HUT67495A - Rinse-active foam control particles, process for producing thereof and detergent compositions containing the particles - Google Patents

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to antifoam particles acting during rinsing. The present invention further relates to a process for preparing such particles and to detergent compositions containing these particles.

It is common practice in the detergent industry to include particles in the detergent composition that reduce the amount of foam formed during the washing process.

Although antifoam during the wash cycle is very important to avoid a negative interaction between the wash solution and the fabric, it is also known that antifoam is also desirable during rinsing as part of the wash process.

Indeed, the strong foaming that occurs during rinsing can cause foam to spill out and damage the machine, while the advantage of antifoam in hand washing is that it shortens the rinsing process.

Foam soaps have been used to rinse the foam during rinsing and have always been spray-dried together with the detergent composition.

Today, however, the goal is to reduce organic emissions during detergent production, particularly during spray drying.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to antifoam fatty acid soap particles which are prepared separately from the spray-dried detergent composition, and to a process for their preparation which does not cause organic emissions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to antifoaming particles for rinsing which are added to the detergent composition in powder form, the powder consisting mainly of fatty acid soap having at least 80% C16-C18 chain geometric mean size below 1 mm, preferably 0.4. mm.

The invention further relates to a process for the preparation of these antifoams and to the preparation of high and low foaming detergent compositions comprising the antifoam of the present invention.

Antifoam particles

The antifoam particles of the present invention are primarily comprised of fatty acid soaps having at least 80% C16-C18; preferred fatty acids are tallow or mixtures of tallow and coconut, wherein the weight ratio of tallow to coconut is at least 70/30; a 90/10 tallow / coconut mixture is particularly preferred. Suitable cations for rendering the soap water-soluble and / or dispersible include sodium, potassium, ammonium, monoethanolammonium, diethanolammonium, triethanolammonium, tetramethylammonium and the like. Sodium ion is highly preferred.

The particles of the present invention are characterized by a particle size such that their geometric mean size, based on the average of the cumulative mass distribution, is less than 1 mm, preferably less than 0.4 mm.

The individual size of the particles is determined by dividing the sum of their longest and shortest sizes by two.

• 4 ζ

- 4 The cumulative mass distribution of particles can be easily measured by fluidizing with air using a sieve.

Optional components

The particles of the invention may optionally contain a free flowing agent, such as amorphous silica, in an amount not exceeding 5% by weight of the particles.

Process for the preparation of antifoam particles according to the invention:

The process of the present invention comprises drying the slurry of fatty acid soap to a low moisture content, i.e., reducing the moisture content to 9%, preferably up to 5% by weight of the slurry, and then compressing the slurry into lumps and subsequent fine grinding. size.

Moisture control is a critical point of the process, since successful milling to the correct size cannot be achieved unless the desired moisture content is achieved.

The drying of the soap slurry is preferably carried out in a vacuum. Additional drying during milling may also be contemplated and may be carried out, for example, in an air separator.

A typical method for measuring moisture content in soap sludge and / or lumps is solvent distillation in a Bidwell ^R.

Detergent Composition

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a detergent composition in powder form comprising a surfactant and antifoam particles as described above. The ζ

5 particles can be added to the detergent composition, for example, by dry mixing. The amount of antifoam particles is usually between 0.25% and 5% by weight of the composition, depending on the type of detergent composition.

Surfactant

Many surfactants may be used in detergent compositions. Typical materials include anionic, nonionic, ampholytic and zwitterionic surfactants and the products disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,664,961.

The mixture of anionic surfactants is particularly suitable for the purposes of the invention, in particular mixtures of sulfonate and sulfate surfactants in a weight ratio of 5: 1 to 1: 2, preferably 3: 1 to 2: 3, more preferably 3: 1 to 1: 1. Preferred sulfonates are alkyl benzene sulfonates having 9 and 15, more particularly 11 and 13 carbon atoms in the alkyl radical, and alpha-sulfonated methyl fatty acid esters wherein the fatty acid has from 12 to 18, preferably from 16 to 18, carbon atoms. The cation is in each case an alkali metal, preferably sodium. Preferred sulfate surfactants are alkyl sulfates having from 12 to 18 carbon atoms in the alkyl radical, optionally mixed with ethoxysulfate having from 10 to 20 carbon atoms in the alkyl radical, preferably from 10 to 16 carbon atoms, and having an average degree of ethoxylation of 1-6 carbon atoms. Examples of preferred alkyl sulfates of the invention include tallow alkyl sulfate, coconut alkyl sulfate and C14-C15 alkyl sulfates. Here again, the cation is an alkali metal cation, preferably sodium.

One class of nonionic surfactants that can be used in the compositions of the present invention is ethylene oxide condensate. 4 · 4444 · 4 · 4

They have a hydrophobic portion which provides the surfactant with an average HLB (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance) of 8-17, preferably 9.5-13.5, more preferably 10-12.5. The hydrophobic (lipophilic) moiety may be aliphatic or aromatic, and the length of the polyoxyethylene moiety condensed with any hydrophobic moiety may be well selected to provide a water-soluble product having the desired balance between hydrophilic hydrophobic moieties.

Particularly preferred nonionic surfactants of this type are the C9-C15 primary alcohol ethoxylates containing 3 to 8 moles of ethylene oxide per alcohol molecule, more particularly the C14-C15 primary alcohol containing 6 to 8 moles of ethylene oxide per alcohol molecule, and C14 -C14 primary alcohols containing 3-5 moles of ethylene oxide per alcohol molecule.

Another class of nonionic surfactants are the alkyl polyglucoside compounds of formula (I) -

RO (C _n H _2n O) _t Z _x (I)

Z is a group derived from glucose;

R is a saturated hydrophobic alkyl group containing from 12 to 18 carbon atoms;

t is from 0 to 10;

n is 2 or 3;

x is from 1.3 to 4;

less than 10% unreacted fatty acids and less than 50% of the compounds.

- contain less than 7 lower alkyl polyglucosides. Compounds of this type and their use as detergents are described in EP-B 0 070 077, 0 075 996 and 0 094 118.

Also suitable as nonionic surfactants are the polyhydroxy fatty acid amide surfactants of formula (II).

R ² - C - N - Ζ (II)

R ^{1 is in} the formula

R 1 is hydrogen, C 1-4 hydrocarbon radical, 2-hydroxyethyl, 2-hydroxypropyl, or a mixture thereof;

R ² is a C 5 -C 31 hydrocarbon radical;

Z is a polyhydroxy hydrocarbon group having a linear hydrocarbon chain in which at least three hydroxy groups are directly attached to the chain or an alkoxylated derivative thereof.

R 1 is preferably methyl, R ² is a straight-chained C 1 -C 15 alkyl or alkenyl chain such as coconut alkyl or a mixture thereof; Z is made from a reducing sugar such as glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose by a reductive amination reaction.

A further class of surfactants are semipolar surfactants such as amine oxides. Suitable amine oxides may be mono- 8-20, preferably 10-14 carbon * ♦ • 4 4 4 4 • 4 · · 4 44 484 444

- 8-atom N-alkyl or alkenylamine oxides and propylene-1,3-diamine dioxides, characterized in that the remaining N-positions are substituted by methyl, hydroxyethyl or hydroxypropyl groups.

Another group of surfactants is amphoteric surfactants, such as polyamine-based compounds.

Cationic surfactants may also be used in the detergent compositions of the present invention, and the corresponding quaternary ammonium surfactants may be N-C 8 -C 10, preferably C 10 -C 14 N-alkyl or alkenyl-ammonium surfactants, characterized in that the remaining N- atoms are substituted with methyl, hydroxyethyl or hydroxypropyl groups.

Mixtures of surfactants, more particularly anionic and nonionic, as well as anionic, nonionic and cationic mixtures are very preferred. Particularly advantageous mixtures are disclosed in British Patent Specification 2040987 and European Patent Application 0 087 9124. Detergent compositions may contain from 1 to 70% by weight of a surfactant, but the surfactant will generally be present in an amount of from 1 to 30%, more preferably from 10 to 25% by weight.

Preferably, the detergent compositions of the present invention also comprise a builder, which may be a phosphate, aluminum silicate ion exchange (zeolite) and water soluble monomer or oligomeric carboxylate chelating agent, such as citrate, succinate, oxydisuccinate, and mixtures thereof.

Other suitable builder materials include alkali metal carbonates, bicarbonates and silicates, organic phosphonates, aminopolyalkylene phosphonates and aminopolycarboxylates, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and nitrile triacetic acid. Other suitable water-soluble organic salts are homo- or copolymeric polycarboxylic acids and their salts, wherein the polycarboxylic acid contains at least two carboxylic radicals spaced no more than two carbon atoms apart. Such polymers are described in GB-A-1,596,756. Examples of such salts are polyacrylates having a molecular weight of 2000-5000 and their copolymers with maleic anhydride, these copolymers having a molecular weight of about 20,000 to 70,000, more particularly about 40,000.

Other typical components of powder detergent compositions include filler salts such as sodium sulfate, bleaching agents such as sodium perborate and percarbonate, bleach activators, antifouling agents such as carboxymethyl cellulase, enzymes, such as proteases, amylases, lipases and cellulases, bleaching agents, plasticizers, fragrances, dyes and pigments.

The detergent compositions of the present invention may be highly foaming compositions and are designed for hand washing or vertical machine washing. In these cases, the concentration of the antifoam particles is usually between 2% and 5% by weight.

The compositions of the present invention may be of a low foaming type and thus suitable for all types of washing machines, in which the

In 10 grams, the detergent compositions are prepared in a compact design, i.e., the density is usually greater than 550 g / l and the concentration of filler salts is generally less than 5% by weight of the composition.

In such embodiments, the amount of antifoam particles is typically between 0.25% and 2%.

In the low-foaming embodiments of the present invention, the active ingredient of the antifoaming agent is usually added to the wash cycle with the antifoaming agent of the present invention. Such additional antifoam agents are preferably silicones.

The following examples serve to illustrate the invention and assist in the understanding of the description.

To remove the abbreviated name of each component:

LAS: linear dodecylbenzene sulfonate sodium salt

TAS: tallow alcohol sulphate sodium salt

Non-ionic: Fatty alcohol ethoxylated with about 14 moles of ethylene oxide having from 14 to 15 carbon atoms

AA / MA copolymer: Copolymer of acrylic acid with maleic acid

CMC: Carboxymethylcellulose

Na Phosphonate: Sodium salt of ethylenediaminetetramethylene phosphonic acid

TAED: tetraacetyl ethylene diamine ·· • ·· *

• · «· ·

Example 1 (High-foaming design)

LAS 20% Sodium tripolyphosphate 23% Sodium silicate 6% CMC 0, 15% Sodium sulfa 34% Well, Phosphonate 0.1% Sodium carbonate 5% AA / MA copolymer 2.5% Sodium soap * particles * 3% Enzyme, bleach, fragrance and other 100% supplemented

Density 360 g / l * Prepared as described above and dry blended in the product.

···················································•

Example 2 (Low foaming design in compact form)

LAS 8% TAS 2% Non-ionic 6% Sodium carbonate 14% Sodium citrate 6% Zeolite 20% Sodium silicate 3% CMC 0.5% Sodium sulfa 3.5% Well, Phosphonate 0.4% Sodium perborate monohydrate 16% Sodium soap 'particles * 1% Silicon 0, 5% Sodium salt of AA / MA copolymer 4% TAED 5%

Enzyme, fragrance, bleach and other 100% supplemented

Density 700 g / l * prepared as described above and dry mixed in the formulation.

Claims (10)

PATENT CLAIMS 1. Anti-foaming particles for rinsing purposes for incorporation into a detergent composition in powder form, mainly made from a fatty acid soap having at least 80% C16 to C18, and having a geometric mean particle size of less than 1 mm. 2. Antifoam particles according to claim 1 having a geometric mean size of less than 0.4 mm. Antifoam particles according to claim 1, characterized in that the fatty acid soap can be tallow soap and tallow / coconut soap, wherein the weight ratio of the fat to coconut is at least 70/30. 4. Procedure 1-3. A foam inhibitor according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slurry moisture content of the fatty acid soap is reduced to less than 9% by weight of the slurry, compressed into lumps and ground into lumps. The process according to claim 4, wherein the moisture content of the soap slurry is reduced to less than 5% by weight of the slurry. The process according to claim 4, characterized in that the slurry is vacuum dried. 7. A highly foamable powder composition comprising a surfactant and 2 to 5% by weight of a composition according to any one of claims 1-3. Antifoam particles according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 8. Low-foaming powder detergent composition comprising from about 0.25% to about 2% by weight of a surfactant in an amount from about 1 to about 3% by weight. . Antifoam particles according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The detergent composition of claim 8, further comprising a silicone antifoaming agent during washing. 10. A detergent composition according to claims 1 to 4, further comprising a builder, which may be phosphate, phosphonate, aluminum silicate ion exchanger, citrate, carbonate, silicate and mixtures thereof.