EP0846158A1

EP0846158A1 - Cleaning composition containing an aliphatic hydrocarbon compound with at least two aromatic substituents

Info

Publication number: EP0846158A1
Application number: EP96927094A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jean-Luc Joye; Marie-Madeleine Vincent
Original assignee: Rhodia Chimie SAS
Current assignee: Rhodia Chimie SAS
Priority date: 1995-07-31
Filing date: 1996-07-26
Publication date: 1998-06-10
Also published as: US5773398A; FR2737499A1; FR2737499B1; NO980376D0; AU6703896A; WO1997005231A1; NO980376L

Abstract

A cleaning composition comprising, by volume, 1-99 % of at least one compound (a) including a straight or branched hydrocarbon chain that is saturated or has at least one unsaturation, and at least two aryl or alkylaryl radicals, wherein the aromatic ring of at least two aryl and/or alkylaryl radicals has 6 carbon atoms; and 99-1 % of at least one polar aprotic compound (b) that is at least partially soluble in water and in compound (a).

Description

CLEANING COMPOSITION BASED ON AN ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBON COMPOUND COMPRISING AT LEAST TWO AROMATIC SUBSTITUTES

The present invention relates to a composition for cleaning objects soiled with oils or greases.

The first degreasing compositions used were based on chlorinated solvents such as 1-trichloro, 1.1 ethane (T.1.1.1.), Or compounds of the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) type. This type of solvent has various advantages, such as being efficient and inexpensive. In addition, these compounds are light, therefore easily removable from the support which has just been treated. Another advantage is linked to their non-flammable nature, thus enabling the support to be treated hot.

However, cleaning compositions based on these solvents can cause damage to the environment and more particularly to the ozone layer, moreover, the Montreal protocol aims to stop the use of T.1.1.1 and CFCs normally at the end of 1995. This is why it is important to find substitutes for the solvents mentioned above.

The object of the present invention is to provide a composition which is effective for cleaning any type of support, which can be produced hot and cold. It therefore consists of a cleaning composition comprising by volume:

- 1 to 99% of at least one compound (a) comprising a hydrocarbon chain, linear or branched, saturated or having at least one unsaturation, and comprising at least two aryl and / or alkylaryl radicals, the aromatic nucleus of at least two aryl and / or alkylaryl radicals comprising 6 carbon atoms, - 99 to 1% of at least one polar aprotic compound (b) at least partially soluble in water and in compound (a).

The composition according to the invention has many advantages. It is in particular non-flammable, which makes it possible to carry out treatments at relatively high temperatures without risk. Furthermore, it has a very important degreasing power and can be rinsed off easily, that is to say by a simple rinsing with water. This was not obvious since one of the compounds entering into the composition according to the invention is a heavy product, not soluble in water and therefore difficult to rinse.

Furthermore, the composition according to the invention has a high fat dissolving power, which makes it possible to clean many parts. In addition, the composition according to the invention is stable over time. However, other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly on reading the description and the examples which follow. The composition according to the invention therefore contains at least one first compound, compound (a), having an aliphatic hydrocarbon chain substituted by at least two radicals of the aryl and / or alkylaryl types.

More particularly, the aliphatic chain of compound (a) comprises 3 to 12 carbon atoms. Preferably, said chain has 4 to 10 carbon atoms. It should be noted that these values are given taking into account the longest hydrocarbon chain in the molecule, excluding substituents.

As indicated, the aliphatic hydrocarbon chain of compound (a) is substituted by at least two aryl and / or alkylaryl groups. According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the aromatic nucleus of at least two aryl and / or alkylaryl radicals contains 6 carbon atoms.

The alkyl part (s) of the abovementioned alkylaryl radical (s) are preferably C1-C4. In such a case, the bond between the alkylaryl substituent and the hydrocarbon chain of compound (a) can take place via one of the carbon atoms of the alkyl part substituting said aromatic ring, or even directly by l 'one of the carbon atoms of the aromatic nucleus. According to a preferred variant of the invention, the bond is produced via one of the carbon atoms of the aromatic ring. A particular embodiment of the invention consists in using a compound (a) comprising at least two substituents of aryl type as defined above, that is to say of which at least two of the aromatic rings have 6 atoms of carbon. Preferably, compound (a) comprises two aryl radicals, each of which contains 6 carbon atoms. The aliphatic hydrocarbon chain of compound (a), in addition to the substituents of the aforementioned type, can comprise other substituents such as alkyl radicals.

According to a particular embodiment, the alkyl radicals contain 1 to 4 carbon atoms, the methyl group being preferred.

The compound (a) forming part of the cleaning composition of the invention also has a saturated hydrocarbon chain or comprising at least one unsaturation.

According to a first variant, said chain of compound (a) has at least one unsaturation. A particularly advantageous compound for the implementation of this variant consists of 2,4-diphenyl, 2-methyl pentene 3.

According to a second variant embodiment of the present invention, the compound (a) has a saturated hydrocarbon aliphatic chain. As the compound of this type, use is preferably made of 2,4-diphenyl, 2-methyl pentane.

Obviously, it would not be departing from the scope of the present invention to use a mixture of the aforementioned types of compounds (a). The second constituent of the composition according to the invention consists of a polar aprotic compound (b) at least partially soluble in water and in the compound (a).

According to a first category of compound (b), mention may be made of C1-C4 dialkyl esters of at least one C4-C6 aliphatic diacid.

The mixture of diacid esters are esters derived essentially from glutaric and succinic adipic acids, the alkyl groups of the ester part being especially chosen from methyl and ethyl groups, but which can also be propyl, isopropyl, butyl, n-butyl and isobutyl. As indicated above, the C4 to Ce diacids above are in fact the by-products of the preparation of adipic acid which is one of the main monomers of polyamides, and the dialkyl esters are obtained by esterification of this by-product which generally contains by weight from 15 to 30% of succinic acid, from 50 to 75% of glutaric acid and from 5 to 25% of adipic acid. Diacid esters are commercially available products.

As commercial products, there may be mentioned more particularly Rhodiasolv RPDE® marketed by the company Rhône-Poulenc and "Du Pont Dibasic Esters®" marketed by the Company Du Pont de Nemours.

According to a second category of compound (b), mention may be made of alkylene glycol ethers. More particularly, the ether part has a carbon number between 1 and 6 and can be of the aromatic or preferably aliphatic type.

By way of example of such compounds, there may be mentioned the methyl ether of ethylene glycol, the ethyl ether of diethylene glycol, the methyl ether of propylene glycol, the methyl ether of dipropylene glycol, the methyl ether. diethylene glycol, methyl ether of tripropylene glycol.

Compounds of this category are sold in particular by the company Dow under the name Dowanol®.

Again, it is entirely conceivable to use a mixture of the two aforementioned categories of compounds (b) without departing from the scope of the present invention. However, preferably, the composition according to the invention comprises, as compound (b), at least one product of the first category mentioned.

As indicated above, the amount of compound (a), expressed in volume, varies between 1 and 99%, the complement to 100% being compound (b).

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the amount of compound (a) is between 5 and 70%, the complement to 100% being compound (b).

A preferred embodiment of the invention consists in using a mixture of 10 to 50% of compound (a). Even more preferably, the composition according to the invention comprises 10 to 40% in compound (a), the complement to 100% being provided by compound (b).

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, the content of compound (a) is less than 50%, the complement being provided by compound (b). The cleaning composition according to the present invention may further comprise various additives.

Among these, there may be mentioned anionic or nonionic surfactants.

As examples of anionic surfactants, mention may be made of the water-soluble salts of alkylsulphates, of alkylethersulphates, the alkylisethionates and the alkyltaurates or their salts, the alkylcarboxylates, the alkylsulphosuccinates or the alkylsuccinamates, the alkylsarcosinates, the alkyl derivatives d protein hydrolysates, acylaspartates, phosphates, alkyl esters and / or alkyl ether and / or alkylaryl ether; the cation being an alkali or alkaline earth metal (sodium, potassium, lithium, magnesium), a substituted or unsubstituted ammonium residue (methyl-, dimethyl-, trimethyl-, tetramethylammonium, dimethylpiperidinium ...) or derived from an alkanolamine

(monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine ...).

By way of example of nonionic surfactants, mention may be made of polyoxyalkylene derivatives of aliphatic or arylaliphatic alcohols, fatty acids, triglycerides, sorbitan esters, fatty amines, alkylpolysaccharides having a hydrophobic group. in C6-C30, preferably in CI Q-CI S and a polysaccharide group, for example polyglycoside, as hydrophilic group as well as from 1 to 3 sugar units, the alkyl derivatives of amino sugars, such as the alkylglucamides produced by the reaction of amidation of a fatty acid on N-methylglucamine. These surfactants can be used alone or as a mixture. According to a particular embodiment, surfactants of the nonionic type are used. Preferably, oxyalkylene surfactants are used, that is to say comprising oxyethylenated and / or oxypropylenated units.

The number of oxyethylene (OE) and / or oxypropylene (OP) units of these nonionic surfactants usually varies from 2 to 100 depending on the HLB (hydrophilic / lipophilic balance) desired. Preferably, the number of OE and / or OP units is between 2 and 50.

The ethoxylated or ethoxy-propoxylated fatty alcohols generally have from 6 to 22 carbon atoms, the OE and OP units being excluded from these numbers, and are preferably ethoxylated. The ethoxylated or ethoxy-propoxylated triglycerides can be triglycerides of plant or animal origin. Thus suitable for the invention lard, tallow, peanut oil, butter oil, cottonseed oil, linseed oil, olive oil, palm, grapeseed oil, fish oil, soybean oil, castor oil, rapeseed oil, coconut oil, coconut oil. Preferably these products are ethoxylated.

The term ethoxylated triglyceride is intended in the present invention, both the products obtained by ethoxylation of a triglyceride with ethylene oxide as those obtained by trans-esterification of a triglyceride with a polyethylene glycol.

The ethoxylated or ethoxy-propoxylated fatty acids are esters of fatty acids (such as for example oleic acid, stearic aid) and are preferably ethoxylated.

The ethoxylated or ethoxy-propoxylated sorbitan esters are cyclized sorbitol esters of fatty acids from C ₁₀ to C ₂ o such as lauric acid, stearic acid or oleic acid, and are preferably ethoxylated.

Likewise, the term ethoxylated fatty acid includes both the products obtained by ethoxylation of a fatty acid with ethylene oxide and those obtained by esterification of a fatty acid with a polyethylene glycol.

Ethoxylated or ethoxy-proproxylated fatty amines generally have from 10 to 22 carbon atoms, the OE and OP units being excluded from these numbers, and are preferably ethoxylated.

The ethoxylated or ethoxy-propoxylated alkylphenols generally have 1 or 2 alkyl groups, linear or branched, having 4 to 12 carbon atoms, in particular octyl, nonyl or dodecyl. As examples of nonionic surfactants from the group of ethoxy or ethoxy-propoxylated alkylphenols, ethoxylated di (phenyl-1 ethyl) phenols and ethoxy or ethoxy-propoxylated tri (phenyl-ethyl) phenols, include in particular di (1-phenyl ethoxhenol ethoxylated with 5 EO units, di (1-phenyl ethyDphenol ethoxylated with 10 EO units, tri (1-phenyl ethyphenol ethoxylated with 16 EO units, tri (1-phenyl ethyDphenol ethoxylated with 20 EO units, tri (1-phenyl ethyDphenol ethoxylated with 25 EO units, tri (phenyl-1 ethyDphenol ethoxylated with 40 EO units, tri (phenyl-1 ethy-ethoxy-propoxylated with 25 EO + OP units, nonylphenol ethoxylated with 2 EO units, ethoxylated nonylphenol with 4 EO units, ethoxylated nonylphenol with 6 EO units, ethoxylated nonylphenol with 9 EO units, ethoxypropoxylated nonylphenols with 25 EO + OP units, ethoxypropoxylated nonylphenols with 30 EO units + OP, nonylp ethoxy-propoxylated henols with 40 EO + OP units, ethoxy-propoxylated nonylphenols with 55 EO + OP units, ethoxy-propoxylated nonylphenols with 80 EO + OP units.

Generally, the content of additive of the surfactant type is between 0.1 and 10% by volume relative to the total volume of the composition. Preferably, this content is between 0.5 and 5% by volume with respect to the same reference.

The composition according to the invention can also comprise a thickening additive. Conventional thickening agents can be used such as, for example, cellulose derivatives (ethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose), xanthan, guar, locust bean gums, alginates, polyacrylates, starches, modified starches and modified clays. The content of thickening additive generally varies between 0.5 and 10% by volume relative to the total volume of the composition. Preferably, the amount of thickening additive is between 1 and 3%.

The composition according to the invention can also comprise abrasive particles. It is possible in particular to use particles based on aluminum oxide, on silica, on silicon carbide, on tungsten carbide or on silicon carbonitride, or a mixture thereof.

The quantity of abrasive particles varies over a wide range and will be determined by a person skilled in the art according to the nature of the support to be treated.

The compositions according to the invention therefore allow the cleaning of all types of oils, greases and lubricants, of vegetable, mineral or animal origin.

The media to be cleaned can be very varied in nature. Thus, the composition according to the invention makes it possible to treat metals and their alloys such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, iron, but also plastics and mineral glasses. The present invention is in fact suitable for cleaning printed circuits, without the risk of destroying said support.

The cleaning process using the composition according to the invention consists in bringing the support to be cleaned into contact with said composition. This contacting is carried out according to conventional methods, such as spraying or immersion with or without agitation. The cleaning operation can be carried out either hot or cold.

Thus, temperatures of the order of 5 to 80 ° C. or even above are suitable for this operation. It should be noted that the composition of the invention has a very significant advantage due to its non-flammable nature. Thus, it is possible to work at relatively high temperatures without risk. The contact time of the support and of the composition varies within wide limits and depends on the nature of the grease to be removed. However, as an indication, the contact time is between a few seconds to 60 minutes.

The composition of the present invention allows total degreasing of the support.

Once the contact has been made, the support is rinsed with water. Another advantage of the composition according to the invention, and more particularly of the composition comprising up to 40% by volume of compound (a), resides in the solubility of the latter with respect to the fats to be eliminated. In fact, the hot solubility of the oils in this composition is much greater than the cold solubility. Through Consequently, the object to be cleaned is first brought into hot contact with the composition according to the invention, which is advantageous since the degreasing capacity of the composition is very high in this case. Then, once the composition is saturated with oil or contains a large amount thereof, it suffices to cool the bath comprising the composition and said fats to obtain a phase separation. Thus, the recycling of the composition is facilitated since a simple decanting operation followed by a separation step is sufficient to recover the composition according to the invention and to reuse it in a new cleaning operation.

Concrete but nonlimiting examples of the invention will now be presented.

EXAMPLE 1

This example illustrates the degreasing at room temperature of a CTotal 200 Neutral® paraffinic oil) with a composition comprising 2,4-diphenyl, 2-methyl-pentane.

The degreasing composition is as follows (% by volume): 50% of 2,4-diphenyl, 2-methyl-pentane, 50% of RPDE 2% of nonylphenol 10 OE (relative to the total volume of compounds (a) and (b )).

The present composition makes it possible to dissolve up to 50% by weight of Total 200 Neutral® paraffinic oil.

The substrate used is a steel plate (Q-panel type R) previously cleaned. To be greased, the plate is immersed for two minutes in the oil, then stored for 6 hours.

The greased plate is then immersed in the cleaning composition, cited above, for 15 seconds, at room temperature. This is the time required to completely remove the paraffinic oil from the plate.

The solvent film is then removed by rinsing under a stream of running water for 20 seconds on each side (flow rate: 2 l / min, temperature 17 ° C).

The cleanliness of the plate is evaluated by means of the water film test (Water Break test, ASTM F22-65.1992). The assigned score is 4 (on a scale from 0 to 4), which means that there is no residual trace of organic compound (composition and oil).

It can therefore be seen that the composition according to the invention has, on the one hand, a very high capacity for dissolving oils, that it has very good degreasing power and that the solvent film can be removed quickly and efficiently.

EXAMPLE 2

This example illustrates the hot degreasing of a plate comprising paraffinic oil (Total 200 Neutral®) with a composition comprising 2,4-diphenyl, 2-methyl-pentane.

The degreasing composition is as follows (% by volume): 30% of 2,4-diphenyl, 2-methyl-pentane, 70% of RPDE 2% of nonylphenol 10 OE (relative to the total volume of compounds (a) and (b )).

The procedure described in Example 1 is reproduced, except that the immersion takes place at 60 ° C.

The immersion time required to obtain complete degreasing of the plate is 15 seconds.

The composition makes it possible to dissolve at this temperature up to 50% by weight at 60 ° C and 5% by weight of oil at room temperature. This low cold solubility makes it possible to facilitate the operations of recycling the composition, after phase separation.

It can therefore be seen that the composition according to the present invention has very good degreasing power and that the solvent film can be removed quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, it has a variable oil solubilization capacity depending on temperatures, allowing both to solubilize large quantities when hot and to be easily recyclable by separation of the cold phases.

Claims

1) Cleaning composition comprising by volume:

- 1 to 99% of at least one compound (a) having an aliphatic hydrocarbon chain substituted by at least two aryl and / or alkylaryl radicals, the aromatic nucleus of at least two aryl and / or alkylaryl radicals comprising 6 carbon atoms ,

- 99 to 1% of at least one polar aprotic compound (b) at least partially soluble in water and in compound (a).

2) Composition according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the content of compound (a) is between 5 and 70%, the complement to 100% being provided by compound (b), preferably, the content of compound (a ) is between 10 and 50%.

3) Composition according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the content of compound (a) is between 10 and 40%, the complement to 100% being provided by the compound (b).

4) Composition according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the compound (a) has an aliphatic hydrocarbon chain comprising 3 to 12 carbon atoms, and preferably 4 to 10 carbon atoms.

5) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compound (a) comprises at least two radicals of aryl type.

6) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compound (a) is 2,4-diphenyl, 2-methyl-pentane.

7) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compound (a) is 2,4 - diphenyl, 2 - methyl, pentene 3.

8) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compound (b) is chosen from C1-C4 dialkyl esters of at least one C4-C6 aliphatic diacid.

9) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compound (b) is chosen from alkylene glycol ethers. 10) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises in at least one nonionic or anionic surfactant, in a content of between 0.1 and 10% by weight.

11) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one nonionic surfactant preferably chosen from ethoxylated or ethoxy-propoxylated alkylphenols and ethoxylated or ethoxypropoxylated fatty alcohols.

12) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also comprises 0.5 to 10% by weight of a thickening agent.

13) Composition according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also comprises abrasive particles.