FR3054458A1 - USE OF LOW-MINERALIZED WATER AS A CLEANER - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to the use of a weakly mineralized water for surface cleaning.

Description

054 458

57452 ® FRENCH REPUBLIC

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY © Publication number:

(only to be used for reproduction orders) © National registration number

COURBEVOIE © Int Cl ⁸ : B 08 B 3/04 (2017.01)

PATENT INVENTION APPLICATION

A1

(© Date of filing: 01.08.16. (© Priority: (© Applicant (s): ALTIMAT - FR. @ Inventor (s): LESCURE BERTRAND. (© Date of public availability of the request: 02.02.18 Bulletin 18/05. (© List of documents cited in the preliminary search report: See the end of this brochure (© References to other related national documents: ® Holder (s): ALTIMAT. ©) Extension request (s): © Agent (s): CABINET GERMAIN & MAUREAU.

(04) USE OF LOWLY MINERALIZED WATER AS A CLEANER.

_ The present invention relates to the use of weakly mineralized water for surface cleaning.

FR 3 054 458 - A1

The present invention relates to the use of weakly mineralized water for surface cleaning.

To date, there are many products for cleaning surfaces as diverse as glass surfaces, windshields, glasses or computer screens.

Most of these products contain water but also additives or cleaning agents harmful to the user and / or the environment. In addition, the cleaning power of these products is often insufficient for the intended use.

For example, the windshield washer fluids used for car windshields are designed to be sprayed onto the windshield and wiped off immediately by the wiper blades. They must not leave traces once wiped and dried. In order to have sufficient cleaning power, especially on dirt and insect impacts, most windshield washer fluids contain surfactants, detergents and sometimes alcohol, all of which are harmful to the health of the user. user and / or for the environment.

Similar problems are encountered with products for cleaning glasses and products for cleaning computer screens.

Thus, at the date of the present invention, it remains necessary to identify products free of additive or cleaning agent harmful to the user and / or the environment, but allowing surface cleaning, in particular of glass surfaces , windshields, glasses or computer screens, with an efficiency at least comparable to that of conventionally used products.

Now, it has now been found, quite surprisingly, that weakly mineralized water makes it possible to satisfactorily clean surfaces, in particular glass surfaces, windshields, glasses or computer screens. , without containing additives or cleaning agents present in products currently on the market and harmful to the user and / or the environment.

The present invention therefore relates to the use of water containing:

- less than 50 mg / l of calcium;

- less than 10 mg / l of sulfates;

- less than 5 mg / l of magnesium;

- less than 5 mg / l of phosphates;

- less than 5 mg / l of chlorides;

- less than 5 mg / l of potassium; and

- less than 2 mg / l of carboxylic acids;

for surface cleaning.

The use of weakly mineralized water having the above characteristics and which does not contain any cleaning additive or active agent harmful to the user and / or the environment makes it possible to clean surfaces, in particular glazed surfaces, windshields, glasses or computer screens, with an efficiency comparable to that of products currently on the market, which contain additives or cleaning agents harmful to the user and / or the environment.

In the context of the present invention:

- “surface” means any solid surface, flat or not, in particular glass, plastic or polymer surfaces;

- “phosphate” means the phosphate ion PO ₄ ³ and its derivative acids HPO4 ² , H2PO ₄ · and H ₃ PO ₄ ;

- “carboxylic acid” means any carboxylic acid comprising from 1 to 10 carbon atoms, preferably methanoic acid (or formic acid), ethanoic acid (or acetic acid), propanoic acid (yes propionic acid ) and / or butanoic acid (or butyric acid); and

- “antifreeze” means any chemical substance which, mixed with water, lowers the freezing temperature of the latter. As an example of antifreeze, mention may in particular be made of ethylene glycol, glycerol, methanol, isopropanol or a mixture of these products.

In addition, in the context of the present invention, the proportions expressed in% correspond to volume percentages relative to the total volume of the entity considered.

Preferably, the water used in the context of the present invention has the following characteristics, taken alone or in combination:

the water contains less than 20 mg / l of calcium, preferably less than 10 mg / l of calcium, very preferably less than 5 mg / l of calcium;

the water contains less than 5 mg / l of sulphates, preferably less than 3.5 mg / l of sulphates, very preferably less than 2 mg / l of sulphates;

the water contains less than 2 mg / l of magnesium, preferably less than 1 mg / l of magnesium, very preferably less than 0.5 mg / l of magnesium;

the water contains less than 2 mg / l of phosphates, preferably less than 1 mg / l of phosphates, very preferably less than 0.5 mg / l of phosphates;

the water contains less than 3 mg / l of chlorides, preferably less than 2 mg / l of chlorides, very preferably less than 1 mg / l of chlorides;

the water contains less than 2 mg / l of potassium, preferably less than 1 mg / l of potassium, very preferably less than 0.5 mg / l of potassium;

the water contains less than 1 mg / l of carboxylic acids, preferably less than 0.7 mg / l of carboxylic acids, very preferably less than 0.5 mg / l of carboxylic acids; and or

- the water contains less than 5 mg / l of sodium, preferably less than 1 mg / l of sodium, more preferably less than 0.5 mg / l. Most preferably, the water is free of sodium.

The present invention therefore relates to the use of water as defined above for cleaning any surface. Preferably, the subject of the present invention is the use of water as described above for cleaning the following surfaces:

- glazed surfaces such as windows or bay windows;

- windshields, in particular for cars, coaches, trucks, planes and boats;

- glasses ; or

- screens, in particular computer or television screens.

When the water described in the context of the present invention is used to clean the windshields, it may be useful to add an antifreeze thereto. Thus, the present invention also for the combined use of water as defined above and an antifreeze for cleaning windshields. Preferably, a mixture containing from 60% to 85% of the water described above and from 15% to 40% of antifreeze will be used for cleaning the windshields.

When the water described in the context of the present invention is used to clean the glass surfaces, in particular in the context of the cleaning of greasy dirt, it may be useful to add acetic acid to it. Thus, the present invention also has for the combined use of water as defined above and acetic acid for cleaning glass surfaces. Preferably, a mixture containing from 70% to 95% of the water described above and from 5% to 30% of acetic acid will be used for cleaning the glass surfaces. Most preferably, a mixture containing from 80% to 90% of the water described above and from 10% to 20% of acetic acid will be used for cleaning the glass surfaces.

The present invention is illustrated in a nonlimiting manner by the following examples.

Example - Cleaning Power of Water According to the Invention

1. Water used

The composition of the water used in the context of the comparative studies that have been carried out is reported in Table 1 below.

Chemical species Quantity (in mg / l) Sodium - Calcium 4.5 Magnesium 0.206 Sulphates 1.6 Phosphates <0.4 Carboxylic acids <0.5 Chlorides 0.6 Potassium <0.5

Table 1 - Weakly mineralized water

The cleaning power of weakly mineralized water was compared to:

- a solution containing 88.5% of weakly mineralized water and 11.5% of acetic acid;

- conventional tap water, the composition of which is given in Table 2 below;

- and a commercial window washer liquid of private label (composition: aqua, alcohol, lauryl glucoside, sodium laureth sulfate, glycereth-17 cocoate) diluted to 20%.

Chemical species Quantity (in mg / l) Sodium 30-42 Calcium 98-146 Magnesium 9-13 Sulphates 127-172 Phosphates 0.3 Carboxylic acids Traces Chlorides 42-72 Potassium 7.2-11

Table 2 - Tap water

2. Experimental protocol

The mud used in the comparative study consists of a water / earth mixture to which 10 ml of consumption oil have been added for 500 g of mud.

This mud was applied to a windshield and a computer screen evenly using a brush.

Once the mud has been applied and dried for approximately 2 minutes, 25 ml of the solution to be tested (weakly mineralized water, weakly mineralized water / acetic acid, tap water or windscreen washer liquid described in point 1. above) have been poured onto the windshield or the computer screen and then recovered.

The solutions recovered (loaded with material / dirt) were then diluted by adding 50 ml of the corresponding uncharged solution (e.g. 50ml of tap water was added to the 25ml of the tap water + dirt mixture).

The solutions obtained were then analyzed.

3. Analysis and results

3.1 - Spectrophotometry

The absorbance of the recovered solutions was measured by spectrophotometry in a beaker which can contain 100 ml using a spectrophotometer (wavelength 700 nm).

The absorbances measured are reported in Table 3 below.

Solution AT bsorbance measured (*) Without dirt (basic solution) Charged - Guard broken Loaded - Screen computer Water weakly mineralized 0.2 2.2 2.2 Water weakly mineralized + acid acetic 0.24 2.2 2.2 Tap water 0.18 0.9 2.3 Window cleaner at 20% 0.2 2.2 2.2

(*): an absorbance of 0 corresponds to the absorbance of the surrounding air Table 3

3.2-Dry residue

10.5 ml of each “loaded” solution are placed in test tubes which have been weighed individually beforehand.

These tubes are then placed in an oven at 80 ° C for 120h and then weighed again.

In addition, a control tube containing 2.02 g of the mud used for the experiments was also dried.

The results obtained are reported in the following Table 4.

Solution Weight (in g) Tube empty Solution added After drying Dirt (mud + grease) detention Particles solid (mud) deductions Windshield Water weakly mineralized 11.74 9.94 12.77 1.03 0.41 Water weakly mineralized + acid acetic 11.27 10.23 12.35 1.08 0.43 Tap water 11.42 9.9 11.98 0.56 0.22 Window cleaner at 20% 11.78 9.82 12.93 1.15 0.45 Screen computer Water weakly mineralized 11.8 9.94 12.89 1.09 0.43 Water weakly mineralized + acid acetic 11.73 10.14 12.8 1.07 0.42 Tap water 11.74 10.06 12.85 1.11 0.44 Window cleaner at 20% 11.58 9.93 12.77 1.19 0.47 Sample tube 11.49 2.02 12.71 0.8 39.6

Table 4

In addition, it was noted when washing the tubes used in these 5 experiments that it was necessary to use a fairly strong jet of water and a brush to clean the dried materials from the tubes containing the solutions. weakly mineralized water, tap water and windscreen washer product, while a simple jet of water was enough to disintegrate the dry residue stuck to the bottom of the tube containing the weakly mineralized water / acetic acid mixture.

4. Conclusions

The use of weakly mineralized water free from additives or cleaning agents harmful to the user and / or the environment makes it possible to clean surfaces, in particular glass surfaces, windshields and computer screens with satisfactory efficiency compared to windscreen washer fluids currently available on the market.

In addition, the washing power of weakly mineralized water is much higher than that of tap water.

Finally, the use of the weakly mineralized water / acetic acid mixture on a glass surface makes it possible to facilitate the cleaning of any residues remaining on the surface after a first application of the solution. It is noted in particular that the addition of acetic acid allows a more effective cleaning of fats.

Claims (11)

1. Use of water containing: - less than 50 mg / l of calcium; - less than 10 mg / l of sulfates; - less than 5 mg / l of magnesium; - less than 5 mg / l of phosphates; - less than 5 mg / l of chlorides; - less than 5 mg / l of potassium; and - less than 2 mg / l of carboxylic acids; for surface cleaning. 2. Use according to claim 1, characterized in that the water contains less than 20 mg / l of calcium. 3. Use according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the water contains less than 5 mg / l of sulfates. 4. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the water contains less than 2 mg / l of magnesium. 5. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the water contains less than 2 mg / l of phosphates. 6. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the water contains less than 3 mg / l of chlorides. 7. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the water contains less than 2 mg / l of potassium. 8. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the water contains less than 1 mg / l of carboxylic acids. 9. Use of water according to one of claims 1 to 8 for cleaning glass surfaces, windshields, glasses or computer screens. ίο 10. Use of water according to one of claims 1 for cleaning windshields. 5 11. Use of water according to one of claims 1 for cleaning glass surfaces. 8 and antifreeze for 8 and acetic acid