JPH0228637B2 - - Google Patents

Abstract

A detergent composition, particularly for fabric washing or dishwashing, contains a detergent active compound, an orthophosphate builder and an alkalimetal bicarbonate to reduce the initial pH. The bicarbonate is in particulate form with a preferred particle size of 50 to 500 microns. A typical composition contains 5 to 30% detergent active, 10 to 30% of a mixture of tripolyphosphate and orthophosphate in a ratio of 10:1 to 1:5 and 2 to 15% bicarbonate. Preferably the compositions also include an alkalimetal silicate in similar amounts to the bicarbonate. In use the composition gives an initial pH below 11.0 and a final pH between 9.0 and 11.0.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a method for producing a powder detergent composition suitable for washing fabrics or washing dishes. Detergent compositions typically form highly alkaline solutions. This is because high alkalinity promotes the solubilization of fatty stains and improves the action of some components such as peroxy bleach, thereby significantly improving cleaning power. However, this alkalinity should not be too high in view of the safety of domestic use, especially the danger of misuse. If the alkalinity is too high, it can damage or fade the fabric during washing, especially at high wash temperatures. Therefore, it is common to use cleaning solutions having a PH within the range of about 9 to 11, preferably about 9.5 to 10.5. The use of sodium triphosphate as a detergency builder is well known, but its reputation has been poor, so some or all of the sodium triphosphate has been replaced with more alkaline substances such as sodium carbonate or sodium orthophosphate. It is proposed to do so. Alkali metal orthophosphates act as effective detergency builders, especially at high temperatures.
It is a relatively low phosphorus material in terms of the amount needed to offset the calcium ions present in hard water. Even if the alkali metal orthophosphate is more alkaline, the pH under equilibrium cleaning conditions is not very high (approximately
Although the alkali metal orthophosphate salts are fully used (as long as the alkali metal orthophosphate detergency builder is not higher than Initial PH due to different rate of solubility
It has been found that there are times when the value exceeds the above-mentioned desirable range. That is, depending on the concentration and temperature in the solution, the initial pH increased to about 11.5, sometimes up to 12, and was observed to decrease to 11 or less during subsequent washing cycles. GB 1412401 describes a detergent composition comprising a synthetic detersive active compound, an orthophosphate and an alkaline salt, the alkaline salt being a bicarbonate compound in combination with other alkaline substances such as sesquicarbonate. It states that salt may be used. The detergent composition described in the above specification is usually produced by a known mixing and spray drying method, but in the case of a detergent composition containing a bicarbonate, it is produced by spray drying after preparing an aqueous slurry. . Bicarbonate-containing detergent compositions produced in this way have the disadvantage of high initial PH because the bicarbonate forms carbonates in the slurry. The present inventors added carbonic acid having an average particle size of less than 1000 μm to a spray-dried base powder obtained by spray-drying a slurry containing at least one synthetic detergent active compound and an alkali metal orthophosphate detergency builder. When mixed with discrete particles of sodium hydrogen or potassium hydrogen carbonate, when dissolved at a concentration of 1% by weight in distilled water at 25°C, approximately
Initial PH not higher than 11.0 and about 9.0-11.0, especially
It has been found that detergent compositions with an equilibrium PH of 9.5 to 10.5 can be obtained. Accordingly, the detergent compositions of the present invention having an initial PH not higher than 11.0 and an equilibrium PH of about 9.0 to 11.0 when dissolved at a concentration of 1% by weight in distilled water at 25°C contain at least one A spray-dried base powder prepared by spray-drying a slurry containing a synthetic detergent active compound and an alkali metal orthophosphate detergency builder is mixed with discrete particles of sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate having an average particle size of less than 1000 μm. It is manufactured by a manufacturing method characterized by: Since the alkali metal bicarbonate salt (sodium salt or potassium salt) reacts in the slurry to form an alkali metal carbonate salt as described above, it cannot be included in the detergent slurry for producing a detergent composition. Accordingly, in the present invention, the alkali metal bicarbonate salt must be mixed as discrete particles with the pre-spray-dried base powder.
That is, the alkali metal bicarbonate salt must be present in the form of a partial salt or partly as a sesquicarbonate, otherwise it cannot be used in the preparation of detergent compositions, thereby providing a higher degree of neutralization. It follows that it must exist in a harmonious form. The alkali metal bicarbonate salts can be added in accepted powdered form, but if desired, liquid detergent ingredients such as non-ionic detergent active compounds that do not retard the dissolution of the alkali metal bicarbonate salts into the cleaning solution. The bicarbonate can be treated to reduce dustiness by mixing. The amount of bicarbonate used in the present invention usually ranges from about 1 to 20%, preferably from about 2 to 15%, and especially from about 4 to 10% by weight of the composition. When the amount of bicarbonate is brought to a relatively high level within the above range,
For example, the effectiveness of compositions used for hand washing fabrics in developing countries is increased. If desired,
A portion of this bicarbonate may be used in the form of a sesquicarbonate, which is a 1:1 mixture of bicarbonate to carbonate. Its average particle size is approximately 1000 μm so that bicarbonate dissolves quickly in water, i.e. before other alkaline detergent ingredients dissolve.
Must be smaller. The preferred average particle size is about 50-500 μm. Although bicarbonate particles with a size smaller than 50 μm have good solubility, such particles can become dusty during handling, and particles larger than about 1000 μm are prone to segregation. The benefits of adding bicarbonate are typically seen in detergent compositions containing about 2 to 30%, especially about 5 to 20%, of an alkali metal orthophosphate salt by weight of the composition. However, the present invention specifically
It is also applicable to the compositions disclosed in No. 1530799. The composition comprises about 5 to 30% by weight of a synthetic anionic, nonionic, nonionic, amphoteric or zwitterionic detergent compound or mixtures thereof and about 10 to 30% by weight of a synthetic anionic, nonionic, nonionic, amphoteric or zwitterionic detergent compound, based on the total weight of the composition. a sodium phosphate-alkali metal orthophosphate mixture (the weight part ratio of sodium triphosphate to alkali metal orthophosphate is from about 10:1 to about 1:5;
and at least about 5% by weight of sodium triphosphate, and the content of any alkali metal pyrophosphate is not more than about 5% by weight), and a 0.1% aqueous solution of this composition has a pH of 9 to 11. be. Potassium triphosphate may be used instead of sodium triphosphate. The weight part ratio of sodium triphosphate to alkali metal orthophosphate is from 10:1 to 1:5, preferably from 8:1 to 1:2. In particular, when the amount of sodium triphosphate is in excess of the alkali metal orthophosphate, 5:1 to 1:1, for example about 4:1 to
Parts by weight ratios of 3:2, especially about 3:1 to 2:1 are preferred. The above-mentioned ratio of sodium triphosphate to alkali metal orthophosphate is suitable for detergent compositions at relatively high concentrations of about 0.3-0.8% by weight, as is customary in Europe, especially with front-loading automatic washing machines. It is particularly suitable when used and when an amount of phosphate corresponding to about 4-7% P can be incorporated into the product. However, in North America, especially when detergent compositions are used at low concentrations of about 0.1 to 0.3%, as is commonly done with top-loading automatic washing machines, and when less than about 4% P is present in the product, If only a corresponding amount of phosphate can be incorporated, it is desirable to increase the amount of alkali metal orthophosphate in the product. In this case, the weight part ratio of sodium triphosphate to alkali metal orthophosphate is from 2:1 to
It may be 1:5, preferably from 1:1 to 1:5, for example from 1:1 to 1:2 or 1:3. If particularly low levels of phosphate are required, a small amount of phosphate builder may be included in the composition of the invention to obtain optimum detergency builder effect while buildingers other than phosphate may be incorporated. It is advantageous to incorporate them as supplements. It will be understood that the actual amounts of sodium triphosphate and alkali metal orthophosphate used will be set by the desired amount of phosphate detergency builder or maximum allowable content of phosphorus in the detergent composition. When the total amount of sodium triphosphate and alkali metal orthophosphate salt should be in the range of about 10-30% by weight of the product, the sodium triphosphate content should be about 10-20% by weight of the product, and the alkali metal orthophosphate The salt content is about 3-15% by weight, especially about 5%
~10% by weight is preferred. Preferably, the total amount of sodium triphosphate and alkali metal orthophosphate represents about 15-25% by weight of the composition. In the present invention, it is preferable to use only an alkali metal orthophosphate as a phosphate detergency builder, and sodium triphosphate may optionally be used. In particular, alkali metal pyrophosphate salts (sodium salts or potassium salts) tend to increase the precipitation of inorganic substances, so it is desirable not to add them to the composition. The presence of large amounts of alkali metal pyrophosphate instead of sodium triphosphate or alkali metal orthophosphate reduces the performance of the detergency builder. However, as mentioned above, sodium triphosphate undergoes hydrolysis under the hot alkaline conditions during the spray drying process to produce some amount of sodium pyrophosphate along with a very small amount of sodium orthophosphate, so it is Preferably, the total amount of phosphate present in the detergent composition is not more than about 30% by weight of the composition, although small amounts of sodium pyrophosphate, up to about 5% by weight, are unavoidable. Note that the amount of hydratable phosphate in the composition is calculated on an anhydrous basis. Also in the case of compositions containing alkali metal orthophosphates as the sole detergency builder or in mixtures with other non-phosphate builders such as NTA or sodium carbonate, the desired properties can be achieved by the addition of sodium bicarbonate. Effects can be obtained. Potassium orthophosphate and sodium orthophosphate are used as the alkali metal salt of orthophosphate, and the latter is preferred because it is inexpensive and easily available. Usually trial-alkali metal orthophosphates are used, but if desired, mono- or dialkali metal salts of orthophosphate, such as disodium hydrogen orthophosphate or monosodium dihydrogen orthophosphate, may be used. In this latter case, other highly alkaline salts may be present in order to be fully neutralized by the trial-alkali metal orthophosphate salt and to keep the final product at a high PH. Particular preference is given to using mixtures of monosodium dihydrogen orthophosphate to disodium hydrogen orthophosphate in a ratio of about 1:3 to 2:3, in particular about 1:2.
This is because the mixture is commercially available as a raw material for producing sodium triphosphate and is easily available. Alkali metal orthophosphate salts as anhydrous salts or as trisodium orthophosphate 12
It is used as a hydrated salt such as anhydrous salt, but when an anhydrous salt is used it is usually hydrated during powder detergent manufacture. Note that the amount of salt is calculated as an anhydride. Substitute an alkali metal acid hydrogen salt, such as disodium hydrogen phosphate, for a fully neutralized alkali metal orthophosphate while keeping the orthophosphate content in the solution the same, assuming other ingredients are the same. By doing so, the alkalinity of the cleaning solution can be reduced. However, even when an alkali metal hydrogen phosphate salt is used in a composition having a sufficient alkaline PH for fabric washing, the initial PH peak when the composition is dissolved in water cannot be significantly controlled. When an alkali metal bicarbonate salt is added, the initial pH of the cleaning solution decreases, and at the same time, the overall pH tends to decrease as well. Therefore, without significantly increasing the initial PH, the final PH of the cleaning solution can be adjusted to the optimum that would be achieved by the same composition without bicarbonate.
It is desirable to add an appropriate amount of highly alkaline ingredients to the composition to raise the PH level. For example, about 3% by weight
It has been found that the addition of about 5% by weight of alkaline sodium silicate into detergent compositions can offset the PH reduction caused by the addition of about 5% by weight of sodium bicarbonate.
Using sodium silicate, the PH as mentioned above
can be controlled, and excellent powder properties and corrosion resistance can be obtained. The total amount of sodium silicate used in the composition is about 5-15% by weight of the composition. The detergent compositions contain about 5 to 40%, especially about 15 to 30%, of anionic, nonionic, amphoteric or zwitterionic detersive active compounds. Such compounds are known in the art and are described in the literature, eg Schwartz,
“Surface Active Agents” by Perry and Berch
and Detergents", Volumes 1 and 2. Preferred detergent active compounds that may be used are synthetic anionic and nonionic compounds. The former usually contain about 8 to 22 carbon atoms. water-soluble alkali metal salts of organic sulfuric and sulfonic acids having alkyl groups containing alkyl groups, where alkyl should be understood to also include the alkyl moieties of higher acyl groups.
Suitable synthetic anionic detersive active compounds include:
Sodium and potassium alkyl sulfates, especially high grade (C ₈
-C ₁₈ ) Obtained by sulfating alcohol;
Sodium and potassium alkyl ( _C9 - _C20 ) benzenesulfonates, especially linear secondary alkyl ( _C10 - _C15 ) benzenesulfonates; sodium alkyl glyceryl ether sulfates, especially higher grades derived from tallow or coconut oil Ethers of synthetic alcohols derived from alcohols and petroleum; sodium salts of coconut oil fatty acid monoglycerides sulfates and sulfonic acids; sodium sulfate esters of higher ( _C9 - _C18 ) fatty alcohol-alkylene oxide (especially ethylene oxide) reaction products. and potassium salts; reaction products of fatty acids such as coconut oil fatty acids esterified with isethionic acid and neutralized with sodium hydroxide; sodium and potassium salts of fatty acid amides of methyltaurine; α-
those derived by reacting olefins (C ₈ -C ₂₀ ) with sodium bisulfite and by reacting paraffins with SO ₂ and Cl ₂ followed by hydrolysis with base to produce random sulfonates. and olefins, which refer to the products obtained by reacting a C ₁₀ -C ₂₀ α-olefin with SO ₃ and then neutralizing and hydrolyzing this reaction product. Examples include sulfonates. Preferred anionic detersive active compounds are (C ₁₁
-C ₁₅ ) sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate and (C ₁₆ -C ₁₈ ) sodium alkyl sulfate. Suitable non-ionic detergent active compounds which may be used are, in particular, the reaction products of alkylene oxides, generally ethylene oxide, and alkyl (C ₆ -C ₂₂ ) phenols, usually containing 5 to 25 EO (5 to 25 EO per molecule). 25 units of ethylene oxide); condensation products of aliphatic ( _C8 - _C18 ) primary or secondary linear or branched alcohols with ethylene oxide, usually 6 to 30 EO; and propylene oxide with ethylene diamine. An example is a product produced by condensing a product with ethylene oxide. Other so-called nonionic detergent active compounds include long chain tertiary amine oxides, long chain tertiary phosphine oxides and dialkyl sulfoxides. It is also possible to use the cleaning active compounds in the detergent compositions as mixtures, for example mixtures of anionic cleaning compounds or mixtures of anionic and nonionic cleaning active compounds. In particular, in the latter case, the foaming properties of the detergent composition can be suppressed to a low level, which is advantageous for compositions for use in automatic washing machines where low foaming properties are desired. The inventors have found that the use of certain amounts of non-ionic detergent active compounds in the composition reduces the tendency of insoluble phosphates to deposit on washed fabrics. Although any amount of amphoteric or zwitterionic detersive active compounds may be used in the compositions of the present invention, these compounds are generally undesirable due to their relative expense. When amphoteric or zwitterionic detergent active compounds are used, they are usually incorporated in small amounts in detergent compositions containing the more common synthetic anionic and/or nonionic detergent active compounds. For example, mixtures of amine oxides and ethoxylated nonionic detersive active compounds can be used. The present invention may also use soaps in combination with other cleaning active compounds in detergent compositions. It is particularly advantageous to use small amounts of soap in combination with nonionic detergent active compounds or mixtures of synthetic anionic detergent active compounds and nonionic detergent compounds. Soaps that can be used are sodium and potassium salts of C ₁₀ -C ₂₄ fatty acids, the latter being less preferred. It is preferred that the main component of the soap is a longer chain fatty acid within the above range, and it is particularly preferred that at least half of the soap consists of C ₁₆ or higher fatty acids. Therefore, the use of soaps derived from natural products such as tallow, palm oil or rapeseed oil, which can be optionally hardened, together with small amounts of short-chain soaps made from nut oils such as coconut oil or palm kernel oil. is the most advantageous. Amounts of soap from about 0.5 to 25% by weight can be used, with small amounts of about 0.5 to 5% by weight usually being sufficient to control suds. For use to increase cleaning power, approximately 2 to 20%, especially approximately 5
Preferably, ~15% soap is used. In addition to the detergent active compounds and detergency builders, the detergent compositions of the invention may contain any conventional additives in amounts normally used in detergent compositions for fabric cleaning (laundry). These additives include
Foam promoters such as alkanolamides, especially monoethanolamides derived from palm kernel and coconut fatty acids; suds suppressors such as alkyl phosphates and silicones; redeposition such as sodium carboxymethylcellulose and polyvinylpyrrolidone Inhibitors; oxygen-releasing bleaches such as sodium perborate and sodium percarbonate;
peracid bleach precursors; chlorine-releasing bleaches such as trichloroisocyanuric acid and alkali metal salts of dichloroisocyanuric acid; fabric softeners; inorganic salts such as sodium sulfate, sodium carbonate and magnesium silicate; and usually present in trace amounts There are fluorescent agents, fragrances, enzymes such as proteases and amylases, fungicides and colorants. It is particularly advantageous to include sodium perborate, preferably about 10 to 40% by weight, such as about 15 to 30% by weight, in the detergent composition. It is desirable to include one or more antideposition agents in the detergent compositions of the present invention to reduce the tendency of inorganic deposits to build up on washed fabrics. The amount of such anti-adherent agents is usually about 0.1 to 5% by weight of the composition, preferably about 0.2%.
~2% by weight. Preferred anti-adhesive agents are salts of homo- or copolymers of acrylic acid or substituted acrylic acids, such as sodium polyacrylate, polymethacrylamide/sodium salts of acrylic acid and sodium poly-α-hydroxyacrylate, maleic anhydride/ethylene. , vinyl methyl ether or styrene copolymer salts, especially 1:1 copolymer salts. Particularly in the case of a styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer, the carboxyl groups may be partially esterified. Preferably, the molecular weight of the copolymers described above is relatively low, for example about 5,000 to 50,000. Other anti-adhesion agents include sodium salts of polymaleic and polyitaconic acids, phosphoric acid esters of ethoxylated fatty alcohols, polyethylene glycol phosphoric acid esters, and ethane-1-hydroxy-1,1
- Certain phosphonates are included, such as sodium diphosphonate, sodium ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonate and sodium 2-phosphonobutanetricarboxylate. It is also possible to use mixtures of protective colloids, such as gelatin, as described in our Dutch Patent Application No. 7602082, and organic phosphonic acids or substituted acrylic acids or salts thereof. The most preferred antifouling agent is about
Sodium polyacrylate having a molecular weight of 10,000 to 50,000, for example about 27,000. In the present invention, the detergent composition contains a small amount, preferably about
Up to 10% by weight of other non-phosphate detergency builders, so-called precipitable or sequestrant builders, can be included. Such detergency builders include amine carboxylates such as sodium nitrilotriacetate, sodium aluminosilicate ion exchange materials, sodium citrate, sodium carbonate and soaps that can act as detergency builders as described above. As is clear from the above, preferred detergent compositions in the present invention include synthetic anionic, nonionic,
about 5 to 30% by weight of amphoteric or zwitterionic detersive active compounds or mixtures thereof; the parts by weight ratio of sodium triphosphate to alkali metal orthophosphate is about
about 10 to 30% by weight mixture of sodium triphosphate and alkali metal orthophosphate in a ratio of 10:1 to 1:5 and containing at least about 5% by weight of sodium triphosphate; carbonic acid having a particle size of about 50 to 500 μm; Approximately 2 to 2 discrete particles of sodium hydrogen or potassium hydrogen carbonate
15% by weight; about 5 to 15% by weight of sodium silicate; optionally up to about 5% by weight of an alkali metal pyrophosphate;
and optionally foam accelerators, foam suppressants, anti-redeposition agents, oxygen-releasing bleaches, peracid bleach precursors, chlorine-releasing bleaches, fabric softeners, inorganic salts, fluorescent agents,
Contains one or more ingredients selected from fragrances, enzymes, fungicides, and colorants. Examples of the present invention will be shown below. In the examples, parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified. Example 1 A detergent composition was manufactured with the following formulation. Ingredients % Sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate 6.0 Nonylphenol-10EO 2.0 Sodium soap 3.0 Sodium triphosphate 16.0 Trisodium orthophosphate 6.0 Alkaline sodium silicate 10.0 Sodium carboxymethylcellulose 0.8 Sodium sulfate 20.0 Sodium perborate 20.0 Sodium hydrogen carbonate 5.0 Fluorescent agent , preservative 1.1 Water up to 100.0 This composition is made by adding the above two components in particulate form to a spray-dried base powder prepared by slurrying and spray-drying all components except sodium perborate and sodium bicarbonate. Manufactured. Commercially available sodium bicarbonate having a wide range of particle sizes from less than 125 μm to about 1400 μm was used. The other components of the composition had an average particle size of 500-550 μm. When this composition was added to distilled water at a concentration of 1% by weight at 25° C., the initial PH was found to be 10.5 and the equilibrium PH after 15 minutes to be 10.3. This is a significant effect compared to the initial pH of 11.5 and equilibrium pH of 10.6 for a similar composition that did not contain sodium bicarbonate but contained extra sodium sulfate. be. The initial PH of the composition in which the sodium sulfate content in the detergent composition was adjusted to reduce the amount of sodium bicarbonate to 2.5% was 10.9, and at equilibrium the PH was
It was found that it decreased to 10.4. A detergent composition was prepared by repeating the above procedure, except that the sodium sulfate content was adjusted by varying the particle size of sodium bicarbonate and increasing the amount of sodium silicate to 13%. The initial PH and equilibrium PH of this composition were measured and the following results were obtained.

Table: These results demonstrate the advantage of using smaller particle size sodium bicarbonate. It has also been found that the above composition has good detergency properties when used for fabric cleaning. Other detergent compositions were made in a similar manner except that the sodium bicarbonate was replaced with 5% and 10% sodium sesquicarbonate to reduce the sodium sulfate content. 1% of these compositions at 25°C.
The initial PH when dissolved in distilled water at concentrations was 10.9 and 10.7, and at equilibrium the PH decreased to 10.5 and 10.4. The initial pH in the absence of sesquicarbonate was 11.5, and at equilibrium the pH decreased to 10.6. From this it is clear that it is advantageous to add sodium bicarbonate in the form of sesquicarbonate. Example 2 A powder detergent composition was prepared by mixing the ingredients in the following formulation. Ingredients % Sodium alkylbenzene sulfonate 28.0 Trisodium orthophosphate 6.5 Sodium carbonate 15.0 Sodium hydrogen carbonate 15.0 Alkaline sodium silicate 10.0 Sodium sulfate 10.0 Water Up to 100.0 The average particle size of sodium hydrogen carbonate is approximately 450 μm, but the average particle size of the remaining components The particle size was approximately 500-550 μm. When this composition is added to water, the initial pH is 10.5
and dropped to 9.6 after 14 minutes. This product
Good results were also obtained when evaluated under typical Far Eastern wash conditions using cold water and low liquid to fabric ratios. Example 3 By mixing the ingredients in the following formulation, 3
A different powder detergent composition was prepared.

[Table] The average particle size of sodium bicarbonate was about 450 μm, and the average particle size of the remaining components was about 500 to 550 μm. Each of these compositions was used to wash three different test fabrics under the same conditions. The cleaning power of the composition,
Change in reflectance at 460μ before and after cleaning (△460 ^* )
Comparisons were made by measuring. The initial PH and equilibrium PH of a 1% by weight solution of each composition were also measured. The results were as follows.

[Table] The test fabrics used in Example 3 were as follows. Test cloth: Cotton poplin impregnated with a mixture of sebum fatty acids and carbon black. Test Fabric - Cotton fabric impregnated with a mixture of bandy black clay, non-ionic detergent and cationic detergent. Test cloth - cotton sheets impregnated with a mixture of peanut oil, India ink, casein and iron oxide.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. Spray-drying a slurry containing at least one synthetic detergent active compound and an alkali metal orthophosphate detergency builder in distilled water at 25°C to produce a spray-dried base powder. Approximately 9.0 to 11.0 when dissolved at a concentration of 1% by weight
In a method for producing a detergent composition having an equilibrium PH of 25 μm, the spray-dried base powder is mixed with discrete particles of sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate having an average particle size of less than 1000 μm, thereby making the detergent composition A method for producing the detergent composition, characterized in that the detergent composition has an initial pH not higher than 11.0 when dissolved at the concentration in the water at °C. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the composition contains about 1-20% by weight of sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate. 3. The composition comprises synthetic anionic, nonionic, amphoteric or zwitterionic detersive active compounds or mixtures thereof.
30% by weight, the parts by weight ratio of sodium triphosphate to alkali metal orthophosphate is from 10:1 to 1:5, and contains at least 5% by weight of sodium triphosphate and alkali metal orthophosphate. 10-30% by weight of the mixture, 2-15% by weight of discrete particles of sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate having a particle size of 50-500 μm, 5-15% by weight of sodium silicate, and optionally more than 5% by weight. Not much alkali metal pyrophosphate and at least 5% by weight
Foam accelerators, foam suppressants, anti-redeposition agents, oxygen-releasing bleaches, peracid bleach precursors, chlorine-releasing bleaches, fabric softeners, inorganic salts, fluorescent agents, fragrances, enzymes, disinfectants 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising one or more further ingredients selected from agents and colorants. 4. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that, before mixing with the spray-dried base powder, the sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate is treated with a non-ionic detergent compound. 5. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that sodium hydrogen carbonate or potassium hydrogen carbonate is added in the form of the corresponding sesquicarbonate.