GB2095254A

GB2095254A - Tri-(tert-ammonium) salts of citric and tricarballylic acids and their use in reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing or dry cleaning

Info

Publication number: GB2095254A
Application number: GB8208048A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Chemische Fabrik Kreussler and Co GmbH
Current assignee: Chemische Fabrik Kreussler and Co GmbH
Priority date: 1981-03-21
Filing date: 1982-03-19
Publication date: 1982-09-29
Also published as: FR2502143B1; GB2095254B; DE3111149C2; FR2502143A1; DE3111149A1

Abstract

An active substance for reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing or dry cleaning which is a triammonium salt of citric acid or tricarballylic acid and a tertiary amine NR1R1R2 or NR'1R'1R'2 wherein R1 represents methyl; R2 represents a fatty alkyl radical containing from 10 to 18 carbon atoms; R'1 represents a polyoxyethylene radical -(C2H4-O-)nH; and R'2 represents an alkyl polyethoxylate radical <IMAGE> wherein R3 represents a fatty alkyl radical containing from 10 to 18 carbon atoms; and n represents an integer of from 1 to 9 is disclosed. A process for reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing using conventional detergents or during dry cleaning using conventional cleaning intensifiers which comprises adding to the wash liquor or the detergent or to the cleaning bath or the cleaning intensifier from 3 to 30%, by weight, based on the quantity of detergent or cleaning intensifier, of such an active substance is also disclosed.

Description

SPECIFICATION Active substance and process for reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing or dry cleaning This invention relates to an active substance and a process for reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing or dry cleaning; more particularly, it relates to certain active substances for reducing the discolouration ("greying") of textiles during washing or dry cleaning as an additive to conventional detergents or dry cleaning intensifiers.

Discolouration occurs as a quality-reducing phenomenon both during the washing and during the dry cleaning of textiles when the dirt content of the wash liquor or of the dry cleaning bath increases and/or the concentration of the detergent or cleaning intensifier used is too low for adequate dirt suspension. Discolouration occurs even if these agents are used in large quantities.

According to the present invention, it has been found that the discolouration which textiles undergo both during washing and during dry cleaning may be distinctly reduced by adding to conventional detergents or cleaning intensifiers from 3 to 30%, by weight, preferably from 10 to 20%, by weight, of the triammonium salt of citric acid or carballylic acid (1,2,3-propane tricarboxylic acid) with one of the tertiary amines corresponding to the following salt formulae:

wherein A represents a hydroxyl group (citric acid) or hydrogen (tricarballylic acid); R1 represents methyl; R2 represents a fatty alkyl radical containing from 8 to 1 8 carbon atoms; R1' represents a polyoxyethylene radical (CH2CH20)nH wherein n represents a number offrom 1 to 9; and B2, represents an alkyl polyethoxylate radical

wherein R3 represents a fatty alkyl radical containing from 10 to 1 8 carbon atoms; and n represents a number of from 1 to 9 which is (substantially) equal in value to the number n in the definition of R1 Accordingly, the present invention provides an active substance for reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing or dry cleaning which is a triammonium salt of a tricarboxylic acid and a tertiary amine, the acid being citric acid or tricarballylic acid and the amine corresponding to one of the following general formulae:: NR1R'R2 or NR1,R1,R2, wherein R1 represents methyl; R2 represents a fatty alkyl radical containing from 8 to 1 8 carbon atoms; R,' represents a polyoxyethylene radical -(C2H4-0-)H; and B2, represents an alkyl polyethoxylate radical

wherein R3 represents a fatty alkyl radical containing from 10 to 18 carbon atoms; and n represents an integer of from 1 to 9.

The present invention also provides a process for reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing using conventional detergents or during dry cleaning using conventional cleaning intensifiers which comprises adding to the wash liquor or the detergent or to the cleaning bath or the cleaning intensifier from 3 to 30%, by weight, based on the quantity of detergent or cleaning intensifier, of such an active substance.

The active substances according to the present invention are easily formed when the tribasic acid is reacted with an excess of the particular tertiary amine in water.

So far as dry cleaning is concerned, a particularly effective reduction in discolouration is obtained when the triammonium salt is formed from coconut oil alkyl dimethylamine or from a hydroxyalkylamine corresponding to the following formula:

wherein R represents a fatty alkyl radical containing from 10 to 18 carbon atoms; particularly when the tricarboxylic acid is citric acid.

The triammonium salts, particularly the triammonium salt of citric acid, with the following tertiary amine:

wherein R represents a fatty alkyl radical containing 10 or 12 carbon atoms; are particularly suitable for reducing discolouration during washing.

The effectiveness of the active substances according to the present invention is illustrated by the following Examples.

Example 1 White test fabric from the Waschereiforschung Krefeld (WKR) was treated for 1 5 minutes at 300C in samples of the same dirty dry cleaning bath after the addition of: (a) 5 g/l of a standard commercial anion-active cleaning intensifier essentially consisting of approximately 20%, by weight, of potassium dodecyl benzene sulphonate, 30%, by weight, of nonyl phenyl ethoxylates, 20%, by weight, of water, and 30%, by weight, of white oil;; (b) 5 g/l of the cleaning intensifier according to (a), and 0.5 g/l of the triammonium salt of coconut oil alkyl dimethylamine and citric acid as the discolouration reducing agent according to the present invention, and (c) 5 g/l of the cleaning intensifier according to (a) and 0.5 g/l of the triammonium salt of coconut oil alkyl dimethylamine and tricarballylic acid as the discolouration reducing agent according to the present invention.

The reduction in whiteness of the test fabric in percent of the initial value was then determined by electrophotometric measurement.

The results obtained for the individual treatments were as follows: (a) 1 2.7% discolouration of the test fabric; (b) 4.7% disclouration of the test fabric; and (c) 7.1% discolouration of the test fabric.

Example 2 The procedure was as in Example 1, except that, on the one hand, (a) 5 g/l of a standard commercial cation-active cleaning intensifier essentially consisting of approximately 20%, by weight, of coconut oil dialkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, 30%, by weight, of nonyl phenyl ethoxylates; 20%, by weight, of water, and 30%, by weight, of white oil; and on the other hand, (b) 5 g/l of the same cleaning intensifier and 1 g/l of triammonium citrate as the discolouration reducing agent according to the present invention of the following tertiary amine:

wherein R represents a fatty alkyl radical containing 10 or 12 carbon atoms; were added to the dirty dry cleaning bath. The results obtained for the two treatments were as follows: (a) 13.4% discolouration of the test fabric; and (b) 6.7% discolouration of the test fabric.

Example 3 (a) WFK test fabric was added to a load of heavily soiled industrial clothing which was washed at 600C with a non-ionic detergent essentially consisting of nonyl phenyl ethoxylate containing 12 moles of ethylene oxide.

(b) In a comparative washing test conducted on equally heavily soiled industrial clothing and WFK-test fabrics, the wash liquor contained, in addition to the detergent according to (a), 1 5%, by weight, based on the quantity of detergent, of a discolouration reducing agent according to the present invention in the form of the triammonium citrate of the following tertiary amine:

wherein R represents a fatty alkyl radical containing 10 or 1 2 carbon atoms.

The results obtained from the two washing tests were as follows: (a) 4.3% discolouration of the test fabric; and (b) 2.7% discolouration of the test fabric.

Example 4 Heavily soiled cotton hand towels were boil-washed in a domestic washing machine along with WKF test fabrics, on the one hand, (a) with a standard commercial domestic detergent essentially consisting of approximately 5%, by weight, of fatty acid, 10%, by weight, of alkane sulphonate, 1 0%, by weight, of fatty alcohol ethoxylate, 15%, by weight, of metasilicate, 10%, by weight, of perborate, 40%, by weight, of polyphosphate, and 10%, by weight, of sodium sulphate; and, on the other hand, (b) with the detergent according to (a) containing an addition of 5%, by weight, based on the quantity of detergent, of a discolouration reducing agent according to the present invention, namely the triammonium citrate of the following tertiary amine:

wherein R represents a fatty alkyl radical containing 1 4 or 1 6 carbon atoms.

The results obtained in the washing tests were as follows: (a) 2.1% discolouration of the WFK-test fabric; and (b) 1.7% discolouration of the WFK-test fabric.

As the Examples clearly show, the active substances according to the present invention as an additive to conventional cleaning intensifiers for dry cleaning or as an additive to conventional detergents for washing bring about a significant reduction in the discolouration of textiles by comparisons with the usual discolouration values. Where the discolouration reducing agents according to the present invention are used, the conventional degree of discolouration is reduced to from 40 to 60% providing suitable mixing ratios as indicated in the Examples are used. With other types of cleaning intensifiers or detergents or other types of soiling, it may be sufficient or advisable to add from 3 to 30%, by weight, of one of the active substances according to the present invention to the conventional detergent or intensifier to obtain a satisfactory reduction in discolouration.

Instead of adding the salt, the components, tricarboxylic acid and tertiary amine, of the discolouration reducing agents according to the present invention may also be separately added to the cleaning intensifier or the dry cleaning bath or to the detergent or wash liquor.

Claims

1. An active substance for reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing or dry cleaning which is a triammonium salt of a tricarboxylic acid and a tertiary amine, the acid being citric acid or tricarballylic acid and the amine corresponding to one of the following general formulae: NR,R,R2 or NR,'R,'R2 wherein R1 represents methyl; R2 represents a fatty alkyl radical containing from 8 to 1 8 carbon atoms; R,' represents a polyoxyethylene radical -(C2H4-0-)H; and B2, represents an alkyl polyethoxylate radical

2. A process for the preparation of an active substance as claimed in claim 1 substantially as herein described.

3. A process for reducing the discolouration of textiles during washing using conventional detergents or during dry cleaning using conventional dry cleaning intensifiers which comprises adding to the wash liquor or the detergent or to the cleaning bath or the cleaning intensifier from 3 to 30%, by weight, based on the quantity of detergent or cleaning intensifier of an active substance as claimed in claim 1.

4. A process as claimed in claim 3, in which the components of the active substance, tricarboxylic acid and tertiary amine, are added separately.

5. A process as claimed in claim 3 substantially as herein described.