EP1155111A2 - Method for producing rapidly disintegrating washing and cleaning agent shaped bodies - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to washing and cleaning agent shaped bodies which are characterized by having both a high degree of hardness and thus stability during transport and handling as well as excellent disintegration properties. The inventive shaped bodies can be produced using a known tabletting process in which the premix to be compacted has a temperature of less than 20 DEG C immediately before compaction.

Description

 'Process for the production of rapidly disintegrating detergent tablets'

The present invention relates to a process for the production of moldings which have washing and cleaning properties. In particular, the invention relates to a method for producing detergent tablets for textile washing in a household washing machine, which are briefly referred to as detergent tablets.

Commercial detergents and cleaning agents are now offered in the form of liquid products or solids. In the latter form of supply, a distinction is made between conventional powders or concentrates, which can be obtained, for example, by granulation or extrusion. Compared to conventional powders, concentrated detergents and cleaning agents have the advantage that less packaging is required and less quantities have to be dosed per wash. The reduced pack sizes also reduce transport and storage costs. The most concentrated form in which detergents and cleaning agents are currently offered on the market in some countries are compressed detergent tablets. While water softeners and machine dishwashing detergents are widely available in this range, textile detergents are faced with a variety of problems that have hitherto hindered widespread use and consumer acceptance. Due to the significantly higher surfactant content, the problems that usually occur in the form of the molded article are exacerbated. Detergent tablets containing alkoxylated nonionic surfactants are particularly problematic because this class of surfactants has a negative effect on the solubility of the tablets - on the other hand, these surfactants are expressly desired because of their high washing power. In particular, the dichotomy between a sufficiently hard molded body and a sufficiently fast disintegration time is a central problem. Since sufficiently stable, that is to say shape and break-resistant molded articles can only be produced by relatively high compression pressures, there is a strong compression of the molded article components and consequent delayed disintegration of the molded article in the aqueous liquor and thus to a slow release of the active substances in the Washing or cleaning process. The delayed disintegration of the moldings has the further disadvantage that conventional detergent tablets cannot be washed in via the washing-in chamber of household washing machines, since the tablets do not disintegrate into secondary particles that are small enough to be washed into the washing drum from the washing-in chamber to become.

A variety of approaches exist in the prior art to solve this problem. In addition to the use of special ingredients to promote disintegration, the coating of individual ingredients or the entire tablet is also proposed. These proposed solutions address the problem to a certain extent "from the recipe side", i.e. certain ingredients are used or the tablet or parts of it are refined with additives. In addition to these "chemical" approaches, there are also proposed solutions to the problem mentioned, which can be carried out independently of the recipe. These "physical" approaches mostly relate to specific embodiments of tableting machines or other process parameters, with the pressing pressure being the focus of interest. It is also proposed that the premixes to be pressed be screened to certain grain fractions, which should result in advantageous properties of the moldings, regardless of the composition of the premix.

For example, EP-A-0 466 484 (Unilever) discloses detergent tablets in which the premix to be compressed has particle sizes between 200 and 1200 μm, the upper and lower limits of the particle sizes not differing by more than 700 μm. Nothing is said in this document about the surface treatment of individual ingredients. EP-A-0 522 766 (Unilever) also relates to moldings made from a compact, particulate detergent composition containing surfactants, builders and disintegration aids (for example based on cellulose), at least some of the particles being coated with the disintegration agent, which is both binder - As well as disintegration effect when dissolving the moldings in water. This document also indicates the general difficulty of producing moldings with adequate stability and good solubility at the same time. The particle size in the mixture to be pressed should be above 200 μm, the upper and lower limits of the individual particle sizes should not differ from one another by more than 700 μm.

DE 40 10 533 (Henkel KGaA) discloses a process for the production of compacts from pre-compressed granules. In this process, the granules produced by extrusion and cutting in a first stage are mixed with other ingredients and auxiliaries and tabletted, if necessary. The proportion of the pre-compacted granules in the compacts is up to 100% in this document. Pretreatment of the optionally used admixing components is not disclosed.

European patent application EP 711 828 (Unilever) claims a process for producing detergent tablets by pressing a particulate composition that contains a binder. The melting point of the binder should be between 35 and 90 ° C and the pressing should take place at temperatures below the melting point but above 28 ° C. This document therefore combines a "chemical" with a "physical" procedure.

The "physical" approaches described above have the advantage that they can be implemented both independently of the composition of the premix and independently of the type of tableting machine used. As a result, the manufacturer can take other framework conditions into account, both in the composition of his detergent tablets and in the purchase or use of his machinery, without being subject to additional restrictions. Nevertheless, the detergent tablets manufactured according to the mentioned documents show So far, there have been disadvantages: Although they have sufficient hardness, they often have disintegration speeds that do not allow dosing via a dispenser of a household washing machine. In the cited prior art documents, dissolution times of less than 10 minutes and residue values of less than 50% are described as good, such values being completely inadequate for the use of detergent tablets via the dispenser.

The present invention was based on the object of providing a method for producing detergent tablets which enables tablets to be produced which are free from the disadvantages mentioned. It should be possible in a simple and highly reproducible manner to be able to produce detergent tablets which have a high hardness but are nevertheless distinguished by a rapid disintegration rate and can also be used via the induction chamber of household washing machines. The specialist should be given the greatest possible freedom in terms of the composition and selection of the presses.

It has now been found that detergent tablets with the advantageous properties mentioned can be produced if the premixes to be pressed are cooled and tabletted at lower temperatures.

The invention relates to a process for the production of detergent tablets by shaping pressing in a manner known per se, in which the premix to be pressed has a temperature below 20 ° C. immediately before the pressing.

In the context of the present invention, it is preferred if the premix to be compressed has a temperature immediately before tableting which is clearly below 20 ° C. Process variants according to the invention are therefore carried out such that the premix to be pressed has a temperature below 18 ° C., preferably below 15 ° C., particularly preferably below 13 ° C. and in particular below 10 ° C., immediately before the pressing. Of course, it is also a matter of pressing premixes, the temperatures of 19 ° C or 17 ° C or 16 ° C or 14 ° C or 12 ° C or 11 ° C or 9 ° C or 8 ° C or 7 ° C or 6 ° C or 5 ° C or 4 ° C or 3 ° C or 2 ° C or 1 ° C or 0 ° C, possible according to the invention. The pressing of premixes at temperatures below freezing is also possible according to the invention, for example temperatures of -1 ° C, -2 ° C, -3 ° C, -4 ° C, -5 ° C, -6 ° C, 7 ° C, -8 ° C, -9 ° C, -10 ° C, -11 ° C, -12 ° C, -13 ° C, -14 ° C, -15 ° C, -16 ° C, - 17 ° C, -18 ° C, -19 ° C or -20 ° C called, the premix can also have lower temperatures.

In preferred embodiments of the method according to the invention, the premix to be pressed contains surfactant-containing granulate (s) and further processing components. The granules containing surfactant can be produced by conventional industrial granulation processes such as compacting, extrusion, mixer granulation, pelletization or fluidized bed granulation. It is advantageous for the later detergent tablets if the premix to be pressed has a bulk density that comes close to that of conventional compact detergents. In particular, it is preferred that the premix to be pressed has a bulk density of at least 500 g / 1, preferably at least 600 g / 1 and in particular at least 700 g / 1.

In preferred process variants, the surfactant-containing granulate satisfies certain particle size criteria. Methods according to the invention are preferred in which the surfactant-containing granules have particle sizes between 100 and 2000 μm, preferably between 200 and 1800 μm, particularly preferably between 400 and 1600 μm and in particular between 600 and 1400 μm.

In addition to the active substances (anionic and / or nonionic and / or cationic and / or amphoteric surfactants), the surfactant granules preferably also contain carriers which particularly preferably come from the group of builders. Particularly advantageous processes are characterized in that the premix to be pressed contains a surfactant-containing granulate which contains anionic and / or nonionic surfactants and Contains builders and whose total surfactant content is 5 to 60% by weight, preferably 10 to 50% by weight and in particular 15 to 40% by weight, in each case based on the surfactant granulate.

To develop the washing performance, the surfactant granules contain surface-active substances from the group of anionic, nonionic, zwitterionic or cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants being clearly preferred for economic reasons and because of their performance spectrum.

Anionic surfactants used are, for example, those of the sulfonate and sulfate type. The surfactants of the sulfonate type are preferably C ₉ . ₁₃ - Alkylbenzenesulfonates, olefinsulfonates, ie mixtures of alkene and hydroxyalkanesulfonates and disulfonates, such as those obtained from C ₁₂ . ₁₈ -monoolefins with terminal or internal double bond by sulfonation with gaseous sulfur trioxide and subsequent alkaline or acidic hydrolysis of the sulfonation products into consideration. Also suitable are alkanesulfonates, from C _12-18 alkanes are obtained for example by sulfochlorination or sulfoxidation and subsequent hydrolysis or neutralization. The esters of α-sulfofatty acids (ester sulfonates), for example the α-sulfonated methyl esters of hydrogenated coconut, palm kernel or tallow fatty acids, are also suitable.

Other suitable anionic surfactants are sulfonated fatty acid glycerol esters. Fatty acid glycerol esters are to be understood as meaning the mono-, di- and triesters and their mixtures as obtained in the production by esterification of a monoglycerol with 1 to 3 moles of fatty acid or in the transesterification of triglycerides with 0.3 to 2 moles of glycerol become. Preferred sulfonated fatty acid glycerol esters are the sulfonation products of saturated fatty acids having 6 to 22 carbon atoms, for example caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, myristic acid, lauric acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid or behenic acid.

As alk (en) yl sulfates, the alkali and in particular the sodium salts of the sulfuric acid semiesters of the C ₂ -C ₁₈ fatty alcohols, for example from coconut oil alcohol, tallow fatty alcohol, lauryl, myristyl, cetyl or stearyl alcohol or the C ₁₀ -C ₂₀ -Oxo alcohols and the- those half-esters of secondary alcohols of this chain length are preferred. Also preferred are alk (en) yl sulfates of the chain length mentioned which contain a synthetic, straight-chain alkyl radical which is produced on a petrochemical basis and which have a degradation behavior analogous to that of the adequate compounds based on oleochemical raw materials. C ₁₅ - - From the washing, the C ₁₂ -C ₁₆ alkyl sulfates and C ,, are alkyl and preferably C ₁₄ -C ₁₅ alkyl sulfates. In addition, 2,3-alkyl sulfates, which are produced for example in accordance with US Patent No. 3,234,258 or 5,075,041 and can be obtained as commercial products from Shell Oil Company under the name DAN ^®, are suitable anionic surfactants.

Also, the Schwefelsäuremonoester the ethoxylated with 1 to 6 moles of ethylene oxide, linear or branched C ₇ - _2I alcohols such as 2-methyl-branched C. _{9 n} alcohols containing on average 3.5 mol ethylene oxide (EO) or C _I2 - ₁₈ fatty alcohols with 1 to 4 EO, are also suitable. Because of their high foaming behavior, they are used in cleaning agents only in relatively small amounts, for example in amounts of 1 to 5% by weight.

Other suitable anionic surfactants are also the salts of alkylsulfosuccinic acid, which are also referred to as sulfosuccinates or as sulfosuccinic acid esters and which are monoesters and / or diesters of sulfosuccinic acid with alcohols, preferably fatty alcohols and especially ethoxylated fatty alcohols. Preferred sulfosuccinates contain C _{8., 8} fatty alcohol residues or mixtures thereof. Particularly preferred sulfosuccinates contain a fatty alcohol residue which is derived from ethoxylated fatty alcohols, which in themselves are nonionic surfactants (description see below). Again, sulfosuccinates whose fatty alcohol residues are derived from ethoxylated fatty alcohols with a narrow homolog distribution are particularly preferred. It is also possible to use alk (en) ylsuccinic acid with preferably 8 to 18 carbon atoms in the alk (en) yl chain or salts thereof.

Soaps are particularly suitable as further anionic surfactants. Saturated fatty acid soaps are suitable, such as the salts of lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, 8th

Stearic acid, hydrogenated erucic acid and behenic acid and in particular from natural fatty acids, e.g. Coconut, palm kernel or tallow fatty acids, derived soap mixtures. The anionic surfactants, including the soaps, can be in the form of their sodium, potassium or ammonium salts and also as soluble salts of organic bases, such as mono-, di- or triethanolamine. The anionic surfactants are preferably in the form of their sodium or potassium salts, in particular in the form of the sodium salts.

In the context of the present invention, detergent tablets are preferred which contain 5 to 50% by weight, preferably 7.5 to 40% by weight and in particular 10 to 20% by weight of anionic surfactant (s), based in each case on the Molded body weight included.

When selecting the anionic surfactants that are used in the detergent tablets according to the invention, there are no general conditions to be observed that prevent freedom of formulation. However, preferred detergent tablets have a soap content which exceeds 0.2% by weight, based on the total weight of the tablet. The preferred anionic surfactants are the alkylbenzenesulfonates and fatty alcohol sulfates, preferred detergent tablets 2 to 20% by weight, preferably 2.5 to 15% by weight and in particular 5 to 10% by weight of fatty alcohol sulfate (s) in each case based on the weight of the molded body.

The nonionic surfactants used are preferably alkoxylated, advantageously ethoxylated, in particular primary alcohols having preferably 8 to 18 carbon atoms and an average of 1 to 12 moles of ethylene oxide (EO) per mole of alcohol, in which the alcohol radical has a linear or preferably 2-methyl branching may be or may contain linear and methyl-branched radicals in the mixture, as are usually present in oxo alcohol radicals. However, alcohol ethoxylates with linear residues of alcohols of native origin with 12 to 18 carbon atoms, for example from coconut, palm, tallow fat or oleyl alcohol, and an average of 2 to 8 EO per mole of alcohol are particularly preferred. The preferred ethoxylated alcohols include, for example, C ₁₂ . ₁₄ alcohols with 3 EO or 4 EO, C _{9 n} alcohol with 7 EO, C ₁₃ . ₁₅ -alcohols with 3 EO, 5 EO, 7 EO or 8 EO, C ₁₂ - ₁₈ alcohols with 3 EO, 5 EO or 7 EO and mixtures of these, such as mixtures of Cι. _{2 14} alcohol with 3 EO and C _12.18 alcohol with 5 EO. The degrees of ethoxylation given represent statistical averages, which can be an integer or a fraction for a specific product. Preferred alcohol ethoxylates have a narrow homolog distribution (narrow range ethoxylates, NRE). In addition to these nonionic surfactants, fatty alcohols with more than 12 EO can also be used. Examples of this are tallow fatty alcohol with 14 EO, 25 EO, 30 EO or 40 EO.

Another class of preferably used nonionic surfactants, which are used either as the sole nonionic surfactant or in combination with other nonionic surfactants, are alkoxylated, preferably ethoxylated or ethoxylated and propoxylated fatty acid alkyl esters, preferably with 1 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, in particular Fatty acid methyl esters as described, for example, in Japanese patent application JP 58/217598 or which are preferably prepared by the process described in international patent application WO-A-90/13533.

Another class of nonionic surfactants that can be used advantageously are the alkyl polyglycosides (APG). Alkypolyglycosides that can be used satisfy the general formula RO (G) _z , in which R is a linear or branched, in particular methyl-branched, saturated or unsaturated, aliphatic radical having 8 to 22, preferably 12 to 18, carbon atoms and G is the Is a symbol which stands for a glycose unit with 5 or 6 carbon atoms, preferably for glucose. The degree of glycosidation z is between 1.0 and 4.0, preferably between 1.0 and 2.0 and in particular between 1.1 and 1.4.

Linear alkyl polyglucosides, ie alkyl polyglycosides, in which the polyglycosyl radical is a glucose radical and the alkyl radical is an n-alkyl radical are preferably used.

The detergent tablets according to the invention can preferably contain alkyl polyglycosides, the APG contents of the tablets exceeding 0.2% by weight, pulled on the entire molded body, are preferred. Particularly preferred detergent tablets contain APG in amounts of 0.2 to 10% by weight, preferably 0.2 to 5% by weight and in particular 0.5 to 3% by weight.

Nonionic surfactants of the amine oxide type, for example N-coconut alkyl-N, N-dimethylamine oxide and N-tallow alkyl-N, N-dihydroxyethylamine oxide, and the fatty acid alkanolamides can also be suitable. The amount of these nonionic surfactants is preferably not more than that of the ethoxylated fatty alcohols, in particular not more than half of them.

Other suitable surfactants are polyhydroxy fatty acid amides of the formula (I),

R ¹

R-CO-N- [Z] (I)

in which RCO stands for an aliphatic acyl radical with 6 to 22 carbon atoms, R for hydrogen, an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl radical with 1 to 4 carbon atoms and [Z] for a linear or branched polyhydroxyalkyl radical with 3 to 10 carbon atoms and 3 to 10 hydroxyl groups. The polyhydroxy fatty acid amides are known substances which can usually be obtained by reductive amination of a reducing sugar with ammonia, an alkylamine or an alkanolamine and subsequent acylation with a fatty acid, a fatty acid alkyl ester or a fatty acid chloride.

The group of polyhydroxy fatty acid amides also includes compounds of the formula (II) R ^! -OR ^2nd

R-CO-N- [Z] (II)

in which R represents a linear or branched alkyl or alkenyl radical having 7 to 12 carbon atoms, R ^{1 represents} a linear, branched or cyclic alkyl radical or an aryl radical having 2 to 8 carbon atoms and R ^{2 represents} a linear, branched or cyclic alkyl radical or represents an aryl radical or an oxy-alkyl radical with 1 to 8 carbon atoms, C, _.4 -alkyl or phenyl radicals being preferred and [Z] representing a linear polyhydroxyalkyl radical whose alkyl chain is substituted by at least two hydroxyl groups, or alkoxylated, preferably ethoxylated or propoxylated derivatives of this residue.

[Z] is preferably obtained by reductive amination of a reduced sugar, for example glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose, galactose, mannose or xylose. The N-alkoxy- or N-aryloxy-substituted compounds can then, for example according to the teaching of international application WO-A-95/07331, be converted into the desired polyhydroxy fatty acid amides by reaction with fatty acid methyl esters in the presence of an alkoxide as catalyst.

As already mentioned above, the nonionic and anionic surfactants can be incorporated into the detergent tablets according to the invention in a wide variety of ways. They can be added to the premix to be pressed, for example in solid form, or sprayed from the premix in liquid form. It has proven to be advantageous to produce surfactant granules which are mixed with further powdery components to form the premix to be tabletted and pressed. According to the invention, detergent tablets are preferred which contain the surfactants in the form of a surfactant-containing granulate in amounts of from 40 to 95% by weight, preferably from 45 to 85% by weight and in particular from 55 to 75% by weight. , each based on the weight of the shaped body, is contained in the shaped bodies. In order to incorporate the desired amount of detergent substance into the detergent tablets, process variants are preferred in which the premix contains a surfactant-containing granulate which contains from 5 to 60% by weight, preferably from 10 to 50% by weight and in particular from 15 to 40% by weight, based in each case on the weight of the surfactant granules (see above). In particular, detergent tablets in which the anionic surfactant content of the surfactant granules is 5 to 45% by weight, preferably 10 to 40% by weight and in particular 15 to 35% by weight, in each case based on the weight of the surfactant granules and detergent tablets in which the nonionic surfactant content of the surfactant granules is 1 to 30% by weight, preferably 5 to 25% by weight and in particular 7.5 to 20% by weight, in each case based on the weight of the surfactant granules , is preferred according to the invention.

In order to obtain storage-stable and free-flowing surfactant granules, it is preferred if carrier substances are added in the manufacture of the surfactant granules, ie the surfactant granules contain builders. Other ingredients of detergents and cleaning agents, in particular so-called small components such as optical brighteners, polymers, defoamers, phosphonates, colorants and fragrances, can also be part of the surfactant granules. These substances are described below.

In the second step of the process according to the invention, the surfactant granules are mixed with further ingredients of detergents and cleaning agents to form a compressible premix and then tableted. Here, the production of detergent tablets is preferred according to the invention, so that preferred variants of the process according to the invention are characterized in that the proportion of the surfactant-containing granules in the premix to be treated and thus in the detergent tablets is 40 to 95% by weight, preferably 45 to 85 % By weight and in particular 55 to 75% by weight, in each case based on the weight of the detergent tablets.

As a component of the surfactant granules, but also as an optional additional processing component added to the premix, builders are important ingredients of Detergents and cleaning agents. In addition to the wash-active substances, builders are the most important ingredients in detergents and cleaning agents. In the detergent tablets according to the invention, all builders usually used in detergents and cleaning agents can be present, in particular thus zeolites, silicates, carbonates, organic cobuilders and - where there are no ecological prejudices against their use - also the phosphates.

The finely crystalline, synthetic and bound water-containing zeolite used is preferably zeolite A and / or P. As zeolite P, zeolite ^MAP® (commercial product from Crosfield) is particularly preferred. However, zeolite X and mixtures of A, X and / or P are also suitable. Commercially available and can preferably be used in the context of the present invention, for example a co-crystallizate of zeolite X and zeolite A (about 80% by weight of zeolite X) ), which is sold by CONDEA Augusta SpA under the brand name VEGOBOND AX ^® and by the formula

nNa-0 ^■ (ln) K ₂ O ^• Al ₂ O ₃ ^• (2 - 2.5) SiO ₂ ^■ (3.5 - 5.5) H ₂ O

can be described. Suitable zeolites have an average particle size of less than 10 μm (volume distribution; measurement method: Coulter Counter) and preferably contain 18 to 22% by weight, in particular 20 to 22% by weight, of bound water.

Crystalline, layered sodium silicates suitable as builders have the general formula NaMSi _x O _{2x + 1} Η ₂ O, where M is sodium or hydrogen, x is a number from 1.9 to 4 and y is a number from 0 to 20 and preferred values for x is 2, 3 or 4. Such crystalline layered silicates are described, for example, in European patent application EP-A-0 164 514. Preferred crystalline layered silicates of the formula given are those in which M represents sodium and x assumes the values 2 or 3. In particular, both β- and δ-sodium disilicate Na ^ Os' yH ₂ O are preferred, wherein β-sodium disilicate can be obtained, for example, by the method described in international patent application WO-A-91/08171. Amorphous sodium silicates with a Na ^: SiO ₂ modulus of 1: 2 to 1: 3.3, preferably 1: 2 to 1: 2.8 and in particular 1: 2 to 1: 2.6, which delay the dissolution, can also be used are and have secondary washing properties. The delay in dissolution compared to conventional amorphous sodium silicates can be caused in various ways, for example by surface treatment, compounding, compacting / compression or by overdrying. In the context of this invention, the term "amoφh" is also understood to mean "roentgenamoφh". This means that the silicates in X-ray diffraction experiments do not provide sharp X-ray reflections, as are typical for crystalline substances, but at most one or more maxima of the scattered X-rays, which have a width of several degree units of the diffraction angle. However, it can very well lead to particularly good builder properties if the silicate particles deliver washed-out or even sharp diffraction maxima in electron diffraction experiments. This is to be integrated in such a way that the products have microcrystalline areas of size 10 to a few hundred nm, values up to max. 50 um and in particular up to max. 20 nm are preferred. Such so-called X-ray amorphous silicates, which also have a delay in dissolution compared to conventional water glasses, are described, for example, in German patent application DE-A-44 00 024. Particularly preferred are compressed / compacted amorphous silicates, compounded amorphous silicates and over-dried X-ray silicates.

If desired, in addition to the amount of zeolite of the P and / or X type that is usually introduced by the surfactant granules, further zeolite can be incorporated into the premix by adding zeolite as a treatment component. The finely crystalline, synthetic and bound water-containing zeolite used is preferably a type A, P, X or Y zeolite. However, zeolite X and mixtures of A, X and / or P are also suitable. Suitable zeolites have an average particle size of less than 10 μm (volume distribution; measurement method: Coulter Counter) and preferably contain 18 to 22% by weight, in particular 20 to 22% by weight, of bound water.

It is of course also possible to use the generally known phosphates as builder substances, provided that such use is not avoided for ecological reasons should be. The sodium salts of orthophosphates, pyrophosphates and in particular tripolyphosphates are particularly suitable.

Organic cobuilders that can be used in the detergent tablets according to the invention are, in particular, polycarboxylates / polycarboxylic acids, polymeric polycarboxylates, aspartic acid, polyacetals, dextrins, other organic cobuilders (see below) and phosphonates. These classes of substances are described below.

Usable organic builders are, for example, the polycarboxylic acids which can be used in the form of their sodium salts, polycarboxylic acids being understood to mean those carboxylic acids which carry more than one acid function. For example, these are citric acid, adipic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, sugar acids, aminocarboxylic acids, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), as long as such use is not objectionable for ecological reasons, and mixtures of these. Preferred salts are the salts of polycarboxylic acids such as citric acid, adipic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, tartaric acid, sugar acids and mixtures of these.

The acids themselves can also be used. In addition to their builder effect, the acids typically also have the property of an acidifying component and thus also serve to set a lower and milder pH of detergents or cleaning agents. Citric acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, gluconic acid and any mixtures thereof can be mentioned in particular. Polymeric polycarboxylates are also suitable as builders, for example the alkali metal salts of polyacrylic acid or polymethacrylic acid, for example those with a relative molecular weight of 500 to 70,000 g / mol.

For the purposes of this document, the molecular weights given for polymeric polycarboxylates are weight-average molecular weights M _{w of} the respective acid form, which were determined in principle by means of gel permeation chromatography (GPC), a UN Detector was used. The measurement was carried out against an external polyacrylic acid standard, which provides realistic molecular weight values due to its structural relationship with the investigated polymers. This information differs significantly from the molecular weight information for which polystyrene sulfonic acids are used as standard. The molecular weights measured against polystyrene sulfonic acids are generally significantly higher than the molecular weights given in this document.

Suitable polymers are, in particular, polyacrylates, which preferably have a molecular weight of 2,000 to 20,000 g / mol. Because of their superior solubility, the short-chain polyacrylates which have molar masses from 2000 to 10000 g / mol, and particularly preferably from 3000 to 5000 g / mol, can in turn be preferred from this group.

Also suitable are copolymeric polycarboxylates, in particular those of acrylic acid with methacrylic acid and of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid with maleic acid. Copolymers of acrylic acid with maleic acid which contain 50 to 90% by weight of acrylic acid and 50 to 10% by weight of maleic acid have proven to be particularly suitable. Their relative molecular weight, based on free acids, is generally 2,000 to 70,000 g / mol, preferably 20,000 to 50,000 g / mol and in particular 30,000 to 40,000 g / mol.

The (co) polymeric polycarboxylates can be used either as a powder or as an aqueous solution. The content of (co) polymeric polycarboxylates in the agents is preferably 0.5 to 20% by weight, in particular 3 to 10% by weight.

To improve water solubility, the polymers can also contain allylsulfonic acids, such as, for example, allyloxybenzenesulfonic acid and methallylsulfonic acid, as monomers.

Also particularly preferred are biodegradable polymers made up of more than two different monomer units, for example those which are salts of acrylic acid and maleic acid as well as vinyl alcohol or vinyl alcohol derivatives or which are used as monomers Monomeric salts of acrylic acid and 2-alkylallylsulfonic acid as well as sugar derivatives.

Further preferred copolymers are those which are described in German patent applications DE-A-43 03 320 and DE-A-44 17 734 and which preferably contain acrolein and acrylic acid / acrylic acid salts or acrolein and vinyl acetate as monomers.

Also to be mentioned as further preferred builder substances are polymeric aminodicarboxylic acids, their salts or their precursor substances. Particularly preferred are polyaspartic acids or their salts and derivatives, of which it is disclosed in German patent application DE-A-195 40 086 that, in addition to cobuilder properties, they also have a bleach-stabilizing effect.

Other suitable builder substances are polyacetals, which can be obtained by reacting dialdehydes with polyolcarboxylic acids which have 5 to 7 carbon atoms and at least 3 hydroxyl groups. Preferred polyacetals are obtained from dialdehydes such as glyoxal, glutaraldehyde, terephthalaldehyde and their mixtures and from polyol carboxylic acids such as gluconic acid and / or glucoheptonic acid.

Other suitable organic builder substances are dextrins, for example oligomers or polymers of carbohydrates, which can be obtained by partial hydrolysis of starches. The hydrolysis can be carried out by customary processes, for example acid-catalyzed or enzyme-catalyzed. They are preferably hydrolysis products with average molar masses in the range from 400 to 500,000 g / mol. A polysaccharide with a dextrose equivalent (DE) in the range from 0.5 to 40, in particular from 2 to 30, is preferred, DE being a customary measure of the reducing action of a polysaccharide compared to dextrose, which has a DE of 100 owns. Both maltodextrins with a DE between 3 and 20 and dry glucose syrups with a DE between 20 and 37 as well as so-called yellow dextrins and white dextrins with higher molar masses in the range from 2000 to 30000 g / mol can be used. The oxidized derivatives of such dextrins are their reaction products with oxidizing agents which are capable of oxidizing at least one alcohol function of the saccharide ring to the carboxylic acid function. Such oxidized dextrins and processes for their preparation are known, for example, from European patent applications EP-A-0 232 202, EP-A-0 427 349, EP-A-0 472 042 and EP-A-0 542 496 as well as international patent applications WO 92 / 18542, WO 93/08251, WO 93/16110, WO 94/28030, WO 95/07303, WO 95/12619 and WO 95/20608. An oxidized oligosaccharide according to German patent application DE-A-196 00 018 is also suitable. A product oxidized at C _{6 of} the saccharide ring can be particularly advantageous.

Oxydisuccinates and other derivatives of disuccinates, preferably ethylenediaminisisuccinate, are further suitable cobuilders. Ethylene diamine N, N'-disuccinate (EDDS) is preferably used in the form of its sodium or magnesium salts. Glycerol disuccinates and glycerol trisuccinates are also preferred in this context. Suitable amounts are 3 to 15% by weight in formulations containing zeolite and / or silicate.

Further usable organic cobuilders are, for example, acetylated hydroxycarboxylic acids or their salts, which may optionally also be in lactone form and which contain at least 4 carbon atoms and at least one hydroxyl group and a maximum of two acid groups. Such cobuilders are described, for example, in international patent application WO 95/20029.

Another class of substances with cobuilder properties are the phosphonates. These are, in particular, hydroxyalkane or aminoalkane phosphonates. Among the hydroxyalkane phosphonates, l-hydroxyethane-l, l-diphosphonate (HEDP) is of particular importance as a cobuilder. It is preferably used as the sodium salt, the disodium salt reacting neutrally and the tetrasodium salt in an alkaline manner (pH 9). Preferred aminoalkane phosphonates are ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonate (EDTMP), diethylenetriaminepentamethylenephosphonate (DTPMP) and their higher levels of mologist in question. They are preferably in the form of the neutral sodium salts, e.g. B. as the hexasodium salt of EDTMP or as the hepta and octa sodium salt of DTPMP. HEDP is preferably used as the builder from the class of the phosphonates. The aminoalkanephosphonates also have a pronounced ability to bind heavy metals. Accordingly, it may be preferred, particularly if the agents also contain bleach, to use aminoalkanephosphonates, in particular DTPMP, or to use mixtures of the phosphonates mentioned.

In addition, all compounds that are able to form complexes with alkaline earth metal ions can be used as cobuilders.

The production of surfactant-containing granules is widely described in the prior art, and in addition to extensive patent literature, numerous review articles and monographs can also be used. W.Hermann de Groot, I. Adami, G.F. Moretti "The Manufacture of Modern Detergent Powders", Hermann de Groot Academic Publisher, Wassenaar, 1995 various spray drying, mixing and granulating processes for the production of detergents and cleaning agents.

For energetic reasons, it is preferred in the context of the present invention if the granules containing surfactant are not produced by spray drying, but rather by means of a granulation process. In addition to the conventional granulation and agglomeration processes, which can be carried out in a wide variety of mixing granulators and mixing agglomerators, press agglomeration processes can also be used, for example. Methods in which the surfactant-containing granules are produced by granulation, agglomeration, press agglomeration or a combination of these methods are therefore preferred.

The granulation can be carried out in a large number of apparatuses customarily used in the detergent and cleaning agent industry. For example, it is possible to use the rounding agents commonly used in pharmacy. In such turntable devices, the residence time of the granules is usually less than 20 seconds. Conventional mixers and mixing granulators are also suitable for granulation. As a mi shear, both high-intensity mixers ("high-shear mixers") and normal mixers with lower circulation speeds can be used. Suitable mixers are, for example Eirich ^® mixer Series R or RV (trademark of Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich, Hardheim), the Schugi ^® Flexomix, the Fukae ^® FS-G mixers (trade marks of Fukae Powtech, Kogyo Co., Japan), the Lödige ^® FM, KM and CB mixers (trademark of Lödige Maschinenbau GmbH, Paderborn) or the Drais ^® series T or KT (trademark of Drais- Werke GmbH, Mannheim). The residence times of the granules in the mixers are in the range of less than 60 seconds, the residence time also being dependent on the circulation speed of the mixer. The dwell times are reduced accordingly the faster the mixer runs. The residence times of the granules in the mixer / rounder are preferably less than one minute, preferably less than 15 seconds. Dwell times of up to 20 minutes are set in slow-running mixers, for example a Lödige KM, dwell times below 10 minutes being preferred because of the process economy.

In the process of press agglomeration, the surfactant-containing granules are compressed under pressure and under the action of shear forces, homogenized in the process and then discharged from the apparatus in a shaping manner. The technically most important press agglomeration processes are extrusion, roller compaction, pelleting and tableting. In the context of the present invention, preferred press agglomeration processes used to produce the surfactant-containing granules are extrusion, roller compaction and pelletization.

In order to facilitate the disintegration of highly compressed moldings, it is possible to incorporate disintegration aids, so-called tablet disintegrants, in order to shorten the disintegration times. According to Römpp (9th edition, vol. 6, p. 4440) and Voigt "Textbook of pharmaceutical technology" (6th edition, 1987, p. 182-184), tablet disintegrants or accelerators of decay are understood as auxiliary substances which are necessary for rapid disintegration of tablets in water or gastric juice and ensure the release of the pharmaceuticals in absorbable form. These substances, which are also referred to as "explosives" due to their effect, increase their volume when water enters, whereby on the one hand the intrinsic volume increases (swelling) and on the other hand a pressure can be generated by the release of gases, which breaks the tablet into smaller particles disintegrates. Well-known disintegration aids are, for example, carbonate / citric acid systems, although other organic acids can also be used. Swelling disintegration aids are, for example, synthetic polymers such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or natural polymers or modified natural products such as cellulose and starch and their derivatives, alginates or casein derivatives.

Preferred detergent tablets contain 0.5 to 10% by weight, preferably 3 to 7% by weight and in particular 4 to 6% by weight of one or more disintegration auxiliaries, in each case based on the weight of the molded article.

Disintegrants based on cellulose are used as preferred disintegrants in the context of the present invention, so that preferred washing and cleaning agent shaped bodies such a disintegrant based on cellulose in amounts of 0.5 to 10% by weight, preferably 3 to 7% by weight and in particular 4 contain up to 6 wt .-%. Pure cellulose has the formal gross composition (C ₆ H ₁₀ O ₅ ) .. and, formally speaking, represents a ß-1,4-polyacetal of cellobiose, which in turn is made up of two molecules of glucose. Suitable celluloses consist of approximately 500 to 5000 glucose units and consequently have average molecular weights of 50,000 to 500,000. Cellulose-based disintegrants which can be used in the context of the present invention are also cellulose derivatives which can be obtained from cellulose by polymer-analogous reactions. Such chemically modified celluloses include, for example, products from esterifications or etherifications in which hydroxyl hydrogen atoms have been substituted. However, celluloses in which the hydroxyl groups have been replaced by functional groups which are not bound via an oxygen atom can also be used as cellulose derivatives. The group of cellulose derivatives includes, for example, alkali celluloses, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), cellulose esters and ethers and aminocelluloses. The cellulose derivatives mentioned are preferably not used alone as a cellulose-based disintegrant, but used in a mixture with cellulose. The content of cellulose derivatives in these mixtures is preferably below 50% by weight, particularly preferably below 20% by weight, based on the cellulose-based disintegrant. Pure cellulose which is free of cellulose derivatives is particularly preferably used as the disintegrant based on cellulose.

The cellulose used as disintegration aid is preferably not used in finely divided form, but is converted into a coarser form, for example granulated or compacted, before being added to the premixes to be treated. Detergent tablets which contain disintegrants in granular or optionally granulated form are described in German patent applications DE 197 09 991 (Stefan Herzog) and DE 197 10 254 (Henkel) and in international patent application WO98 / 40463 (Henkel) . These documents can also be found in more detail on the production of granulated, compacted or cogranulated cellulose disintegrants. The particle sizes of such disintegrants are usually above 200 μm, preferably at least 90% by weight between 300 and 1600 μm and in particular at least 90% by weight between 400 and 1200 μm. The above and described in more detail in the documents cited coarser disintegration aids, are preferred as disintegration aids and are commercially available, for example under the name of Arbocel ^® TF-30-HG from Rettenmaier available in the present invention.

Microcrystalline cellulose can be used as a further cellulose-based disintegrant or as a component of this component. This microcrystalline cellulose is obtained by partial hydrolysis of celluloses under conditions which only attack and completely dissolve the amorphous areas (approx. 30% of the total cellulose mass) of the celluloses, but leave the crystalline areas (approx. 70%) undamaged. Subsequent disaggregation of the microfine celluloses produced by the hydrolysis yields the microcrystalline celluloses, which have primary particle sizes of approximately 5 μm. and can be compacted, for example, into granules with an average particle size of 200 μm.

Thus, processes are preferred in the context of the present invention in which the premix to be treated additionally contains a disintegration aid, preferably a cellulose-based disintegration aid, preferably in granular, cogranulated or compacted form, in amounts of 0.5 to 10% by weight, preferably of 3 to 7 wt .-% and in particular from 4 to 6 wt .-%, each based on the weight of the premix.

In further preferred processes, the premix additionally contains one or more substances from the group of bleaching agents, bleach activators, enzymes, pH regulators, fragrances, perfume carriers, fluorescent agents, dyes, foam inhibitors, silicone oils, anti-redeposition agents, optical brighteners, graying inhibitors, color transfer inhibitors and corrosion inhibitors. These substances are described below.

Among the compounds which serve as bleaching agents and supply H ₂ O ₂ in water, sodium perborate tetrahydrate and sodium perborate monohydrate are of particular importance. Further bleaching agents that can be used are, for example, sodium percarbonate, peroxypyrophosphates, citrate perhydrates and H ₂ O ₂ -producing peracid salts or peracids, such as perbenzoates, peroxophthalates, diperazelaic acid, phthaloiminoperacid or diperdodecanedioic acid. Even when using the bleaching agents, it is possible to dispense with the use of surfactants and / or builders, so that pure bleach tablets can be produced. If such bleach tablets are to be used for textile washing, a combination of sodium percarbonate with sodium sesquicarbonate is preferred, regardless of which other ingredients are contained in the molded articles. If cleaning tablets or bleach tablets for machine dishwashing are manufactured, bleaching agents from the group of organic bleaching agents can also be used. Typical organic bleaching agents are the diacyl peroxides, such as dibenzoyl peroxide. Other typical organic bleaching agents are peroxy acids, examples of which include alkyl peroxy acids and aryl peroxy acids. Preferred representatives are (a) the peroxybenzoic acid and its ring-substituted derivatives, such as alkylperoxybenzoic acids, but also peroxy-α-naphthoic acid and magnesium monophosphate, (b) the aliphatic or substituted aliphatic peroxyacids, such as peroxylauric acid, peroxystearic acid, ε-phthalimidoxythoxy acid peroxoxy acid ( PAP)], o-carboxybenzamidoperoxycaproic acid, N-nonenylamidoperadipic acid and N-nonenylamidopersuccinate, and (c) aliphatic and araliphatic peroxydicarboxylic acids, such as 1,12-diperoxycarboxylic acid, 1,9-diperoxyazelaic acid, diperocysebacinic acid, diperoxydoxydiperoxydiacyldiperoxydiacyldiperoxydiacyldiperoxydiperoxyacid, -1,4-diacid, N, N-terephthaloyl-di (6-aminopercapronic acid) can be used.

Chlorine or bromine-releasing substances can also be used as bleaching agents in molded articles for automatic dishwashing. Suitable materials which release chlorine or bromine include, for example, heterocyclic N-bromo- and N-chloramides, for example trichloroisocyanuric acid, tribromoisocyanuric acid,

Dibromo isocyanuric acid and / or dichloroisocyanuric acid (DICA) and or their salts with cations such as potassium and sodium. Hydantoin compounds such as 1,3-dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydanthoin are also suitable.

In order to achieve an improved bleaching effect when washing or cleaning at temperatures of 60 ° C. and below, bleach activators can be incorporated into the premix. Bleach activators which can be used are compounds which, under perhydrolysis conditions, give aliphatic peroxocarboxylic acids having preferably 1 to 10 C atoms, in particular 2 to 4 C atoms, and / or optionally substituted perbenzoic acid. Suitable substances are those which carry O- and / or N-acyl groups of the number of carbon atoms mentioned and / or optionally substituted benzoyl groups. Preferred are multiply acylated alkylenediamines, in particular tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED), acylated triazine derivatives, in particular 1,5-diacetyl-2,4-dioxohexahydro-1,3,5-triazine (DADHT), acylated glycolurils, in particular tetraacetylglycoluril (TAGU), N- Acylimides, especially N-nonanoylsuccinimide (NOSI), acylated phenol sulfonates, especially n-nonanoyl- or isononanoyloxybenzenesulfonate (n- or iso-NOBS), carboxylic acid reanhydrides, especially phthalic anhydride, acylated polyhydric alcohols, especially triacetin, ethylene glycol diacetate and 2,5-diacetoxy-2,5-dihydrofuran.

In addition to the conventional bleach activators or in their place, so-called bleach catalysts can also be incorporated into the moldings. These substances are bleach-enhancing transition metal salts or transition metal complexes such as, for example, Mn, Fe, Co, Ru or Mo salt complexes or carbonyl complexes. Mn, Fe, Co, Ru, Mo, Ti, V and Cu complexes with N-containing tripod ligands as well as Co, Fe, Cu and Ru amine complexes can also be used as bleaching catalysts.

Suitable enzymes are those from the class of proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases or mixtures thereof. Enzymes obtained from bacterial strains or fungi such as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Streptomyces griseus are particularly suitable. Proteases of the subtilisin type and in particular proteases which are obtained from Bacillus lentus are preferably used. Enzyme mixtures, for example of protease and amylase or protease and lipase or protease and cellulase or of cellulase and lipase or of protease, amylase and lipase or protease, lipase and cellulase, but in particular mixtures containing cellulase, are of particular interest. Peroxidases or oxidases have also proven to be suitable in some cases. The enzymes can be adsorbed on carriers and / or embedded in coating substances in order to protect them against premature decomposition. The proportion of enzymes, enzyme mixtures or enzyme granules in the shaped bodies according to the invention can be, for example, about 0.1 to 5% by weight, preferably 0.1 to about 2% by weight.

In addition, the detergent tablets can also contain components that positively influence the oil and fat washability from textiles (so-called soil repellents). This effect becomes particularly clear when a textile is soiled that has already been washed several times beforehand with a detergent according to the invention which contains this oil and fat-dissolving component. Among the preferred oil and fat-dissolving components include, for example, nonionic cellulose ethers such as methyl cellulose and methyl hydroxypropyl cellulose with a proportion of methoxyl groups of 15 to 30% by weight and of hydroxypropoxyl groups of 1 to 15% by weight, based in each case on the nonionic cellulose ether, and also Polymers of phthalic acid and / or terephthalic acid or of their derivatives known from the prior art, in particular polymers of ethylene terephthalates and or polyethylene glycol terephthalates or anionically and / or nonionically modified derivatives thereof. Of these, the sulfonated derivatives of phthalic acid and terephthalic acid polymers are particularly preferred.

The moldings can contain derivatives of diammostilbenedisulfonic acid or their alkali metal salts as optical brighteners. Suitable are e.g. Salts of 4,4'-bis (2-anilino-4-moφholino-l, 3,5-triazinyl-6-amino) stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid or compounds of the same structure which, instead of the Moφholino group, have a diethanolamino group , a methylamino group, an anilino group or a 2-methoxyethylamino group. In addition, brighteners of the substituted diphenylstyryl type may be present, e.g. the alkali salts of 4,4'-bis (2-sulfostyryl) diphenyl, 4,4'-bis (4-chloro-3-sulfostyryl) diphenyl, or 4- (4-chlorostyryl) -4 '- (2- sulfostyryl) diphenyls. Mixtures of the aforementioned brighteners can also be used.

Dyes and fragrances are added to the detergent tablets according to the invention in order to improve the aesthetic impression of the products and, in addition to the washing or cleaning performance, to provide the consumer with a visually and sensorially "typical and unmistakable" product. Individual fragrance compounds, for example the synthetic products of the ester, ether, aldehyde, ketone, alcohol and hydrocarbon type, can be used as perfume oils or fragrances. Fragrance compounds of the ester type are, for example, benzyl acetate, phenoxyethyl isobutylate, p-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate, linalyl acetate, dimethylbenzylcarbyl acetate, phenylethyl acetate, linalyl benzoate, benzyl formate, ethyl methylphenyl glycinate, allyl cyclohexyl benzyl propylateionate, propylateionate. The ethers include, for example, benzyl ethyl ether, the aldehydes, for example, the linear alkanals with 8-18 C atoms, citral, Citronellal, citronellyloxyacetaldehyde, cyclamenaldehyde, hydroxycitronellal, lilial and bourgeonal, the ketones include, for example, the jonones, cc-isomethylionone and methylcedryl ketone, the alcohols anethole, citronellol, eugenol, geraniol, linalool, phenylethyl alcohol and the hydrocarbons, mainly the teφineol, to the phyneols, to the phyneols, to the phyneols, to the phyneols, to the phyeneol, mainly to the phyneol, the Lime and pinene. However, preference is given to using mixtures of different fragrances which together produce an appealing fragrance. Perfume oils of this type can also contain natural fragrance mixtures such as are obtainable from plant sources, for example pine, citrus, jasmine, patchouly, rose or ylang-ylang oil. Also suitable are muscatel, sage oil, chamomile oil, clove oil, lemon balm oil, mint oil, cinnamon leaf oil, lentil flower oil, juniper berry oil, vetiver oil, olibanum oil, galbanum oil and labdanum oil as well as orange blossom oil, neroliol, orange peel oil and sandalwood oil.

The dye content of the detergent tablets according to the invention is usually less than 0.01% by weight, while fragrances can make up up to 2% by weight of the total formulation.

The fragrances can be incorporated directly into the agents according to the invention, but it can also be advantageous to apply the fragrances to carriers which increase the adhesion of the perfume to the laundry and provide a long-lasting fragrance for the textiles due to a slower fragrance release. Cyclodextrins, for example, have proven useful as such carrier materials, and the cyclodextrin-perfume complexes can additionally be coated with further auxiliaries.

In order to improve the aesthetic impression of the detergent tablets according to the invention, they can be colored with suitable dyes. Preferred dyes, the selection of which is not difficult for the person skilled in the art, have a high storage stability and insensitivity to the other ingredients of the compositions and to light, and no pronounced substantivity towards textile fibers in order not to dye them. Before the particulate premix is pressed into detergent tablets, the premix can be "powdered" with finely divided surface treatment agents. This can be of advantage for the quality and physical properties of both the premix (storage, pressing) and the finished detergent tablets. Finely divided powdering agents are well known in the art, mostly zeolites, silicates or other inorganic salts being used. However, the premix is preferably “powdered” with finely divided zeolite, zeolites of the faujasite type being preferred. In the context of the present invention, the term “faujasite-type zeolite” denotes all three zeolites which form the faujasite subgroup of the zeolite structure group 4 (see Donald W. Breck: “Zeolite Molecular Sieves”, John Wiley & Sons, New York) , London, Sydney, Toronto, 1974, page 92). In addition to the zeolite X, zeolite Y and faujasite and mixtures of these compounds can also be used, the pure zeolite X being preferred.

In the context of the present invention, processes for producing detergent tablets are preferred in which the or one of the admixed processing components is a faujasite-type zeolite with particle sizes below 100 μm, preferably below 100 μm and in particular below 5 μm and at least 0, 2% by weight, preferably at least 0.5% by weight and in particular more than 1% by weight of the premix to be treated.

The molded articles according to the invention are first produced by dry mixing the constituents, which can be wholly or partially pregranulated, and then providing information, in particular feeding them into tablets, whereby conventional methods can be used. To produce the shaped bodies according to the invention, the premix is compacted in a so-called die between two punches to form a solid compact. This process, which is briefly referred to below as tabletting, is divided into four sections: metering, compression (elastic deformation), plastic deformation and ejection. First, the premix is introduced into the die, the filling quantity and thus the weight and the shape of the molded body being formed being determined by the position of the lower punch and the shape of the pressing tool. The constant dosing, even at high mold throughputs, is preferably achieved by volumetric dosing of the premix. As the tableting continues, the upper punch touches the premix and lowers further in the direction of the lower punch. During this compression, the particles of the premix are pressed closer together, the void volume within the filling between the punches continuously decreasing. From a certain position of the upper punch (and thus from a certain pressure on the premix), the plastic deformation begins, in which the particles flow together and the molded body is formed. Depending on the physical properties of the premix, some of the premix particles are also crushed and sintering of the premix occurs at even higher pressures. With increasing pressing speed, that is to say high throughput quantities, the phase of elastic deformation is shortened further and further, so that the resulting shaped bodies can have more or less large cavities. In the last step of tableting, the finished molded body is pressed out of the die by the lower punch and transported away by subsequent transport devices. At this point in time, only the weight of the molded body is finally determined, since the compacts can still change their shape and size due to physical processes (stretching, crystallographic effects, cooling, etc.).

Tableting takes place in commercially available tablet presses, which can in principle be equipped with single or double punches. In the latter case, not only is the upper stamp used to build up pressure, the lower stamp also moves towards the upper stamp during the pressing process, while the upper stamp presses down. For small production quantities, eccentric tablet presses are preferably used, in which the punch or stamps are fastened to an eccentric disc, which in turn is mounted on an axis with a certain rotational speed. The movement of these rams is comparable to that of a conventional four-stroke engine. The pressing can be done with one upper and one lower stamp, but several right stamp to be attached to an eccentric disc, the number of die holes being expanded accordingly. The throughputs of eccentric presses vary depending on the type from a few hundred to a maximum of 3000 tablets per hour.

For larger throughputs, rotary tablet presses are selected in which a larger number of dies is arranged in a circle on a so-called die table. The number of matrices varies between 6 and 55 depending on the model, although larger matrices are also commercially available. Each die on the die table is assigned an upper and lower punch, and again the pressure can be built up actively only by the upper or lower punch, but also by both stamps. The die table and the stamps move about a common vertical axis, the stamps being brought into the positions for filling, compaction, plastic deformation and ejection by means of rail-like cam tracks during the rotation. At locations where a particularly serious lifting or lowering of the punches is necessary (infestation, compaction, ejection), these cam tracks are supported by additional low-pressure pieces, low-tension rails and lifting tracks. The die is filled via a rigidly arranged feed device, the so-called filling shoe, which is connected to a storage container for the premix. The pressing pressure on the premix can be individually adjusted via the pressing paths for the upper and lower punches, the pressure being built up by rolling the punch shaft heads past adjustable pressure rollers.

Rotary presses can also be provided with two filling shoes to increase the throughput, with only a semicircle having to be run through to produce a tablet. For the production of two-layer and multi-layer molded bodies, several filling shoes are arranged one behind the other without the slightly pressed first layer being ejected before further filling. With suitable process control, jacket and dot tablets can also be produced in this way, which have an onion-shell-like structure, the top side of the core or the core layers not being covered in the case of the dot tablets and thus remaining visible. Rotary tablet presses can also be equipped with single or multiple tools so that, for example, an outer circle with 50 and an inner circle with 35 holes can be used simultaneously for pressing. The throughputs of modern rotary tablet presses are over one million molded articles per hour.

When tableting with concentricity presses, it has proven to be advantageous to carry out the tabletting with the smallest possible fluctuations in the weight of the tablet. The fluctuations in hardness of the tablet can also be reduced in this way. Small fluctuations in weight can be achieved in the following ways:

- Use of plastic inserts with small thickness tolerances

- Low number of revolutions of the rotor

- Big filling shoes

- Matching the filler paddle speed to the speed of the rotor

- Filling shoe with constant powder height

- Decoupling of filling shoe and powder feed

All non-stick coatings known from the art are suitable for reducing stamp caking. Plastic coatings, plastic inserts or plastic stamps are particularly advantageous. Rotating punches have also proven to be advantageous, with the upper and lower punches being designed to be rotatable if possible. In the case of rotating stamps, a plastic insert can generally be dispensed with. The stamp surfaces should be electropolished here.

It was also shown that long pressing times are advantageous. These can be set with pressure rails, several pressure rollers or low rotor speeds. Since the fluctuations in the hardness of the tablet are caused by the fluctuations in the pressing forces, systems should be used which limit the pressing force. Here elastic stamps, pneumatic compensators or resilient elements can be used in the force path. The pressure roller can also be designed to be resilient. Tableting machines suitable within the scope of the present invention are available, for example, from the companies Apparatebau Holzwarth GbR, Asperg, Wilhelm Fette GmbH, Schwarzenbek, Hofer GmbH, Weil, KILIAN, Cologne, KOMAGE, Kell am See, KORSCH Pressen GmbH, Berlin, Mapag Maschinenbau AG, Bern (CH) and Courtoy NV, Halle (BE / LU). For example, the hydraulic double pressure press HPF 630 from LAEIS, D. is particularly suitable.

The molded body can be manufactured in a predetermined spatial shape and a predetermined size. Practically all practical configurations can be considered as the spatial form, for example the design as a board, the rod or bar shape, cubes, cuboids and corresponding spatial elements with flat side surfaces, and in particular cylindrical configurations with a circular or oval cross section. This last embodiment covers the presentation form from the tablet to compact cylinder pieces with a ratio of height to diameter above 1.

The portioned compacts can each be designed as separate individual elements that correspond to the predetermined dosage of the detergents and / or cleaning agents. It is also possible, however, to form compacts which connect a plurality of such mass units in one compact, the portioned smaller units being easy to separate, in particular by predetermined predetermined breaking points. For the use of laundry detergents in machines of the type customary in Europe with horizontally arranged mechanics, the portioned compacts as tablets, in cylinder or cuboid form can be expedient, with a diameter / height ratio in the range from about 0.5: 2 to 2: 0.5 is preferred. Commercial hydraulic presses, eccentric presses or rotary presses are suitable devices, in particular for the production of such pressed articles.

The spatial shape of another embodiment of the molded body is adapted in its dimensions to the induction chamber of commercially available household washing machines, so that the shaped body can be metered directly into the induction chamber without metering aid, where it dissolves during the induction process. However, it is of course also possible to use the detergent tablets without problems using a metering aid and is preferred in the context of the present invention.

Another preferred molded body that can be produced has a plate-like or plate-like structure with alternating thick long and thin short segments, so that individual segments of this "bolt" at the predetermined breaking points, which represent the short thin segments, broken off and into the Machine can be entered. This principle of the "bar-shaped" shaped body detergent can also be realized in other geometric shapes, for example vertically standing triangles, which are connected to one another only on one of their sides along the side.

However, it is also possible that the various components are not pressed into a uniform tablet, but that shaped bodies are obtained which have several layers, that is to say at least two layers. It is also possible that these different layers have different dissolving speeds. This can result in advantageous application properties of the molded body. If, for example, components are contained in the moldings that mutually influence one another negatively, it is possible to integrate one component in the more rapidly soluble layer and to incorporate the other component in a more slowly soluble layer, so that the first component has already reacted. when the second goes into solution. The layer structure of the molded body can take place in a stack-like manner, with the inner layer (s) already loosening at the edges of the molded body when the outer layers have not yet been completely removed, but it is also possible for the inner layer (s) to be completely encased ) can be achieved by the layer (s) lying further outwards, which leads to the premature dissolution of components of the inner layer (s).

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, a molded body consists of at least three layers, that is to say two outer and at least one inner layer, with at least one peroxy bleaching agent being contained in at least one of the inner layers However, in the case of the stacked molded article, the two outer layers and in the case of the molded article, the outermost layers are free of peroxy bleach. Furthermore, it is also possible to spatially separate peroxy bleaching agents and any bleach activators and / or enzymes that may be present in a molded body. Such multilayer molded bodies have the advantage that they can be used not only via a dispensing chamber or via a metering device which is added to the washing liquor; rather, in such cases it is also possible to put the molded body into direct contact with the textiles in the machine without the risk of bleaching from bleaching agents and the like.

Similar effects can also be achieved by coating individual constituents of the detergent and cleaning agent composition to be treated or the entire molded article. For this purpose, the bodies to be coated can, for example, be sprayed with aqueous solutions or emulsions, or else they can be coated using the melt coating method.

After pressing, the detergent tablets have a high stability. The breaking strength of cylindrical shaped bodies can be determined via the measured variable of the diametrical breaking load. This can be determined according to

2P πDt

Herein σ stands for diametral fracture stress (DFS) in Pa, P is the force in N that leads to the pressure exerted on the molded body that causes the molded body to break, D is the molded body diameter in meters and t the height of the molded body.

Another object of the present invention is the use of cooled premixes with temperatures below 20 ° C for the production of washing and cleaning 35

moldings. This use of the cooled premixes according to the invention leads to moldings with advantageous properties, as the examples below show. With regard to preferred embodiments of the use according to the invention (lower temperatures, composition of the premix, etc.), what has been said above for the method according to the invention applies analogously.

Examples:

Wet granulation in a 130 liter ploughshare mixer from Lödige produced a surfactant granulate, the composition of which is given in Table 1. Following the granulation, the granules were dried in an Aeromatic fluidized bed apparatus at an inlet air temperature of 60 ° C. for 30 minutes. After drying, the granules were sieved to remove the fine particles <0.4 mm and coarse particles> 1.6 mm.

The surfactant granules were then processed with other components to give a compressible premix, the composition of which is given in Table 2. The compressible premix was halved and each half was packed airtight. The two portions of the premix were stored at different temperatures for 18 hours (according to the invention: 9 ° C., comparative example: room temperature, 22 ° C.) and then unpacked and made into tablets in a Korsch eccentric press (diameter: 44 mm, height: 22 mm, weight : 37.5 g). The measured values of the tablet hardness and disintegration times are in each case the mean values of a double determination, the individual values per molded body type varying by a maximum of 2 N or 2 s. Table 2, which shows the composition of the premixes, also gives the temperature of the respective premixture directly before the pressing process.

Table 1: Composition of the surfactant granules [% by weight]

Table 2: Composition of the premixes [% by weight]:

Terephthalic acid-ethylene glycol-polyethylene glycol ester (Rhodia, Rhône-Poulenc)

The hardness of the tablets was measured after manufacture by deforming the tablet to fracture, the force acting on the side surfaces of the tablet and the maximum force that the tablet withstood.

To determine the tablet disintegration, the tablet was placed in a beaker with water (600 ml of water, temperature 30 ° C.) and the time until the tablet disintegrated completely. The experimental data are shown in Table 3: Table 3: Detergent tablets [physical data]

Table 3 shows that the disintegration times of detergent tablets are significantly reduced by the procedure according to the invention, which results in significant improvements, particularly at higher hardnesses.

Claims

Claims:

1. A process for the production of detergent and shaped articles by shaping molding in a manner known per se, characterized in that the premix to be molded has a temperature below 20 ° C. immediately before molding.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the premix to be veφressing immediately before the Veφressen a temperature below 18 ° C, preferably below 15 ° C, particularly preferably below 13 ° C and in particular below 10 ° C.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the premix to be veφressende contains surfactant-containing (s) granules (s) and further processing components.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the premix to be veφress contains a surfactant-containing granules which contains anionic and / or nonionic surfactants and builders and the total surfactant content 5 to 60 wt .-%, preferably 10 to 50 wt .-% % and in particular 15 to 40% by weight, in each case based on the surfactant granules.

5. The method according to any one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the surfactant-containing granules have particle sizes between 100 and 2000 microns, preferably between 200 and 1800 microns, particularly preferably between 400 and 1600 microns and in particular between 600 and 1400 microns.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the proportion of the surfactant-containing granules in the detergent form 40 to 95 wt .-%, preferably 45 to 85 wt .-% and in particular 55 to 75 wt .-% %, in each case based on the weight of the detergent tablets.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the premix to be pressed has a bulk density of at least 500 g / 1, preferably at least 600 g / 1 and in particular above 700 g / 1.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the premix to be pressed additionally a disintegration aid, preferably a disintegration aid based on cellulose, preferably in granular, cogranulated or compacted form, in amounts of 0.5 to 10 wt .-% , preferably from 3 to 7% by weight and in particular from 4 to 6% by weight, in each case based on the weight of the premix.

9. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that the or one of the admixed processing components is a zeolite of the faujasite type with particle sizes below 100 microns, preferably below 10 microns and in particular below 5 microns and at least 0.2 wt .-% , preferably at least 0.5 wt .-% and in particular more than 1 wt .-% of the premix to be veφresses.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the premix to be pressed further one or more substances from the group of bleaching agents, bleach activators, enzymes, pH adjusting agents, fragrances, perfume carriers, fluorescent agents, dyes, foam inhibitors, silicone oils, Contains anti-redeposition agents, optical brighteners, graying inhibitors, color transfer inhibitors and corrosion inhibitors.

11. Use of cooled premixes with temperatures below 20 ° C for the production of detergent tablets.