The cleansing composition does not contain irritant, toxic, or corrosive substances. The composition can be used for cleaning utensils, leather, glass, clothes, tiles, walls and wooden furniture. The composition provides a sterilizing effect and facilitates the treatment of the waste-water of houses and factories.

Description

This invention relates to a cleansing composition and a process for its preparation. More specifically, this invention comprises a multipurpose cleanser with a highly efficient cleansing function for both household and industrial uses which will not cause any pollution problems.
There are various types of cleansers available in the market today. Most of these cleansers, especially those for industrial uses, contain strongly basic surface active agents which are harmful to the human skin. In other cases, in order to improve the cleansing effect of these cleansers, phosphorus- or nitrogen-containing builders are added to the cleansers. Although they are highly effective, they also happen to be industrial chemicals that contribute to environmental problems.
In addition to the above-mentioned drawbacks, most conventional cleansers are prepared with their unique properties and therefore suitable only for the cleansing of specific articles. For example, cleansers for clothing are not usually suitable for washing household utensils because any clothing cleanser residue which is retained on the utensil will adversely affect the human body. Therefore the versatility of individual conventional cleansers is limited and particular care must be taken in the selection of the appropriate cleanser for the article to be cleaned. Moreover, if one wants to clean an article consisting of both metal and leather, one very likely suffers the inconvenience of having to use different types of cleansers because a cleanser for cleansing metal may not be suitable for the leather portion of the article.
An object of the invention is to provide a multipurpose cleansing agent composition and a process for preparing the same.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cleansing agent composition for multipurpose usage and a process for preparing the same.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an environmentally safe cleansing agent composition and a process for preparing the same.
The above-mentioned objects can be achieved according to the present invention by the provision of a composition which comprises mint oil, lemon oil, rhubarb, powdered grain, additives, and water. The ingredients in weight percentage range are listed as follows:

Components Wt%

Mint oil 3-9%

Lemon oil 3-8%

Rhubarb 20-70%

Powdered grain 10-55%

Additives 15%
The powdered grain can be obtained by grinding rice grains. Alternatively, wheat flour and powdered maize can be used in place of the rice powder. The additives may include 1.4% of EDTA, 1.4% of polysorbate-80 (TWEEN 80, ICI Americas Inc.), 3.5% of glyceryl stearate and PEG-100 sterate ( ARLACEL 165, ICI Americas Inc.), and 8.7% of glycerine. The rhubarb may be in the form of powder. The water may be cryolite-treated water or mineral water.

EXAMPLE

A preferred example of the invention is as follows:

Components Wt%

Mint oil 4%

Lemon oil 4.5%

Rhubarb powder 45.5%

Rice powder 30%

Additives 15%
The above components are mixed and stirred for 24 hours at room temperature in a container. Afterward, the resultant mixture is mixed with an equal volume of cryolite powder treated water to yield a finished product.
It can be appreciated that the composition of the present invention does not contain any irritant, toxic, or corrosive substance and that the chemical properties of all components are gentile and mild. The lemon oil can provide a skin-protective effect, therefore the product is not harmful to the user's skin.
The major components of this composition are rhubarb and rice powder. It has been known for more than two thousand years that rhurbarb has a sterilizing effect. The constituents of rhubarb have been studied since the 19th century. At present, 136 components have been discovered which can be classified in the following seven categories: (I) Anthracene derivatives including (a) anthraquinone derivatives, (b) anthrone derivatives, and (c) dianthrone derivatives; (II) Stilbene derivatives; (III) Naphthalene derivatives; (IV) derivatives of chromones; (V) Phenylbutanone derivatives; (VI) Tannin derivatives including hydrolysable and condensed T derivatives, and (VII) other species. All of the above components have an aromatic portion with polar functional derivatives e.g. -COOH, -CH₂OH, -OH, ketone, glycoside, etc. Together with rice powder which was used to clean household articles in ancient China, these components act as non-ionic surface active agents which are very efficient in the removing of grease and oil from fabrics, dishes, leathers, and metal surfaces and therefore can be widely used as degreasing agents in textile processing, fine fabric, laundering, and in various other industrial applications. Another unique feature is that they are low-sudsing and consequently can be used when a situation requires that a thick level of foam not be formed. These components can also be very efficiently used for wetting, penetrating, emulsifying, dispersing, and scouring. In addition, the components not only are biodegradable so that undesirable effects of accumulation can be avoided but are also effective disinfectants.
Furthermore, the composition of the present invention can be used as a multipurpose cleanser for cleansing different types of articles, wiping and cleaning different types of surfaces at the same time and saving 95% of the water usually required for rinsing conventional cleansers from cloth materials, while also conferring a sterlising effect on the articles cleansed and facilitating the treatment of the waste-water of private houses and factories.
In summary, according to our experiments, the composition of the present invention has been proved to provide the following highly efficient cleansing effects:

1. The composition can be used for cleansing any type of utensil with high efficiency.
2. The composition can be used to wipe and clean surfaces composed of metal, wood, leather, plastic, glass, ceramic, and porcelain, etc., making these surfaces bright and shiny.
3. The composition can be used for cleansing floors.
4. The composition can be used for cleansing automobiles. Automobiles cleaned with the composition of this invention do not require further polishing with car wax.
5. The composition can be used for washing clothes. Clothing washed with the composition of this invention are soft and does not cause static electricity.

According to our experiments, it has been found that the amount of this composition needed for cleansing is only about 60% that of the amount of other conventional cleansers to achieve the same effect. The composition of the present invention had been tested and it was found that it creates considerably low amount of foam and the utensils thus washed therewith are bright and shiny. Experiments have also proved that the composition of this invention is most effective when used at a temperature of 50 to 70 deg C.
With the invention thus explained, it is apparent that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be limited only as indicated in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cleansing composition comprising: Components Wt % (based on total weight) Mint oil 3 - 9% Lemon oil 3 - 8% Rhubarb 20 - 70% Powdered grain 10 - 55% Additives about 15% water suitable amount

2. A cleansing composition as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the amount of said mint oil is 5% by weight per total weight of the composition.

3. A cleansing composition as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the amount of said lemon oil is 4.5% by weight per total weight of the composition.

4. A cleansing composition as claimed in any one of Claims 1-3, wherein the amount of said rhubarb is 45.5% by weight per total weight of the composition.

5. A cleansing composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the amount of said powdered grain is 30% by weight per total weight of the composition.

6. A cleansing composition as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein said powdered grain is obtained by grinding grain.

7. A cleansing composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said grain is selected from rice, maize and wheat.

8. A cleansing composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said water is mineral water or cryolite-treated water.

9. A cleansing composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said additives comprise glycerine, an emulsifier, a foaming agent and/or a surface active agent.