JPH06200476A - Soft-finishing agent - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prepare a soft-finishing agent, comprising a specific component as an essential component, capable of imparting excellent softness and elasticity (fullness) to various fibers and excellent in dispersibility in water. CONSTITUTION:This soft-finishing agent is obtained by blending (A) an amine compound expressed by formulas I, II and III [R<1> and R<2> are 11-21C hydrocarbon; R<3> is methyl or hydroxyethyl; R<4> and R<5> are 1-4C alkyl; (m) and (n) are 1-3; (p) is 0-3; X is OH or OOCR<2>] or that neutralized with an inorganic acid (preferred example: hydrochloric acid) or that quaternized with methyl chloride, etc., with (B) an alkylene oxide adduct of fats and oils (e.g. beef tallow, lard or palm oil), an alkylene oxide adduct of a fatty acid (e.g. stearic acid or beef tallow fatty acid) or an ester thereof or an alkylene oxide adduct of a mixture of the fats and oils, fatty acid or its ester with a polyhydric alcohol at (98/2) to (50/50) weight ratio of the components (a)/(b). The polyhydric alcohol is selected from glycerol, sorbitol, glucose, pentaerythritol, fructose, maltose, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a softening agent, and more specifically, it can impart excellent flexibility and elasticity (puffiness) to various fibers and has good dispersibility in water. It relates to a softening finish.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently,
Most of the products marketed as household softening agents are mainly quaternary ammonium salts having two long-chain alkyl groups in one molecule as typified by di (hardened tallow alkyl) dimethylammonium chloride. And the composition. The reason for this is that a small amount of quaternary ammonium salt has a good softening effect on various fibers. However, although the above quaternary ammonium salt has a remarkable softening effect on cotton,
The effect cannot be said to be sufficient for synthetic fibers such as polyester type and polyamide type, and if treated at a higher concentration, the elasticity of the garment may be reduced and the texture may be impaired. Further, since the above quaternary ammonium salt has a strong hydrophobicity, when it is poured into the rinse water when the stirring force is weak, the dispersibility in water is poor, and therefore the clothing may be uneven. In addition, especially when storing for a long time at low temperature,
The substance may thicken, form a gel, or separate. In addition to the above quaternary ammonium salts, commercially available softeners are blended with polyoxyethylene-based nonionic surfactants, additives such as electrolytes and solvents to improve water dispersibility and long-term storage stability. However, the effect is still insufficient.

Liquid softening finishes having various amines as softening bases have been conventionally known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 52-
59796 discloses a composition for imparting flexibility to a fiber containing a long-chain alkylamine such as methyldi (cured tallow alkyl) amine, and JP-A-58-6070 discloses an acylated alkanolamine, a water-soluble composition. A fiber material finishing agent that imparts smoothness and comfortable feel to a fiber containing a quaternary ammonium salt and a fatty acid ester is disclosed in JP-A-61-167083. Quaternary ammonium compound, higher fatty acid and hydroxy lower alkyl polyamine. A softening agent containing a condensation reaction product with an alkylamine polyglycol ether and having good dispersibility is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 275474/1986 for treating textiles containing a di (higher alkyl) cyclic amine and a Bronsted acid. A stable aqueous dispersion of JP-A-64-85368 is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 64-85368. A softening composition containing a liquid carrier is disclosed in JP-A-2-6662, which is a fabric conditioning composition containing an amine such as a condensate of hydroxy lower alkyl alkylenediamine and a higher fatty acid, and an amphoteric fabric conditioning agent. JP-A-14076 describes a fabric conditioning composition containing a dilong-chain alkylamine-polyfunctional carboxylic acid complex, which imparts flexibility and antistatic properties. Furthermore, JP-A-52-5394
The publication describes a fabric conditioning composition containing a mono- or di-long alkyl alkylenediamine static inhibitor and a quaternary ammonium softener. However, the softener containing these amines is relatively better in dispersibility and storage stability than the softener containing a quaternary ammonium salt, but the softening performance is still insufficient.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies on a softener containing an amine, the present inventors have found that a specific amine compound or a neutralized product or a quaternized product thereof, and an alkylene of a fat or oil or a fatty acid or an ester thereof. By using an oxide adduct or an alkylene oxide adduct of a mixture of a fat or oil or a fatty acid or its ester and a polyhydric alcohol, excellent flexibility can be imparted to the clothes, and elasticity (puffiness) can be imparted to the water, and It was found that a softening agent having good dispersibility can be obtained, and the present invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention provides the following (a) component and
(b) To provide a softening finish containing the component as an essential component. Component (a): one or more amine compounds represented by the following general formulas (A) to (C), or a neutralized product or a quaternized product thereof with an inorganic acid or an organic acid having 6 or less carbon atoms.

[0006]

[Chemical 2]

Component (b): an alkylene oxide adduct of a fat or oil or a fatty acid or its ester, or an alkylene oxide adduct of a mixture of a fat or oil or a fatty acid or its ester and a polyhydric alcohol.

The amine compound represented by the general formula (A) of the present invention can be obtained by a cyclization dehydration reaction of hydroxyethylethylenediamine and a corresponding fatty acid or fatty acid ester. The following are typical examples of the amine compound represented by the general formula (B) of the present invention.

[0009]

[Chemical 3]

Of the above compounds, the former can be obtained by condensation dehydration reaction of N-methyldiethanolamine and the latter by triethanolamine with corresponding fatty acid or fatty acid ester. The following are typical examples of the amine compound represented by the general formula (C) of the present invention.

[0011]

[Chemical 4]

This amine compound is a compound having the following structure

[0013]

[Chemical 5]

It can be obtained by a condensation reaction of the corresponding fatty acid or fatty acid ester.

Of course, the method for producing these compounds is not limited to the above, and any method may be used. Further, even if by-products and unreacted raw materials produced as by-products in the reaction step are contained, they may be contained as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired.

Examples of the acid for obtaining the neutralized product from the amine compounds (A) to (C) include inorganic acids such as hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, glycolic acid, citric acid and maleic acid. Examples thereof include organic acids having 6 or less carbon atoms, and hydrochloric acid is the least expensive and has high performance. In addition, the neutralization step is an amine compound
A pre-neutralized product of (A) to (C) may be dispersed in water, or the amine compound (A) to (C) may be added in a liquid or solid form to an aqueous acid solution. Of course, the amine compounds (A) to (C) and the acid component may be added at the same time. Also, amine compounds
The quaternary compound of (A) to (C) can be obtained by a known method using methyl chloride, dialkyl sulfuric acid or the like.

The component (b) of the present invention is obtained by adding alkylene oxide to fats and oils or fatty acids or their esters. Examples of the oils and fats include beef tallow, lard, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, castor oil, and one or more selected from hydrides thereof. Examples of the fatty acid include saturated or unsaturated linear or branched ones having 10 to 20 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include stearic acid, tallow fatty acid, coconut oil fatty acid, oleic acid, and the like. It can also be used. As the ester, a lower ester such as methyl ester or ethyl ester is preferable.

If desired, a polyhydric alcohol may be added to these oils and fats or fatty acids or their esters,
Alkylene oxide may be added to this mixture. Examples of the polyhydric alcohol include glycerin, sorbitol, glucose, pentaerythritol, fructose, maltose and sucrose. The mixing ratio of the oil or fat or fatty acid or its ester, and the polyhydric alcohol is 99/1 to 40/60 (molar ratio), more preferably 99/1 to
50/50.

The alkylene oxide to be added to the above-mentioned oils and fats or fatty acids or esters thereof, or the mixture of these and polyhydric alcohols is preferably one having 2 to 4 carbon atoms, specifically ethylene oxide (hereinafter abbreviated as EO). ) And propylene oxide (hereinafter abbreviated as PO). The alkylene oxide is added in an amount of 3 to 20 times mol, more preferably 5 to 20 times mol, with respect to the fat or oil, the fatty acid or its ester, or the mixture thereof with the polyhydric alcohol.

In the present invention, the weight ratio of the component (a) and the component (b) is (a) / (b) = 98/2 to 50/50, more preferably 95.
/ 5 to 80/20. Further, when a softening finish containing the compound according to the present invention as an essential component is produced in a liquid state, the total amount of the compound according to the present invention is 5 to 45% by weight, preferably 6 to 5% in consideration of the viscosity and handling property of the product. 30% by weight, particularly preferably 10 to 30% by weight. Further, by adjusting the pH of the softening agent of the present invention to 1 to 5, preferably 1.5 to 3.0, it becomes a liquid softening agent which is stable even during storage under severe conditions.

When the liquid softening agent is used, an alkali metal salt or an alkaline earth metal salt is added in an amount of 0.01 to 1% by weight.
By blending, the handling property of the liquid softening agent is improved. Examples of these metal salts include sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, magnesium chloride and the like.

In order to manufacture the softening agent of the present invention into a solid product, the composition containing the components (a) and (b) as essential components is made into a granular or tablet form, or a nonwoven fabric or an oil-absorbing composition is used. It may be supported on powder.

The softening agent of the present invention may contain known cationic softening components, silicone compounds, esters such as fatty acid glycerides, higher alcohols and the like as a softening component. Further, pigments, fragrances, antibacterial agents, optical brighteners and the like can be used to improve the appearance and odor of the product.

[0024]

Industrial Applicability The softening agent of the present invention imparts sufficient flexibility and antistatic properties to various fibers, imparts excellent elasticity, and has good dispersibility in water. Furthermore, since the softening ingredient of the present invention has good biodegradability, it is less likely to pollute the environment.

[0025]

EXAMPLES The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

The compounds used in Examples and Comparative Examples are shown in Tables 1 and 2 below.

[0027]

[Table 1]

[0028]

[Table 2]

Examples 1 to 19 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 Using the components (a) and (b) shown in Tables 1 and 2 above, softening agents having the formulations shown in Table 3 were prepared. Using these softening agents, the flexibility and elasticity were evaluated by the following methods. The dispersibility in water was evaluated by the following method.

<Evaluation of flexibility and elasticity> (1) Treatment method 2 kg of commercially available cotton towel and 1 kg of acrylic jersey are used for 3.5
After washing with a commercial detergent attack (registered trademark, manufactured by Kao Corporation) 5 times in DH hard water 5 times (30 liter washing machine) to remove the fiber treatment agent attached to each fiber, Table 3
Then, 1.5 g of the compounded composition was added, and the mixture was treated at 25 ° C. for 1 minute under stirring. (2) Evaluation method The cloth treated by the above method was air-dried indoors, and then left in a constant temperature and humidity room at 25 ° C and 65% RH for 24 hours. The softness and elasticity of these cloths were evaluated. The results are shown in Table 3. [Evaluation Method of Flexibility and Elasticity] For the evaluation of flexibility and elasticity, a pair of comparisons were performed with a cloth treated with 10 cc of a softening agent containing 15% by weight of dihydrogenated tallow alkyldimethylammonium chloride as a control. The evaluation is expressed as follows. +2: Softer or more elastic than the control. +1; Slightly softer or slightly more elastic than the control. 0; same as control. -1; The control is slightly softer or slightly less elastic than the control. -2: The control is softer or less elastic than the control.

<Evaluation method of dispersibility in water> 20 liters of water set at 2 to 5 ° C and 1 kg of cotton towel were put in an automatic washing machine "Ginga 30" (manufactured by Toshiba Corp.), and the speed was set to 1 with a gentle rotation. After stirring for a minute, the operation is stopped, and 3 g of the softening agent shown in Table 3 is added. The dispersibility of the softening agent in water is observed 30 seconds and 2 minutes after the softening agent is added. ○: Completely uniform dispersion after 30 seconds △: Almost dispersed after 2 minutes ×: No dispersion even after 2 minutes

[0032]

[Table 3]

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A softening finish containing the following components (a) and (b) as essential components. Component (a): one or more amine compounds represented by the following general formulas (A) to (C) or a neutralized product or a quaternized product thereof with an inorganic acid or an organic acid having 6 or less carbon atoms: 1] (b) Component; alkylene oxide adduct of fat or oil or fatty acid or ester thereof, or alkylene oxide adduct of mixture of fat or oil or fatty acid or ester thereof and polyhydric alcohol. 2. The softening agent according to claim 1, wherein the polyhydric alcohol is selected from glycerin, sorbitol, glucose, pentaerythritol, fructose, maltose and sucrose. 3. The weight ratio of the component (a) and the component (b) is (a) /
(b) = 98/2 to 50/50, wherein
Or the softening agent described in 2.