FI67400B - DETERGENTBLANDNINGAR MED REGLERBARA SKUMNINGSEGENSKAPER - Google Patents

Description

67400

Detergent compositions with controlled foamability. - Detergent-blandningar med reglerbara skumningsegenskaper.

* The present invention relates to foamable detergent powders containing alkyl benzene sulfonate as an active detergent component, which are mainly intended for use in front-loading or drum-type washing machines.

Most foamable detergent powders usually contain anionic surfactants in admixture with nonionic surfactants. The foam formed by surfactants is controlled by an anti-foaming agent, such as the most commonly used soap. However, manufacturers are increasingly accepting the additional costs of using substances other than soap as foaming agents, as they allow for a more flexible formulation of the detergent active component. Nevertheless, the additional costs associated with the use of these compounds must be minimized.

We have now found that when alkyl benzene sulfonate is used as the anionic surfactant component of the washing powder and alkyl phosphoric acid or a salt thereof is used as the foaming agent, foaming can be controlled very effectively by selecting the appropriate type of alkyl benzene sulfonate used.

The present invention thus provides a washing powder containing 5% by weight or more of water-soluble salts of alkylbenzenesulfonates and wherein the total amount of alkyl groups containing 14 carbon atoms or more is less than 15% by weight of the alkyl material and a foaming agent containing alkylphosphoric acid or its hydrochloride.

2 67400

The alkylbenzene precursors of the sulfonates of the invention may be prepared from cracked wax olefins, polymerized lower olefins or any other desired route, provided that their chain length and molecular weight meet the criteria of the invention.

The properties of alkyl benzene sulfonates are extremely important to the present invention because we have found that if sulfonates containing large amounts of alkyl groups having 14 carbon atoms or more are used, significantly higher amounts of foaming agent must be used with the resulting foams to achieve the desired foaming profile.

The total amount of alkylbenzene sulfonates having 14 carbon atoms or more is preferably less than 5% by weight. It is also preferred that the unsulfonated hydrocarbon have an average molecular weight of 235 to 245. Alkyl betenesulfonate may be used in combination with other anionic detergent active agents. Examples of such substances are sodium primary and secondary alkyl sulphates, sodium sulphon sulphonates and sodium alkane sulphonates. Of these, ≤ ^ 2 ^ 20 Pr ^^ ris and secondary alkyl sulfates are preferred.

The compositions of the invention preferably contain from 5 to 25% by weight, most preferably from 5 to 15% by weight of total anionic surfactant. The alkylbenzene sulfonates selected, if desired, constitute at least half of these amounts and in any case at least 5% by weight of the mixture.

The compositions according to the invention may also contain non-ionic surfactants up to 15% by weight. Preferred nonionic surfactants are C8-C24 primary and secondary aliphatic alcohols ethoxylated with 3 to 25 moles of ethylene-3,674,000 moles of alcohol per mole of alcohol. Particularly preferred are primary alcohol ethoxylates containing from 5 to 15 moles of ethylene oxide. From the point of view of washing ability, we have found the best ethoxylate of ^ 5 spiral alcohol 7E0.

Another essential component of the compositions of the invention is alkyl phosphoric acid or a salt thereof, preferably mixed with a hydrocarbon oil or wax. Preferred alkylphosphoric acids have the general formula 0 R.O (EO) - P - OH (I) i n,

A

wherein A is -OH or F ^ OiEO ^ -, and which may be the same or different, preferably denote a straight-chain or branched, saturated or unsaturated alkyl group, in particular a straight-saturated group, and m and n, which may be the same or different, are 0 or an integer from 1 to 6. A is preferably -OH and n is 0, so the compounds are monoalkylphosphoric acids, most preferably containing straight alkyl groups. These compounds may be present either as the free acid or as the sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium salt or a mixture thereof.

The amount of alkylphosphoric acid or salt thereof used in the detergent compositions can vary widely from a minimum level of about 0.05% by weight to a practical maximum amount of about 5% by weight, most preferably 0.1 to about 3% by weight. Amounts in excess of 5% can be used, but this is uneconomical and usually does not bring any benefits to the product.

Suitable hydrocarbon waxes for use in detergent compositions include water-insoluble materials of either synthetic, mineral, vegetable or animal origin which can be dispersed in the detergent solution. The waxes should usually melt at a temperature between about 20 ° C and about 120 ° C, most preferably at most about 90 ° C and especially between about 30 ° C and about 70 ° C, i.e. at a lower temperature than the highest intended washing temperature of the detergent mixture.

The preferred waxes are of mineral origin, especially waxes derived from petroleum, including microcrystalline and oxidized microcrystalline oil waxes, "petrolatum" and paraffin waxes. Vaseline is more properly a semi-solid wax, usually with a droplet melting point of about 30 ° C, but which in this context is grouped with other solid waxes for simplicity. If desired, synthetic waxes such as Fischer-Tropsch and oxidized Fischer-Tropsch waxes or montan waxes or natural waxes such as beeswax, candelilla and carnauba waxes can also be used. Any of the waxes described may be used alone or in admixture with other waxes.

The waxes should be readily dispersible but insoluble in the detergent solution. It is recommended that they do not have very high saponification numbers, for example not more than about 100. Wax emulsifiers or stabilizers may also be added to the detergent compositions.

The amount of wax is usually about 0.05 to about 10%, most preferably about 0.1 to about 5% and especially about 0.5 to about 3% of the mixture. The total amount of alkylphosphoric acid or its salt and hydrocarbon wax is usually about 0.2 to about 20% by weight of the mixture, most preferably about 0.5 to about 5% by weight. The ratio of the amount of alkylphosphoric acid or its salt to the amount of wax can vary greatly from about 1:25 to about 10: 1 parts by weight. It is usually about 1:20 to about 10: 1 parts by weight, most preferably about 1:10 to about 1: 1 parts by weight.

5,674,000

In addition to the wax which can be used in the detergent mixture together with the alkyl phosphoric acid or its salt, a hydrocarbon oil may also be present, either added separately or together with the wax, for example to facilitate the addition of the wax or to change its melting point or dispersion properties.

Examples of suitable liquid hydrocarbons are mineral, vegetable or animal oils, of which colorless mineral oils are preferred. Either light or heavy mineral oils or mixtures thereof are useful, but the volatility of each liquid hydrocarbon used should, of course, be low at normal fabric washing temperatures. Other oils that may be used if desired include vegetable oils such as sesame oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, almond oil, olive oil, wheat germ oil, rice bran oil or peanut oil or animal oils such as lanolin, hoof oil, hoof oil. Of course, any such used oil should not be strongly colored, strongly odorous, or otherwise such that it cannot be used in the detergent composition.

Other sudsing agents can be used in combination with the antifoam acid-based antifoam agents. Examples of such are silicone-based modifiers, for example granular sodium tripolyphosphate particles impregnated with organopolysiloxane and encapsulated in wax, or hydrophobic silica particles impregnated with organopolysiloxane. Another particularly interesting example is a particle with a spherical or cylindrical core, preferably sucrose, which core is coated with an absorbent such as titanium dioxide impregnated with polysiloxane. The whole particle is coated with wax. Foaming control additives can also be used as mixtures of polysiloxanes and waxes or ethylenedistearimides, either alone or in admixture with waxes.

Detergent builders are usually included in the compositions of the invention. Several suitable detergent builders are generally known and are also commercially available. Examples are alkali metal, ortho, pyro and tripolyphosphates, alkali metal carbonates and bicarbonates, alkali metal polyphosphates, alkali metal nitrilotriacetates and organic builders proposed in response to a phosphate group. Examples of these organic builders are sodium carboxy methyloxy succinate, sodium citrate and sodium polyacrylate.

Other detergent builders include a combination of sodium carbonate and finely divided calcite and crystalline or amorphous aluminosilicate cation exchangers. These builders can be used in an amount of 5 to 80% by weight of the mixture, preferably 10 to 60% by weight.

The compositions of the invention may also contain oxygen bleaching agents such as sodium carbonate and sodium percarbonate, excipients such as sodium sulfate and moisture, and minor components such as slurry hydrotropes, corrosion inhibitors, anti-redeposition agents, anti-ashing agents, antioxidants, antioxidants optical brighteners, enzymes, blue bleaches and pigments and dyes.

The following examples further illustrate the invention.

Example 1

A series of spray-dried powders were prepared according to the following general formulation and the following general method: 7 67400

Parts by weight

Sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate 8.0 Primary ^ 5 alcohol ethoxylate 7E0 3.0

Sodium silicate 8.0

Sodium tripoyphosphate 35.0

Sodium sulphate 7.0

Sodium carboxymethylcellulose 1.0

Moisture, Fluorescents and Stabilizers 14.0 On top of this powder, when it fell from the conveyor belt into a drop-like manner on another belt, a defoaming agent was sprayed as a mixture containing 1 part C.. alkyl phosphoric acid ester and 3 parts of petrolatum. The spray-dried powder was then mixed with the perfume in 24 parts of sodium perborate tetrahydrate.

The foams formed by each powder, the composition of which differed from the composition of the other powders as described below, were evaluated as follows:

In front-loading automatic Hoover-branded (registered trademark) washing machines, 2 1/2 kg batches of white terry cotton towel were washed using water having a hardness of 26 ° H and 200 g of powder. According to the washing program, the washing took place at 90 ° C.

The foam height of each washing solution was measured using an arbitrary scale attached to the window of the washing machine. Each foam assay was performed four times. The average height of the foam is shown in the following tables obtained by interpolation from the curve. The curve was obtained directly from the results of the experiments.

In the first set of experiments, three groups of powders were used. The control series, i.e. series A, contained alkylbenzenesulfonate having a molecular weight of 255. Series B and C of the invention contained alkylbenzenesulfonate having molecular weights of 241 and 242, respectively. Table 1 shows the actual alkyl chain length distribution.

Five modifications were made from each set of powders by spraying 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4% by weight of a mixture of alkyl phosphoric acid and petrolatum, respectively. The heights of the foams were evaluated as described. The results are shown in Table 2.

It is found that powder A, which contains alkylbenzenesulfonate with substantial amounts of C 1-4 and alkyl groups in the mixture, causes over-foaming with low amounts of antifoaming agent. In contrast, the powders according to the invention do not cause over-foaming.

In fact, they produce little foam at higher amounts of the antifoaming agent.

9 67400

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Claims (6)

11 67400 Washing powder containing 5% by weight or more of water-soluble salts of alkylbenzenesulfonates and a foaming agent containing alkylphosphoric acid or a salt thereof, characterized in that alkylbenzenesulfonates contain less than 15% by weight of total alkyl groups and 14 carbon atoms. Washing powder according to Claim 1, characterized in that the total amount of alkyl groups having 14 carbon atoms or more is less than 5% by weight of the alkyl material. Washing powder according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the alkylbenzene from which the alkylbenzene sulfonate is prepared has an average molecular weight of 235 to 245. Washing powder according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the alkylbenzenesulfonate is combined with a C 8 -C 24 primary or secondary alcohol ethoxylated with 3 to 25 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol. Washing powder according to Claim 4, characterized in that the ethoxylated alcohol is a C12-C15 primary alcohol which is ethoxylated with 5 to 10 moles of ethylene oxide. Washing powder according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the foaming agent contains alkyl phosphoric acid or a salt thereof in combination with a hydrocarbon oil or wax.