JPH02279797A - Aggregate for adding to powdery detergent - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain an agglomerate which, when added to a laundry powder based on a detergent, imparts an esp. white, bright, and inoffensive appearance to the powder by selecting an agglomerate contg. brightener particles having specified physical properties.

CONSTITUTION: This agglomerate contains brightener (e.g. precipitated calcium carbonate or silica) particles having an average particle size lower than 20 μm, a bulk density lower than 400 g/l, and a reflectance (R infinity 460) of 85 or higher.

COPYRIGHT: (C)1990,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to color-improved agglomerate compositions and white agglomerates of clay fabric softeners, particularly for addition to white or other colored detergent base powders.

Powdered detergents without added colorants are generally white or near-white in color, but some formulations, especially certain textile softening clays, enzyme granules, or bleach precursors, may be brown, yellow, or gray in color. be.

The presence of such discolored particles in the finished detergent powder can give the overall product a dull, unattractive appearance.

GB No. 2199338 (It!Ilewer Plc
), large, brightly colored particles ("spots") are found in powdered detergents.
It is proposed that the presence of particles with slight discoloration be obscured by the use of PEC ES) J.

GB 2121843 (ColINc-Pzleo
(Liwe Co.) proposes to form clay mottling by incorporating dyes or pigments into the agglomerating spray used for producing bentonite clay aggregates.

However, with some powder detergents, the use of mottling may not be desirable or effective in camouflaging discolored particles.

Surprisingly, the inventors have determined that for a given average grain size, bulk density and reflectance (measured as R infinity at 4601111), further increases in layer thickness cannot change the reflectance. The agglomerates coated or granulated with brightener particles (representing the reflectance of a layer of a certain thickness) should be particularly white, bright, and non-obtrusive when added to detergent-based laundry powders. They found that there are many.

Therefore, the first aspect of the present invention has an average particle size of less than 20 μm and a bulk density of 400 g/! Aggregates comprising brightener particles with a reflectance of less than 85 and greater than 85 (R infinity 460) are provided.

A second aspect of the invention provides a fabric softener comprising clay aggregates having an average particle size of less than 20 microns, a bulk density of less than 400 g/1, and a reflectance of greater than 85 (R infinity 460 ) brightener particles.

A third aspect of the present invention provides an aggregate comprising sufficient brightener particles to give the aggregate a reflectance of R infinity 460 of a value greater than 75.

The color-improved agglomerates of the present invention can be formed as co-granules with brightener particles (coBIn++I*le) or as agglomerates coated with brightener particles.

The co-granulated agglomerates preferably contain 30-6a% by weight brightener particles, more preferably 40-50% by weight.

The average particle size of the brightener particles is preferably less than 15 microns, more preferably less than 10 microns.

The bulk density of the brightener particles is preferably less than HOg/l.

The reflectance measured as R infinity 460 is preferably 9
Greater than 5.

When the brightener particles are present as a coating on the aggregates, they preferably constitute 10-40% by weight of the total aggregate composition. More preferably, the brightener particles constitute 15 to 25% by weight of the total aggregate composition.

Preferably, the brightener particles are precipitated calcium carbonate or silica. The precipitated calcium carbonate used can be in the form of particles with an average size of 4 microns formed from trigonal or aragonite crystals.

The silica used is in the form of a precipitated amorphous powder with a particle size of 10 microns.

A very useful precipitated calcium carbonate for whitening aggregates is known as 5OCAL U3 (manufactured by Sol Maly). A very useful silica for brightening aggregates is that formerly known as Erosil (from Cros*lds).

Clay softeners are well known in the patent literature in the detergent field. Examples of clay softeners of this type include various heat-treated kaolins and various multilayered smectites.

GB 14001118 (Procter*nd
Giahle) proposes the use of smectite clays which have a relatively high exchange capacity. There is a desire to enhance the efficacy of fabric softening clays during laundering, and the inventor's co-pending patent application EP 287344 describes the use of certain non-ionic surfactants in specific proportions to the clay. It has been found that loading on clay and controlling the water content of the resulting composition improves fabric softening performance. Although the examples described later herein relate to clays carrying nonionic surfactants, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to clays.

It has been found that the moisture content of the clay agglomerates should be between 7.5 and 12% by weight, preferably between 8 and 10% by weight. In this regard, in the present invention, the term "moisture (moisture content)" does not necessarily mean the total water content, but rather the content of the composition until it reaches a constant weight by drying in a static environment at 135°C. It refers to the water lost from Typically, when freshly prepared, the clay/nonionic surfactant aggregates have a relatively high moisture content, e.g. is necessary. When post-drying clay/nonionic surfactant aggregates with high water content, a drying air temperature of 85-90°C has been found to be suitable. When coating aggregates with precipitated calcium carbonate, by "over-drying" the aggregates,
It is desirable that the moisture incorporated into the aggregate as a result of the coating process provides an aggregate with a final moisture content in the desired range.

Nonionic surfactant systems have a concentration of 1% in distilled water.
It exists as a cloudy phase in the temperature range from 0°C to 80°C, preferably from 0°C to 15°C. In practice this means that the system has a cloud point below 80°C, preferably below 15°C. The cloud point is determined by the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of the surfactant system.
), and therefore HLB is preferably less than 13.5, for example 12.0 or less, and ideally less than 9.5. HLB provides sufficient cleaning power 6. (l
, preferably thicker than 8.0.

Specific nonionic surfactants include alkyl (CS-C22
) Phenol-ethylene oxide condensate, aliphatic (c,
~C38) A condensate of a secondary or secondary linear or branched alcohol with ethylene oxide, and a product formed by condensing a reaction product of propylene oxide and ethylene diamine with ethylene oxide.

The clay softener can be any material that can provide a softening effect. The effectiveness of a clay material as a fabric softener will depend on the amount of smectite clay. The ratio of clay to nonionic surfactant in the aggregate is preferably from 3:1 to 20=1, most preferably from 4:1 to 10:1.

If the agglomerates are likely to be handled on conveyors, feeder mixers, or exposed to transport shock, a binder may be used in addition to a nonionic surfactant, if present, during the granulation process. It may be necessary to improve the structural stability of the aggregates. Suitable binders include copolymers of polyacrylates and maleic anhydride, polyacrylates, sugars, nonionic surfactants, polyethylene glycols, polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, fatty acid monoethanolamides, carboxymethyl cellulose, soaps and latexes.

The agglomerates of the present invention can generally be produced by the more known granulation methods described in GB 2121843B. Co-granulation (
cBt*nwlsjed) Agglomerates can be prepared using any granulator that can bring the material to be agglomerated into contact with the binder, but SchwHi Fletomix or L
A high-shear, short-dwelling granulator, such as the odiHRee7cler, or a continuous drum granulator,! A long residence, low shear type granulator such as a 1 rich pan granulator or a drum or cement mixer is preferred. In the case of coated agglomerates, the agglomerates prepared by known granulation methods can be used and manufactured in any suitable equipment such as rotating drums, pans or Marmerizer type mixers.

When coating the aggregates with brightener particles, a binder is added to the coating solution (usually water) to aid in adhesion of the brightener particles to the aggregates and to form a durable bond within the coating layer. It is desirable to include

A preferred method of forming coated agglomerates is from granulating the agglomerates in a drum mixer with excess non-ionic surfactant to form "sticky" granules and then coating with brightener particles. Become. The advantage of this method is that the adhesion and color of the resulting coating are improved. The particularly improved color is believed to be due to the fact that there is no binder on the light-scattering surface of the aggregate.

A particularly preferred binder is Sokglan CF2
(manufactured by BASF) is a copolymer of maleic anhydride and polyacrylate supplied as a 40% aqueous solution.

In addition to the binder, it may be necessary to use plasticizers to improve the fritility resistance of the coating. For example, adding 2% by weight of sorbitol or glycerol to the binder spray greatly reduces the friability of the aggregates, especially when the aggregates are air-dried.

If the aggregates of the invention or the laundry products containing them contain detergent actives, the latter may be selected from non-ionic detergent actives, anionic detergent actives, zwitterionic or amphoteric detergent actives or mixtures thereof. I can do it.

Anionic detergent actives include water-soluble alkalis of organic sulfuric and sulfonic acids having alkyl groups containing from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms (the term alkyl is used to include the alkyl portion of higher acyl groups). It is usually a metal salt. Examples of suitable synthetic anionic detergent compounds include sodium and potassium alkyl sulfates, especially those obtained by sulfating higher (-Cs-C3,) alcohols made from e.g. tallow or coconut, alkyl (C9-C2)゜) Sodium and potassium benzenesulfonates, especially straight-chain secondary alkyl (C+.~Cps) sodium benzenesulfonates; sodium alkyl glyceryl ether sulfates, especially higher alcohols derived from tallow or palm parts, and petroleum derived. ethers of synthetic alcohols such as coconut fatty acid monoglycerides sulfate and sodium sulfonate; higher (Cs-Cl8) fatty alcohols - sodium and potassium salts of sulfate esters of alkylene oxides, especially ethylene oxide reaction products; Reaction products of fatty acids esterified with isethionic acid and neutralized with sodium hydroxide; sodium and potassium salts of fatty acid amides of methyltaurine; alkane monosulfonates such as α-olefins (Cm-c2
o) by reacting with acidic sodium sulfite and derivatives obtained by reacting paraffins with S02 and Cl12 and then hydrolyzing with base to form random sulfonates; and olefin sulfonates (this term Olefins, especially CIO~C2゜α-olefins, are
(used to describe substances produced by reacting with O3 and then neutralizing and hydrolyzing the reaction product). Preferred compounds for ionic detergents are (C11-C45) sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate and (C36-C+a)
Sodium alkyl sulfate.

If the textile laundry product contains a detergency builder material, the latter may be a material that is capable of reducing the amount of free calcium ions in the wash liquor, creating an alkaline pH, suspending soils removed from the textiles and softening clays. This is preferred because it results in a composition with other advantageous properties such as material dispersion.

Examples of phosphorus-containing inorganic detergency builders, if present, include:
Mention may be made of water-soluble salts, especially alkali metal pyrophosphates, orthophosphates, polyphosphates and phosphonates. Particular examples of inorganic phosphates include the sodium and potassium salts of tripolyphosphoric acid, phosphoric acid, and hexametaphosphoric acid.

When present, phosphorus-free inorganic detergency builders include water-soluble alkali metal carbonates, bicarbonates, silicates, and crystalline and amorphous aluminosilicates. Specific examples include sodium and potassium carbonate (with or without calcite seeds), potassium carbonate, bicarbonate, and silicic acid salts.

Examples of organic detergency builders, if present, include alkali metals 1. Mention may be made of ammonium and substituted ammonium polyacetates, carboxylates, polycarboxylates, polyacetylcarboxylates and polyhydroxysulfonates. Particular examples include the strionic, potassium, lithium, ammonium, and substituted ammonium salts of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, oxydisuccinic acid, mellitic acid, benzene polycarboxylic acid, and citric acid.

Apart from the ingredients already mentioned, a number of optional ingredients may also be present, either as part of the clay-containing composition of the invention or as part of the overall textile laundry product.

Examples of other ingredients that may be present in the compositions of the invention include suds boosters, suds suppressants, oxygen releasing bleaches such as sodium perborate and sodium percarbonate, peracid bleach precursors. , chlorine-releasing bleaches such as trichloroisocyanuric acid, inorganic salts such as sodium sulfate, and fluorescent agents, which are usually present in very small amounts, fragrances, enzymes such as proteases, ribalases, cellulases and amylases, disinfectants. and colorants.

When the aggregate of the present invention is contained in a detergent base powder,
It is typically present at a level of 5-20% by weight.

A typical formulation is as follows.

lauryl alkyl sulfone Non-ionic cleaning activator soap zeolite 5okalan CPS alkaline silicate Perborate-hydrate AED Savinase Carbonic acid salt D.T.A. Sulfuric acid salt CMC clay aggregate Water, fragrance, minute ingredients Weight part Toro 1.5 7.5 1.8 0.35 10.00 0.15 24.39 0.50 to, GO 9,31 Example The invention is illustrated by the following non-limiting examples.

Example IA 33 parts by weight of clay (KBU, ce c<50 meq/1 (IQ g of clay, Co11n 5lav1r
J Minergls) 17 copies of 57np6r++
aic^3 (013~CI% alcohol ethoxylated with about 3 moles of ethylene oxide per molecule and at 0°C
The clay/nonionic surfactant aggregates were prepared by spraying into a drum mixer with a nonionic surfactant manufactured by ICI having a cloud point of less than 10%.

20% by weight of aggregates (7) SOCII U3 (precipitated calcium carbonate from 5OLVAY with bulk density 230 g/l, particle size 4μ and R infinity 460 of 96) and 20% by weight of Sokglgn Cr5 in a drum with a 25% solution Mixed by rotation in a coater. The resulting aggregate had a moisture content of 18%, which was dried to a moisture content of 8%.

Example IB 10% by weight of Microil (particle size 1θ~15μ,
Reflectance of 98°4 at bulk density No g/l (R infinity 4
Example IA was repeated except that the agglomerates were coated with Crosliel+ls silica) having a composition of 60%.

Example 2 20% by weight Darcxl (bulk density 610g/l,
O with a particle size of 4μ and a reflectance of 93 (R infinity 460)
Example 1 was repeated except that the aggregates were coated with mya calcite).

Example 3 20% by weight of Speswbile (EBIisb
Example 1 was repeated except that the aggregates were coated with Cbinx C117SLllll (Kaolinite from ECC).

5pesvbils has a bulk density of 425g# and a particle size of 80
% is less than 2μ and has a reflectance of 85 (R infinity 460).

Example 4 24 parts by weight of spray liquid for granulation! 17ape+oai
c^3 and 62 parts by weight of Sokglgn Cr52% solution and 83 parts by weight of clay (' K B U '
) with 83 parts by weight of 5OCIIυ3 (co-
Clay/nonionic surfactant/precipitated calcium carbonate aggregates were prepared by grtaol@tiB).

The aggregate was then dried in a fluidized bed dryer using drying air at a temperature of 80°C to a moisture content of 8%.

Example 5 83 parts by weight of 5Hsvhit in place of SOCII 03
Example 4 was repeated except that the aggregates were co-formed using E.

The reflectance of the aggregate was then measured. The value of the reflectance R460° (infinity) shown in Table 1 represents the amount of light reflected back from the sample on a scale of 1 to 100.

The higher the reflectance value, the whiter the sample. R shown in the table
The 460'' value is the average of 5 times with a minimum significant difference of 0.5.

1 person B jihinji''：Matō－°ζ；Zato ↑(Embedded patent attorney publication d Mountain Takeshi

Claims (10)

[Claims] (1) Aggregates containing brightener particles with an average particle size of less than 20 μ, a bulk density of less than 400 g/l, and a reflectance (R infinity 460) greater than 85. (2) R infinity 460 with a numerical value greater than 75 for the aggregate
Aggregates containing sufficient brightener particles to provide a reflectance of . (3) The aggregate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the brightener particles are present as a coating on the aggregate. (4) The aggregate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the brightener particles are present throughout the aggregate as co-granules. (5) The aggregate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bulk density of the brightener particles is less than 250 g/l. (6) The aggregate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the average particle size of the particulate material is less than 15μ. (7) The aggregate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the whitening agent particles have an average particle size of less than 10 μm. (8) The aggregate according to claim 3, wherein the brightener particles constitute 10 to 40% by weight of the total aggregate composition. (9) Consisting of clay aggregates, the aggregates have an average particle size of 20
A fabric softener comprising brightener particles with a bulk density of less than 400 g/l and a reflectance (R infinity 460) greater than 85. (10) A detergent composition comprising 5% to 20% by weight of the aggregate according to claim 1.