GB788681A - Synthetic organic detergent compositions - Google Patents

Abstract

A process for improving the quality of a relatively water-soluble off-grade non-soapy synthetic detergent composition which is characterized by an excessive content of free fatty acid or other ether-soluble material, particularly a composition in which the detergent contains a fatty acyl group, comprises treating a solution of the composition with (i) a relatively water-soluble salt of a metal able to form a water-insoluble soap, and (ii) an alkali metal bicarbonate, desirably sodium bicarbonate, preferably in that order, in approximately stoichiometric amounts (based on free fatty acid) and preferably also at a temperature of 90-170 DEG F., most desirably 125-155 DEG F. The detergent solution to be treated should contain 25-50 per cent active detergent, 0-20 per cent solvent (preferably ethanol or isopropanol) and the rest water, fatty acid, and other ether-soluble material, and inorganic impurities. The metal salts to be used are particularly the sulphates and chlorides of magnesium, zinc, aluminium, cadmium, calcium, strontium and barium, where such are soluble, and especially the sulphates of magnesium, zinc, calcium and aluminium. Among the detergent compounds to compositions containing which the invention is especially applicable are the sodium, potassium, lithium, magnesium, ammonium amine and alkylolamine salts of (a) sulphuric acid esters of polyhydric alcohols incompletely esterified with fatty acids, (b) fatty acid esters of hydroxyalkyl sulphonic acids, (c) fatty acid amides of aminoalkyl sulphonic acids, (d) sulphated fatty acyl monoethanolamides, and (e) N-substituted fatty acyl sarcosines and glycines. It is also applicable to compositions containing fatty ethanolamides. After treatment the composition may be spray- or drum-dried, either as such or after compounding with builders, water, soil-dispersing and suspending agents, fluorescent dyes, whiteners, foaming agents, preservatives, anticaking agents, heat-stable perfumes and other adjuvants, and may be produced as cosmetics, shampoos, scouring cleansers, detergent powders or bars, which latter may contain, in addition to the detergent, zinc stearate as a bodying agent, diethylene glycol monostearate as a plasticizer, titanium dioxide as a whitener, and a perfume.