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
  • C11D3/16—Organic compounds
  • C11D3/20—Organic compounds containing oxygen
  • C11D3/2093—Esters; Carbonates
• • 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
  • C11D1/825—Mixtures of compounds all of which are non-ionic
• • 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
  • C11D1/667—Neutral esters, e.g. sorbitan esters
• • 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
  • C11D1/74—Carboxylates or sulfonates esters of polyoxyalkylene glycols

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the cleaning of birds and aquatic animals oiled as a result of a hydrocarbon oil spill. More particularly, it relates to the cleaning of sea birds and animals.
• the products used for the cleaning operation may not be harmful for the animals and must be environmental friendly (i.e. biodegradable).
• US-A-5215595 to J.P. Popino discloses a method for removing oil from the internal and external surfaces of birds, fish and water fowl or from the internal and external surface of seals, otters and other mammals affected by hydrocarbon oil spills.
• the method comprises internal or external treatment with a composition comprising a preponderance of polyisobutylene.
• EP-A-0648411 to Elf Aquitaine discloses a method and device for cleaning a bird whose plumage has been soiled by pollution, in which the bird is placed in a cage and the bird, with the exception of its head, is subjected to the action of jets of cleaning and rinsing liquid issuing from a plurality of nozzles rotating inside a tank in which said cage is placed.
• the present invention provides a composition for use in the cleaning of oiled aquatic animals and particularly of oiled birds. It also provides for the use of said composition in the cleaning of oiled birds and aquatic animals.
• composition of the invention essentially consists of a mixture of (i) one or more fatty esters and (ii) one or more surface-active agents.
• fatty ester there may be used the ester of a monofunctional alcohol and a monocarboxylic fatty acid.
• the monoalcohol may have from 1 to 18 carbon atoms, preferably from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, more preferably from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and it may be linear or branched.
• the monocarboxylic fatty acid may have from 6 to 22 carbon atoms, preferably from 12 to 18 carbon atoms, and it may be linear or branched.
• the monocarboxylic fatty acid may further contain olefinic unsaturation; saturated C12-C14 and unsaturated C16-C18 monocarboxylic fatty acids and mixtures thereof are most preferred.
• the fatty ester should be liquid at the envisaged operation temperature.
• the fatty ester should have a viscosity below 10 mm2/s, preferably below 5 mm2/s, at 40°C (measured according to DIN standard method 51562).
• the ester should have a Kauri Butanol value (ASTM test method D1133) of at least 30, preferably at least 40, more preferably at least 50.
• esters to be used in the compositions of the invention have no acute toxicity (LD50 > 2000), are not irritating and are readily biodegradable. Also, they are not ecotoxic (96 hours LC50 fish > 100 mg/L).
• surface active agents also called surfactant
• HLB hydrophilic/lipophylic balance
• the preferred surface active agents for use in the invention are selected from the group consisting of polyoxyalkylene esters of fatty acids and mixtures thereof, preferably polyoxyethylene and polyoxypropylene esters.
• the surface active agents to be used in the compositions of the invention have no acute toxicity (LD50 > 2000), are not irritating and are biodegradable.
• compositions of the invention contain at least 40 wt% of the fatty esters, preferably at least 55 wt%, more preferably at least 75 wt% and most preferably at least 90 wt%, the remainder of the composition being essentially the surfactant.
• the composition must be liquid at the envisioned operation temperature.
• the viscosity of the composition should be of at most 80 mm2/s, preferably at most 50 mm2/s, more preferably at most 30 mm2/s, most preferably at most 10 mm2/s, measured at 40°C.
• the method of the invention for removing oil from a bird having oil on its feathers or from an aquatic animal essentially consists of the steps of:
• the application of the composition may be made as usual, e.g. by spraying, by pouring, by dipping or with a brush, including allowing the composition to mix with the oil or, if desired, rubbing the surface of the animal to accelerate the mixing of the composition with the oil.
• compositions of the invention have an appropriate combination of viscosity and solvency power to allow a good and fast penetration on the surface of the animals while dissolving the oil or other hydrocarbon product to be removed from the surface of the animals.
• the resulting mixture is easily emulsified in water; thus, the oil or other hydrocarbon product is easily removed from the surface of the animals.
• This combined effect renders the cleaning operation easier thus shorter, and results in a lower stress for the animals if compared with a cleaning done in traditional ways.
• the time required for cleaning one bird is reduced from about one hour to about ten minutes (under comparable conditions). Consequently, not only is the stress lower for each animal (hence the rate of success higher), but also more animals can be treated.
• the formulation has no adverse effect on the birds and aquatic animals, although the animals will obviously have to rebuild their own external fat protection before being released to nature.
• the oil is thus removed in the form of an oil-in-water emulsion wherein the oily phase comprises fatty esters.
• the dispersed state increases the accessibility to the bacteria that are performing the biodegradation (whether the biodegradation occurs naturally or in wastewater treatment plants).
• the biodegradability of the emulsion is increased (with respect to simple emulsions) as a result of the presence of readily biodegradable products (the fatty esters) that stimulate the metabolism of the bacteria.
• composition and method of the invention was totally unexpected. Using the traditional methods for removing oil from birds, there remained a light brown colour, particularly noticeable on white birds. Using the composition and method of the invention, the birds recover their natural colour, thus indicating that the cleaning is particularly efficient.
• composition and method of the invention are particularly efficient for removing oil from a bird having oil on its feathers
• composition is not ecotoxic (96 hours LC50 fish > 100 mg/L).
• the composition had a low viscosity (less than 30 mm2/s at 40°C).
• the birds (guillemots) treated had been in contact with refined heavy oil and had most of their external surface covered with said oil.
• An effective amount of the composition was applied to the oiled surfaces of the birds during about 5 minutes, which were then washed with tap water. The operation did not take more than ten minutes per bird, and the birds recovered their initial white belly colour.
• Example 1 was repeated with the following composition:
• the composition had a viscosity of 4.5 mm2/s at 40°C.

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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)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Emergency Medicine (AREA)
• Detergent Compositions (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

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Citations (6)

• 2000
  • 2000-01-17 EP EP00100833A patent/EP1116784A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (7)

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