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
  • C11D17/00—Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties
  • C11D17/04—Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties combined with or containing other objects
  • C11D17/041—Compositions releasably affixed on a substrate or incorporated into a dispensing means
  • C11D17/047—Arrangements specially adapted for dry cleaning or laundry dryer related applications
• • 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
• • 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
  • C11D1/37—Mixtures of compounds all of which are anionic
• • 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
  • C11D1/04—Carboxylic acids or salts thereof
  • C11D1/06—Ether- or thioether carboxylic acids
• • 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
  • C11D1/29—Sulfates of polyoxyalkylene ethers

Definitions

• the present invention relates to fabric conditioning compositions which provide both anti-static and softening benefits to fabrics tumble dried in an automatic clothes dryer, and a process for producing such compositions. Stain guard benefits, stain removal and anti-active build-up benefits are also obtained with these compositions.
• the present invention relates to compositions which may be applied to articles of manufacture to provide anti-static and softening benefits to fabrics dried in an automatic clothes dryer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a non-cationic conditioning composition which provides effective anti-static control through a drying cycle period and articles made therefrom which exhibit good storage stability.
• Non-cationic compositions for dryer sheets comprising a combination of ethoxylated fatty alcohols having from 8 to 22 carbon atoms, anionic surfactant and lipophilic non-surfactant release aids are described in U.S. S/N 08/588,746 (Knowlton et al.).
• the present invention is directed towards the problem of providing alternative non-cationic conditioning compositions which provide effective anti-static and softening benefits.
• compositions based on non-cationic materials have now been discovered providing another means to provide effective fabric conditioning without cationic material.
• the present invention relates to tumble dryer articles having a fabric conditioning composition providing both anti-static and softening benefits in an automatic clothes dryer.
• the composition comprises 25 to 100% of a crypto-anionic surfactant, 0 to 50% of an anionic surfactant, 0 to 75% of a non-surfactant release aid and from 0 up to 25 wt.% of a water or water soluble material, and is substantially cationic free.
• compositions of the invention are composed of selected detergent materials which when combined provide tumble dryer articles having a highly effective performance.
• Specially selected anionic surfactants, possessing a defined nonionic character, hereafter described as "crypto-anionic" surfactants, which are not conventionally used in fabric conditioning, non-surfactant release aids and optional ingredients are combined to form dryer articles with good anti-static and storage properties.
• Anionic surfactants possessing a defined nonionic character and referred to as "crypto-anionic" surfactants are useful in the present invention.
• the nonionic character of the surfactants is preferably described as a noncharged hydrophilic group.
• Non-limiting examples of such noncharged hydrophilic groups are ethylene oxide units, propylene oxide units, propylene and poly propylene glycol groups.
• the compositions of the invention contain such anionic surfactants in an amount of from 25 to 100 wt.%, preferably 30 to 75%, most preferably 35 to 60%.
• crypto-anionic surfactants are useful in the present composition:
• Particularly preferred crypto-anionic surfactants include the water soluble salts of C 12 -C 18 fatty acids containing 3 - 20 moles of ethylene oxide and the water soluble salts of a C 12 - C 18 alcohol sulphate containing 3-20 moles of ethylene oxide.
• compositions of the invention contain an anionic surfactant in an amount of from 0 to 50 wt.%, preferably 4 to 35%, most preferably 5 to 25 wt.%.
• anionic surfactants are useful in the present composition.
• the crypto-anionic surfactants described herein are preferably formulated in combination with mixtures of lipophilic non-surfactant components which are solid or semi-solid at temperatures below 35°C but which soften and flow at automatic dryer temperatures, i.e., 50°C. to 100°C. These materials are referred to as "non-surfactant release aids" for the purposes of the present invention. These materials are not conventionally used as detergents or emulsifiers as found, for example, in McCutcheon's "Detergents and Emulsifiers" North American Edition, 1994 Annual.
• the non-surfactant release aids are used in the compositions in an amount of from 0 to 75 wt.%, more preferably 15 to 60 wt%.
• non-surfactant release aids useful for the invention include but are not limited to:
• Preferred materials include the C 10 -C 22 fatty acids and C 10 -C 20 fatty alcohols.
• water or water-soluble materials in the amount of 0 up to 25%, preferably 3 to 15%, are present.
• Water is the most preferred optional ingredient.
• Water can be added to the composition or can come into the composition as a natural by-product of the neutralization reaction that forms the crypto-anionic and anionic surfactant. It has been found that amounts of water (up to 25 wt.%) can be incorporated into the formula without processing problems, and this inclusion may be commercially useful.
• water-soluble ingredients useful in the present invention include polyhydric alcohols having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, such as propylene glycol, glycerin or sorbitol.
• Additives which may be optionally included in fabric conditioning compositions of the present invention in their conventional levels include optical brighteners or fluorescent agents, antioxidants, colorants, germicides, perfumes, enzymes, bacteriocides, colour care agents, polymeric soil releasing agents and the like.
• the general level of use of any such ingredient is up to 10%; preferably 0.1 to 5 wt.%.
• the present antistatic, fabric softening compositions may be formed by combining pre-determined amounts of pre-neutralized crypto-anionic surfactants and optional anionic surfactants into non-surfactant release aids at temperature in the range of 100 - 210°F.
• the optional ingredients may be added to the mixture at any step of the process, but it is preferred that it be added at the end of the process.
• the pre-neutralized crypto-anionic surfactants and optional pre-neutralized anionic surfactants may also be added as aqueous solutions to simplify the mixing operation. The excess water is removed by evaporation during the mixing step at operation temperature of 100 - 210°F.
• the preferred method is to prepare the present composition by (a) pre-mixing the crypto-anionic acid, optional anionic acid and release aids, (b) neutralize the crypto-anionic and optional anionic surfactants with a corresponding stoichiometric amount of alkaline agents at a temperature in the range of 100 - 210°F. Further modification of the composition can be achieved by adding additional pre-neutralized crypto-anionic surfactants, optional anionic surfactants, release aids and optional ingredients into the composition and mix at temperatures of 100 - 210°F.
• the final product is a transparent isotropic liquid having a viscosity of less than 1,000 cps at 180°F, preferably less than 200 cps at 180°F.
• the conditioning composition of the present invention may be coated onto a flexible substrate which carries a fabric conditioning amount of the composition and is capable of releasing the composition at dryer operating temperature.
• the conditioning composition in turn has a preferred melting (or softening) point of 25°C. to 150°C.
• the fabric conditioning composition which may be employed in the invention is coated onto a dispensing means which effectively releases the fabric conditioning composition in a tumble dryer.
• a dispensing means which effectively releases the fabric conditioning composition in a tumble dryer.
• Such dispensing means can be designed for single usage or for multiple uses.
• One such multi-use article comprises a sponge material releasable enclosing enough of the conditioning composition to effectively impart fabric softness during several drying cycles.
• This multi-use article can be made by filling a porous sponge with the composition. In use, the composition melts and leaches out through the pores of the sponge to soften and condition fabrics.
• Such a filled sponge can be used to treat several loads of fabrics in conventional dryers, and has the advantage that it can remain in the dryer after use and is not likely to be misplaced or lost.
• Another article comprises a cloth or paper bag releasable enclosing the composition and sealed with a hardened plug of the mixture. The action and heat of the dryer opens the bag and releases the composition to perform its softening.
• the fabric conditioning composition in particulate form is sprinkled over the fabrics in the dryer.
• a highly preferred article comprises the inventive compositions releasably affixed to a flexible substrate such as a sheet of paper or woven or non-woven cloth substrate.
• a flexible substrate such as a sheet of paper or woven or non-woven cloth substrate.
• the sheet conformation has several advantages. For example, effective amounts of the compositions for use in conventional dryers can be easily absorbed onto and into the sheet substrate by a simple dipping or padding process.
• the end user need not measure the amount of the composition necessary to obtain fabric softness and other benefits.
• the flat configuration of the sheet provides a large surface area which results in efficient release and distribution of the materials onto fabrics by the tumbling action of the dryer.
• the substrates used in the articles can have a dense, or more preferably, open or porous structure.
• suitable materials which can be used as substrates herein include paper, woven cloth, and non-woven cloth.
• the term "cloth” herein means a woven or non-woven substrate for the articles of manufacture, as distinguished from the term “fabric” which encompasses the clothing fabrics being dried in an automatic dryer.
• absorbent is intended to mean a substrate with an absorbent capacity (i.e., a parameter representing a substrate's ability to take up and retain a liquid) from 4 to 12, preferably 5 to 7 times its weight of water.
• the absorbent capacity is preferably in the range of 15 to 22, but some special foams can have an absorbent capacity in the range from 4 to 12.
• Absorbent capacity values are then calculated in accordance with the formula given in said Specification. Based on this test, one-ply, dense bleached paper (e.g., Kraft or bond having a basis weight of 32 pounds per 3,000 square feet) has an absorbent capacity of 3.5 to 4; commercially available household one-ply towel paper has a value of 5 to 6; and commercially available two-ply household toweling paper has a value of 7 to 9.5.
• one-ply, dense bleached paper e.g., Kraft or bond having a basis weight of 32 pounds per 3,000 square feet
• absorbent capacity 3.5 to 4
• commercially available household one-ply towel paper has a value of 5 to 6
• commercially available two-ply household toweling paper has a value of 7 to 9.5.
• Suitable materials which can be used as a substrate in the invention herein include, among others, sponges, paper, and woven and non-woven cloth, all having the necessary absorbency requirements defined above.
• the preferred non-woven cloth substrates can generally be defined as adhesively bonded fibrous or filamentous products having a web or carded fiber structure (where the fiber strength is suitable to allow carding), or comprising fibrous mats in which the fibers or filaments are distributed haphazardly or in random array (i.e., an array of fibers in a carded web wherein partial orientation of the fibers is frequently present, as well as a completely haphazard distributional orientation), or substantially aligned.
• the fibers or filaments can be natural (e.g., wool, silk, jute, hemp, cotton, lene, sisal, or ramie) or synthetic (e.g., rayon, cellulose ester, polyvinyl derivative, polyolefins, polyamides, or polyesters).
• Preferred polyester non-woven fabric substrates are prepared from a polyester fiber having a denier of from 2 to 6 as described in Childs et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,470,492.
• the preferred absorbent properties are particularly easy to obtain with non-woven cloths and are provided merely by building up the thickness of the cloth, i.e., by superimposing a plurality of carded webs or mats to a thickness adequate to obtain the necessary absorbent properties, or by allowing a sufficient thickness of the fibers to deposit on the screen.
• Any diameter or denier of the fiber can be used, inasmuch as it is the free space between each fiber that makes the thickness of the cloth directly related to the absorbent capacity of the cloth, and which, further, makes the non-woven cloth especially suitable for impregnation with a composition by means of intersectional or capillary action.
• any thickness necessary to obtain the required absorbent capacity can be used.
• the substrate for the composition is a non-woven cloth made from fibers deposited haphazardly or in random array on the screen, the articles exhibit excellent strength in all directions and are not prone to tear or separate when used in the automatic clothes dryer.
• the amount impregnated into and/or coated onto the absorbent substrate is conveniently in the weight ratio range of from 10:1 to 0.5:1 based on the ratio of total conditioning composition to dry, untreated substrate (fiber plus binder).
• the amount of the conditioning composition ranges from 5:1 to 1:1, most preferably from 3:1 to 1:1, by weight of the dry, untreated substrate.
• the articles of manufacture of the present invention can be used for imparting the above-described fabric treatment composition to fabric to provide anti-static and/or softening effects to fabric in an automatic laundry dryer.
• the method of using the inventive composition is to commingle an effective amount of the fabric conditioning composition with pieces of damp fabric by tumbling the fabrics under heat in an automatic clothes dryer.
• Un-neutralized ethoxylated fatty acid and stearyl alcohol were placed in a glass vessel and heated to 140°F with mixing.
• a 45 w/w% potassium hydroxide aqueous solution was warmed and then added to the ethoxylated fatty acid and stearyl alcohol mix.
• Stearic acid was added to the resulting crypto-anionic surfactant and non-surfactant release aid mixture and mixed until clear. Perfume was added at this time.
• Dryer sheets were prepared by applying the coating mixture to pre-weighed substrate sheets of 6.75 inches x 12 inches dimensions.
• the substrate sheets were comprised of 4 denier spun-bonded polyester.
• the formulation was then coated onto the substrate as conventionally known in the art.
• the sheet was weighed to determine the amount of coating mixture on the sheet.
• the target sheet weight was 1.5 grams. If the weight was either in excess of or less than the target weight, the sheet was passed through the coater to remelt the coating mixture and remove the excess or add additional coating mixture.
• Dryer sheets having the following formulations were prepared as described above.
• Ingredient Sample 1 Sample 2 Potassium salt of C 12 -C 13 fatty acid with 4 moles EO 48.0 - Potassium salt of C 12 -C 15 fatty acid with 11 moles EO - 48.0 Stearyl Alcohol 23.0 24.0 Stearic Acid 14.0 15.0 Water 9.0 8.0 Miscellaneous 6.0 5.0
• dryer sheets were evaluated using an in-situ static measurement methodology.
• the load was washed three times in a commercially available detergent in warm water.
• the load consisted of three 3' x 3' pieces of each of the following fabrics: 100% orlon, 100% acrylic blanket, 100% double knit polyester jersey, 100% single knit polyester lining and 100% nylon.
• the test bundle was then transferred to a Lady Kenmore Heavy Duty dryer which had been previously treated to ensure removal of any prior added anti-static/softener.
• a pre-weighed dryer sheet was added to the load, and the test load plus dryer sheet (if used) was tumble dried for a 60 minute timed heat cycle, which was followed by a 10-minute cool down.
• An electrostatic field meter probe manufactured by Monroe Electronics, NY, was previously mounted onto the inside door of the dryer. At the start of the drying cycle, an electrostatic field meter, also manufactured by Monroe Electronics, NY, was turned on, and the output was sent to a chart recorder. The electrostatic values at 0, 20, 40 and 70 minutes were recorded and tabulated to compare products.
• the maximum absolute value possible for the electrostatic meter is 10. If a value is recorded as 10, then the real electrostatic field value most likely went off the scale of the meter and indicates a highly charged field. In general, if the 20 minute and the 40 minute values are less than 4 and the 70 minute value is less than 6, then the anti-static benefit of the product being tested is considered good. These values were determined from evaluations of commercial products and noting the temperature dependence of static measured in the dryer, i.e., electrostatic charges are generally lower under high heat conditions than at room temperature.
• dryer sheets of the present invention show antistatic properties as good as or at least as comparable as dryer sheets containing typical cationic containing compositions applied to dryer sheets.
• the data also shows that compositions composed of anionic surfactants without nonionic character do not possess antistat properties comparable to commercially available dryer sheets.
• compositions within the scope of the invention were prepared by mixing 1:1 ratio of pre-neutralized crypto-anionic surfactant (60% active) and molten stearic acid at a temperature of 140°F.
• the electrostatic values were determined as described in Example 1 with the results as indicated in Table 4.
• Sample Formula Description 0 20 min 40 min 70 min 7 30 wt. % sodium fatty alcohol ethoxy sulphate 0 4.8 2.4 5.2 10 wt. % water 7 wt. % propylene glycol 3 wt. % ethanol 50 wt. % stearic acid

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• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Detergent Compositions (AREA)
• Detail Structures Of Washing Machines And Dryers (AREA)
• Treatments For Attaching Organic Compounds To Fibrous Goods (AREA)

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Citations (7)

• 1997
  • 1997-09-11 EP EP97307058A patent/EP0831147A3/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 1997-09-12 CA CA 2215371 patent/CA2215371A1/fr not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (7)

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