IT201900009192A1 - ENZYMATIC TABLETS TO WEAR TEXTILE ARTICLES INCLUDING CELLULOSIC FIBERS AND METHOD FOR THEIR USE - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

Title

ENZYMATIC TABLETS TO WEAR TEXTILE ARTICLES INCLUDING CELLULOSIC FIBERS AND METHOD FOR THEIR USE

Technical field

The present invention belongs to the sector of products and methods for treating textile products with enzymes, both in the industrial and domestic sectors. Such treatments are especially useful in customizing garments.

In particular, the invention relates to a kit comprising enzymatic compounds and the related method of use, in the context of washing packaged garments, in order to give a lived-in appearance to garments made, at least in part, in cellulosic fibers; such a treatment is generally known as aging.

Among other uses, the invention is particularly suitable for washing jeans garments, or made of denim fabric, where an aging effect similar to that commonly called "stone-wash" is obtained.

State of the art

The aging of fabrics is a widespread and now acquired phenomenon because the worn appearance of some garments gives them greater attractiveness and aesthetic value.

Although enzymes are also used in domestic washing, enzymatic washes are usually reserved for professional operators, who at an industrial level perform controlled treatments to obtain fashionable aspects. Such treatments usually require precise dosages and the addition of the various chemical components, often in subsequent phases and in subsequent baths.

Initially, the aging processes of fabric garments used a bath with abrasive bodies inside made, for example, of pumice stone, as described in US4575887 (A). Subsequently, the action of the abrasive bodies was replaced, or co-audited, by the chemical one. Patent US5460966 (A) illustrates a method for aging in which the abrasive bodies include a soluble chemical composition; patent US2017159235 (A1) describes a treatment that uses cellulase together with an action of mechanical abrasion.

In the present patent text reference will usually be made to the generic nomenclature of enzyme families, as if each of them represented a single component. However, this term refers to the enzymatic compounds present on the market which also contain more types of enzymes, all belonging to the same family, and, very often, additional ingredients useful for the formation and maintenance of enzymes. Different strains of enzymes can have different efficacy; to take into account all these variability due to the use of commercial products, the compositions indicated below report an interval referring to the dry residue of enzymes. By way of example, some commercial products contain respectively between 10% and 25% of cellulase, between 5% and 16% of amylase and between 0.5% and 4% of peroxidase.

Known methods usually comprise a first desizing step in a first bath, which is discharged, followed by a second rinsing bath. Subsequently, the treatment with enzymes, also known as enzymes, takes place in a third bath. A treatment of textile products in order to give them a “stone-washed” appearance is described in US5213581 (A).

The enzyme is followed by various cleaning rinses or a cleaning bath with oxidizing agents. Some methods known in specialized environments provide for the desizing and enzyming phases in a single bath, but in any case the subsequent cleaning phases require at least one further bath.

The need to simplify the operations necessary to obtain an aged and cleaned product is particularly felt in the reference sector.

Aims and summary of the invention

A first object of the present invention is to provide a simple and easy-to-use solution for the treatment of textile products comprising cellulosic fibers, the application of which does not require specific knowledge or particular recipes, so as to be applicable both by the professional user and / or industrial and domestic users.

A further purpose is to offer an effective formulation even within a relatively simple method of use.

The non-secondary purpose is to reduce the number of baths required and the consumption of water for treatment with respect to what is necessary in known methods.

These and other purposes, which will become clear to the expert in the field from the reading of the following text, are achieved with a method which involves the use of a kit consisting of two preparations which include all the chemical elements necessary for the treatment of the textile product. except water. The preparations can be aggregated in the form of tablets, also known as tablets, or be contained in water-soluble bags or capsules or the like. It should be noted that in this patent text the term water does not only mean the specific chemical compound but the liquid in a broad sense, or also with the addition of the normal components used for purification within domestic or industrial processes. The kit object of the present invention comprises a plurality of enzymatic components suitable to act within a single bathroom, inside a machine suitable for washing clothes, or of a machine that determines a mechanical action that assists the action chemistry of preparations. In the present text this machine, generally of the rotary type, is sometimes indicated, for reasons of synthesis, with the name of washing machine, while the term basket designates the working volume.

In particular, a first preparation will comprise cellulase and, preferably, amylase while a second preparation will comprise laccase and / or peroxidase and / or at least one oxidizing agent. The action of peroxidase occurs in the presence of an oxidizing agent.

The invention therefore allows two processes to be carried out in a single context that are usually carried out separately: that of fabric aging, possibly with desizing, and that of cleaning.

In some circumstances this can be favored by the sequential and controlled activations of the preparations, therefore of the different ingredients of which the preparations are made.

The method of use of the kit involves the introduction of said two preparations inside a drum of a washing machine together with the textile products to be treated, immersed in a water bath or, at most, soaked in water.

Each of the components of the preparations primarily carries out a specific action as specified below. Some components have an active action in the treatment, such as enzymatic compounds, oxidizing agents, surfactants and bath pH regulating agents, while others are inactive and are functional to the preparation of the preparation, for example sorbitol or polyethylene glycol , the cutting agents or any dyes, and / or the release of the active components, for example the disintegrating agents, in the case of tablets, or the water-soluble coating, in the case of bags.

Amylases are a family of enzymes that perform the function of hydrolyzing and eliminating sizes, which are a type of starch sometimes present on tissues. However, these dressings are not always present and consequently the amylases could be removed from the preparation, both for economy and when they are useless, such as in the case of a kit for home use, therefore dedicated to fabrics that have already been thoroughly washed and treated.

Cellulases are a family of enzymatic compounds that perform the function of hydrolyzing and degrading the cellulose of the fabric, to give the garment a worn and aged appearance, which is the primary object of the treatment. Peroxidases are a family of enzymatic compounds that perform, primarily, a synergistic action with that of sodium percarbonate, or other oxidizing agents, in the cleaning action. In particular, where there was an indigo-based dye, this would be partially degraded by peroxidase, thus ensuring a cleaning of the indigo fabric as well as the elimination of the color redeposited on the fabric during treatment or previous treatments.

Sodium percarbonate, or sodium percarbonate, is an oxidizing agent and acts as a cleaning agent at the end of the treatment, to eliminate the color residues that have contaminated the fabric. Generally sodium percarbonate is not used in the case in which the peroxidases are replaced by laccases; or it could be replaced with another oxidizing or reducing element.

Laccases are a family of enzymatic compounds that perform an alternative action to that of peroxidases and oxidizing agents.

In general, the preparations also comprise components useful for maintaining the ideal conditions of the bath, such as for example surfactants, agents for regulating the pH of the bath and oxidizing agents, etc.

The surfactants are used to keep the color dispersed in the bath in suspension and to reduce the contamination of the fabric; non-ionic surfactants based on ethoxylated alcohols are usually used.

Adipic acid and monosodium phosphate (dihydrogen phosphate) perform a regulating function of the pH of the bath. Other examples of substances that can be used for this function are citric acid and ascorbic acid.

Cellulose is used as a disintegrating or exploding agent, as it determines the absorption of water in the preparation which consequently swells and opens. Optionally, the cellulose can be replaced with another element having a similar action.

In some embodiments, the compounds used for the realization of the present invention can be enclosed in water-soluble containers that allow the release of the chemicals contained inside.

Polyethylene glycol, or polyethylene glycol or PEG, is a formulation agent, generally used for making the tablet, but it does not appear essential and does not present particular functional aspects during the chemical treatment of the textile product. Its use is therefore optional. The same goes for sorbitol.

Sodium sulphate, or sodium sulphate, acts as a cutting agent or filler, that is, it completes the formulation and does not present particular functional aspects during the chemical treatment of the textile product.

The method of use of the kit includes at least the following steps: a) introducing at least one textile product, including cellulosic fibers, and a bath consisting of water inside a machine designed to apply a mechanical action to textile products;

c) introduce in the machine at least the first preparation of the kit;

d) activate the mechanical action of the machine on textile products;

e) maintaining said bath with at least one textile product and at least the first preparation of the kit at a temperature between 25 ° C and 60 ° C for at least 15 minutes.

The order of execution of the first phases a), c) and d) is not very influential and may vary.

The first preparation comprises surfactants and at least one enzymatic compound, or at least cellulase or at least cellulase and amylase. Preferably, the first preparation also comprises a cutting agent and, in one embodiment, at least one pH adjusting agent.

In an initial phase, the amylases, if present, carry out the desizing of the fabric in conjunction with the action of the surfactants, which help to maintain cleanliness and to prevent the color dispersed in the bath from settling back on the fabric, and to that of the bath pH regulating agents, if any. In the meantime, the aging action takes place by the cellulases, which come into action by finding the prepared fabric and the bath in optimal conditions in terms of surfactants and, possibly, pH.

The action of aging, or degradation of the cotton and its dyeing thanks to an abrasion of the fabric, is usually assisted by the mechanical action of the washing machine.

The second preparation comprises laccase or peroxidase with at least one oxidizing agent or at least one oxidizing agent. In the case of use of the peroxidases, the second preparation preferably comprises at least one agent for regulating the pH of the bath.

The second preparation, in addition to carrying out a cleaning action useful to ensure a qualitatively valid result, reduces the number of subsequent rinses necessary, which can therefore be limited to one or two.

The second preparation acts mainly on the color or dyeing of the fabric, in particular on indigo.

The following detailed description shows some variants of the method, which improve its effectiveness or further reduce water consumption.

The use of the kit according to the teachings of this patent text allows to carry out several phases with the use of a single bathroom.

The treatment, in the case of the presence of amylases, includes a first phase of desizing, which will then be assisted by cellulases to give the aged appearance. The treatment of the textile product will end with an oxidizing or enzymatic process that carries out a cleaning action, useful for increasing the wear effect, thanks also to the elimination of the color previously redeposited on the fabric. In a preferred embodiment the oxidizing process employs peroxidase.

The preparations usually comprise further ingredients, including, if the preparation is made in tablet form, at least one disintegrating agent.

Detailed description of the forms of implementation of the invention

The kit object of the invention consists of a first preparation and a second preparation. The first preparation comprises at least one enzymatic compound and surfactants, as well as, preferably, at least one cutting agent and at least one disintegrating agent in the case of tablets. The enzyme compounds include cellulase and, in one embodiment, amylase.

In a preferred embodiment, the first preparation comprises, in the proportion by mass (percentage of the mass of the component on the total mass of the preparation,% m / m or% w / w) shown alongside:

cellulase (9012-54-8): 0.2% - 10%;

amylase (9000-90-2): 0.05% - 2%;

surfactants: 5% - 20%.

The numbers shown in the brackets above, as well as those shown below, uniquely identify the chemical substance through the CAS number, which is an identifier assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service division of the American Chemical Society.

In a particularly preferred version, the surfactants occupy between 10% and 20% of the first preparation (% m / m). In the absence of amylase the proportions indicated above remain unchanged and, generally, more cutting agent is added.

In a further embodiment, the first preparation also comprises a bath pH regulating agent, preferably between 8% and 20% (% m / m) and a preferred embodiment employs adipic acid (124-04-9) .

As regards the case of aggregation in tablet form, good results have been obtained with a first layer comprising (% m / m, on the total mass of the tablet):

amylase: 0.05% - 2%;

surfactants: 5% - 20%;

and a second layer comprising (% m / m, on the total mass of the tablet):

cellulase: 0.2% - 10%.

In a first version, the second preparation comprises laccase and, preferably, at least one agent for regulating the pH of the bath.

In a second version, the second preparation comprises peroxidase, as an enzymatic compound, sodium percarbonate, as an oxidizing agent and, preferably, a pH regulating agent.

In a preferred embodiment of the second version, when the second preparation is aggregated in the form of tablets, the peroxidases are separated from the sodium percarbonate so as to prevent the components from interacting during storage. A first layer with sodium percarbonate and a second layer with peroxidase is therefore provided. Optionally, this division could also be made for water-soluble bags; in this case the term layer indicates a different portion.

In a preferred embodiment, the first layer represents between 10% and 30% by mass of the entire preparation (% m / m) and the second layer between 70% and 90% of the entire preparation (% m / m ).

In the form described here, the first layer comprises between 40% and 95% of oxidizing agent, preferably sodium percarbonate (15630-89-4) (percentage of the mass of the component on the total mass of the layer,% m / m or% w / p).

Preferably the second layer comprises, in the proportion by mass (percentage of the mass of the component on the total mass of the layer,% m / m or% w / w) shown alongside:

peroxidase (9003-99-0): 0.05% - 2%; at least one pH regulating agent: 60% - 90%.

In a particularly preferred version, some of the components indicated above have the following proportions: peroxidase: 0.2% - 0.6%; adipic acid, as a regulating agent: 60% - 80%. The formulation of the kit takes into account the need for peroxidases to work in a more acidic environment, basically at a pH between 3 and 6; for this reason at least one bath pH adjustment agent is used, preferably adipic acid or monosodium phosphate (10049-21-5).

Another advantage given by the cleaning of the garment carried out by the second preparation described here, consists in increasing the light / dark contrast in the abrasion points, uniformly lightening the whole garment and accentuating the white points. This effect eventually makes it possible to eliminate the use of pumice stone from washing, with a consequent improvement at the operational level, thanks to the lack of handling of this material which involves many problems of management, logistics, treatment and disposal. This also results in a lower environmental impact, both due to the non-use of pumice stone and its consequent impact on the wastewater purification processes.

In a third version the second preparation comprises an oxidizing agent, preferably sodium percarbonate. The preparations and their layers may comprise further elements than those listed above, in particular any additives for coloring the tablets or other ingredients useful for their operation, formation or conservation. It should also be remembered that some compounds used may already commercially include other ingredients useful for the same purposes.

Each preparation is aggregated to form tablets or is contained in water-soluble bags or the like.

It should be noted that the tablets also comprise a plurality of known types of ingredients, such as compacting and disintegrating agents; good results are obtained using respectively sorbitol (50-70-4) or polyethylene glycol (25322-68-3), and cellulose (9004-34-6).

In an embodiment of the tablet of the first preparation which favors the succession of the action of the cellulases downstream of that of the amylases, the first preparation may comprise a first layer comprising amylase and a second layer comprising cellulase with the second layer having a smaller proportion of disintegrating agents. Both in the case of tablets and water-soluble bags, the preparations can comprise at least one cutting agent, preferably sodium sulfate (7757-82-6) until the composition is complete.

In a first embodiment, the method comprises the following steps:

a) introduce at least one textile product, including cellulosic fibers, and a single bath consisting of water inside a basket of a machine designed to apply a mechanical action to textile products;

c1) introduce the first preparation of the kit into the machine basket;

d) activate the mechanical action of said machine on textile products;

e1) maintaining said bath with at least one textile product and the first preparation of the kit at a temperature between 25 ° C and 55 ° C for at least 15 minutes;

f) introduce the second preparation of the kit into the machine basket;

g) maintaining said bath with at least one textile product and the second preparation of the kit at a temperature between 25 ° C and 65 ° C for at least 5 minutes.

Generally, phase g) is followed by phase:

h) unload said bath from the drum.

In a second embodiment of the method, steps c1) and f) are combined before step d) but without step g), consequently after step a) the method comprises:

c2) introduce the first and second preparation of the kit into the machine basket;

d) activate the mechanical action of said machine on textile products;

e2) maintaining said bath with at least one textile product and the first and second preparation of the kit at a temperature between 25 ° C and 60 ° C for at least 15 minutes.

According to a preferred version of the invention, a bath ratio is ensured, i.e. a proportion between textile products and water, between 1: 1 and 1:20, most preferably between 1: 3 and 1:10.

In a further implementation of the method, the bath is discharged into a container after step a) and then reused in the first rinse following step g), in the case of application to the first embodiment, or to step e), in the case of application to the second embodiment. In this implementation of the method, the treatment takes place on garments soaked in water and the temperatures indicated above do not refer to the bathroom but to the environment inside the drum. We would then have the phases:

b) discharge the bath into a container;

i) carrying out a first rinse with said bath discharged into the container.

At the end of the method, in all embodiments, it is possible to provide for further rinses or further actions on the textile product so as to arrive at the finished product. Preferably the duration of said phase e1) is comprised between 20 and 80 minutes. However, when the second preparation is introduced together with the first preparation in step c), the duration of said step e2) is preferably between 20 and 80 minutes; in both cases the duration affects the degree of abrasion obtained.

Preferably the duration of said phase g) is comprised between 5 and 20 minutes.

Eventually, during the application of the method described above, abrasive bodies can be added to the inside of the basket, for example pumice.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. Method for using a kit for aging textile products comprising cellulosic fibers, said kit consisting of a first preparation and a second preparation, said first preparation comprising cellulases and surfactants, said second preparation comprising laccase and / or peroxidase and / or at least one oxidizing agent, said method comprising the steps of: a) introduce at least one textile product, including cellulosic fibers, and a single bath consisting of water into a machine designed to apply a mechanical action to textile products; c) introduce in the machine at least the first preparation of the kit; d) activate the mechanical action of the machine on textile products; e) maintaining said bath with at least one textile product and at least the first preparation of the kit at a temperature between 25 ° C and 60 ° C for at least 15 minutes; wherein said second preparation of the kit is introduced into the machine together with said first preparation in step c), or in step e) the following steps follow: f) introduce the second preparation of the kit into the machine; g) maintaining said bath with at least one textile product and the second preparation of the kit at a temperature between 25 ° C and 65 ° C for at least 5 minutes. 2. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that said second preparation comprises peroxidase, at least one oxidizing agent and at least one regulating agent of the pH of the bath. 3. Method according to claim 2 characterized in that said second preparation comprises a first and a second layer, the first layer comprising said oxidizing agent and the second layer comprising peroxidase, the first layer represents between 10% and 30% by mass of the entire second preparation (% m / m) and the second layer between 70% and 90% of the entire second preparation (% m / m) in which said first layer comprises between 40% and 95% (% m / m) of said at least one oxidizing agent and that said second layer comprises between 0.05% and 2% peroxidase (% m / m) and between 60% and 90% of at least one pH regulating agent (% m / m). 4. Method according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that said first preparation comprises the following components in the percentages indicated by mass, with reference to the unit of mass of said first finished preparation (% m / m): cellulase: 0.2% - 10%; surfactants: 5% - 20%. 5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first preparation also comprises between 0.05% and 2% of amylase (% m / m). 6. Kit for aging textile products comprising cellulosic fibers, said kit consisting of a first preparation and a second preparation, said first preparation comprising the following components in the percentages indicated by mass, with reference to the mass unit of said first finished preparation (% m / m): cellulase: 0.2% - 10%; surfactants: 5% - 20%; said second preparation comprising a first and a second layer or portion, the first layer comprising between 40% and 95% of sodium percarbonate (% m / m of said first finished layer) and the second layer comprising the following components in the percentages indicated by mass, with reference to the unit of mass of said second finished layer (% m / m): peroxidase: 0.05% - 2%; at least one pH regulating agent: 60% - 90%. 7. Kit according to claim 6 characterized in that said first preparation and second preparation are aggregated in the form of tablets. 8. Kit according to claim 6 characterized in that said first preparation and second preparation are contained inside water-soluble bags. 9. Kit for aging textile products comprising cellulosic fibers, said kit consisting of a first preparation and a second preparation, said first preparation comprising the following components in the percentages indicated by mass, with reference to the mass unit of said first finished preparation (% m / m): cellulase: 0.2% - 10%; surfactants: 5% - 20%; said second preparation comprising laccase and in which said first preparation and second preparation are aggregated in the form of tablets or contained within water-soluble bags. 10. Kit for aging textile products comprising cellulosic fibers, said kit consisting of a first preparation and a second preparation, said first preparation comprising the following components in the percentages indicated by mass, with reference to the unit of mass of said first finished preparation (% m / m): cellulase: 0.2% - 10%; surfactants: 5% - 20%; said second preparation comprising sodium percarbonate and in which said first preparation and second preparation are aggregated in the form of tablets or contained within water-soluble bags.