JPH062983B2 - Method of manufacturing softening agent - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for producing a softening agent having excellent softening effect on clothes, particularly softening effect on cotton.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when washing clothes at home to provide flexibility, the detergent components are washed with a large amount of water, and then the detergent components are rinsed off, followed by a cationic surfactant such as a quaternary ammonium salt. A method in which a softening agent as a main component is added and treated is adopted.

This is because the cationic surfactant has an excellent softening effect and an antistatic effect, but cannot exhibit a sufficient softening effect when used in combination with a detergent. This is because household detergents generally contain anionic surfactants as main components, so if cationic surfactants are added at the time of washing, anionic surfactants in detergents etc. will be added before the cationic surfactants are adsorbed on clothing. This is because it is less likely to be adsorbed to clothes because it loses its ionicity or is dispersion-stabilized by being attacked by.

However, performing washing and softening separately requires extra time and labor, and consumers are demanding detergents having both washing and softening.

Conventionally, as a method of adding a cationic surfactant at the same time during washing to give a sufficient softening effect to clothes, it has been proposed to granulate the cationic surfactant with an inorganic or organic salt or an organic dispersion inhibitor ( Japanese Patent Publication No. 36-8927, U.S. Patent No.
4,073,735, JP-A-55-86895, JP-A-53-4131
2, JP-A-49-98403).

Further, as a further advanced technique, it has been proposed to blend a nonionic cellulose derivative (JP-A-59).
-6293).

However, in the method of granulating with an inorganic salt or the like as shown in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 36-8927, although the softening effect is recognized on the synthetic fiber, the softening effect on cotton was insufficient.

Further, although the method described in JP-A-59-6293 can give flexibility to cotton, it is necessary to use a large amount of a softening component in order to obtain a sufficient effect. , Further improvements were struggling.

The present inventors have previously found that by granulating a quaternary ammonium salt together with a polyacrylamide polymer, it is possible to efficiently impart flexibility to a cotton cloth. As a method for uniformly mixing the polyacrylamide polymer and the quaternary ammonium salt, first, the polymer powder and water are mixed to prepare a polymer aqueous solution, and then the aqueous solution and the quaternary ammonium salt are dispersed. There is a method of mixing with a liquid or a melt and drying. However, this method has a problem that it is difficult to handle the aqueous polymer solution.

The present inventors have further proposed to add an acrylamide polymer powder to a solvate of a dilong-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt and uniformly disperse it (Japanese Patent Application No. 59-238531). However, according to this method, although the acrylamide polymer can be uniformly dispersed, there is a problem in workability such that coarse particles are partially generated and the strainer is frequently replaced.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for efficiently producing a softening agent that exerts an excellent softening effect on a cloth to be washed, particularly a cotton cloth, by preventing the formation of coarse particles of a polymer. is there.

Constitution of the Invention The method for producing a softening agent of the present invention comprises a dilong chain of 40 to 70 ° C. containing 10 to 50% by weight of a C _{3 to} C ₆ lower alcohol as a solvent with respect to a di long chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt. Alkyl 4
An acrylamide polymer having an average particle size of 1 to 50 μm is added to and dispersed in a graded ammonium salt solution, the solvent is removed, the mixture is cooled, and then the mixture is pulverized.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

Examples of the dilong-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt used in the present invention include those represented by the following general formula (I).

(In the formula, R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ , R ₄ and X represent the following, respectively.

R _1, R _2: an alkyl group R ₃ of _{C 12 ~C 26, R 4:} C 1 hydroxyalkyl group -C ₄ or polyoxyalkylene group X: _{halogen, CH 3 SO 4, C 2} H 5 SO 4 or Specific examples of such a di-long-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt include, for example, distearyldimethylammonium salt, dihydrogenated tallow alkyldimethylammonium salt, dihydrogenated beef tallow alkylmethylbenzylammonium salt, distearylmethylbenzylammonium salt. , Distearyl methyl hydroxyethyl ammonium salt, distearyl methyl hydroxypropyl ammonium salt, distearyl hydroxy ethyl ammonium salt, and the like.

The di long-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt is a C ₃ -C ₆ lower alcohol solution at a temperature of 40-70 ° C. As the lower alcohol, propanol, isopropyl alcohol,
Butanol, hexanol, etc. are used, and isopropyl alcohol is typical. If the temperature of this solution is lower than 40 ° C, the viscosity is high and handling becomes difficult. On the other hand, if the temperature exceeds 70 ° C, lower alcohol is often scattered, which poses a problem in terms of safety and environment. The preferred temperature is in the range 40-60. The lower alcohol in the solution is 10 to 50% by weight, preferably 20 to 40% by weight based on the di-long-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt.
Used by weight percent. When the amount of the solvent is less than 10% by weight, the viscosity is high and handling becomes difficult. On the other hand, if it is used in an amount of more than 50% by weight, it can be handled at a low temperature, but the load at the time of removing the solvent increases, which is not preferable.

An acrylamide polymer is added to this dilong-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt solution and uniformly dispersed. The acrylamide polymer is added as particles having an average particle size of 1 to 50 μm, preferably 1 to 30 μm. Average particle size is 50μ
If it exceeds m, the solvent will be separated at the time of removing the solvent, and the adhesion and deposition on the solvent removing device poses a problem. The acrylamide polymer is
It can be added in the form of powder or as a suspension. From the viewpoint of handling, it is advantageous to add it as a suspension.

By adding the acrylamide polymer in the presence of the lower alcohol, the acrylamide polymer can be easily and uniformly dispersed, and the formation of coarse particles can be prevented.

The following are specific examples of the acrylamide polymer.

(1) A polymer of an acrylamide monomer represented by the general formula (II).

(In the formula, each of R ₅ , R ₆ and R ₇ is as follows.

R ₅ : C ₁ -C ₄ alkyl group R ₆ : hydrogen or methyl group R ₇ : hydrogen, substituted alkyl group such as alkyl group or hydroxyalkyl group) (2) Acrylamide-based polymer represented by the general formula (III) (In the formula, R ₈ , R ₉ and R ₁₀ are respectively as follows.

R ₈ : hydrogen or methyl group R ₉ , R ₁₀ : substituted alkyl group such as alkyl group or hydroxyalkyl group) (3) Acrylamide polymer represented by the general formula (IV) [Wherein R ₁₁ , R ₁₂ , R ₁₃ , R ₁₄ , R ₁₅ , A, B, Y,
Z, l, m and p are as follows.

_{R 11, R 14, R 15} : a hydrogen or a methyl group R _12, R _13: a hydrogen, a substituted alkyl group such as an alkyl group or hydroxyalkyl Le group A: an alkylene group of _{C 0 ~C 5 B: C 0} ~C 5 An alkylene group, a phenylene group, a phenylene group substituted with an alkyl group, Y, Z: Hydrogen, alkali metal or alkaline earth metal l, m, p: l: m: p = (99 to 50) :( 1 to 50):
(0 to 50)] The degree of polymerization of these acrylamide polymers is 1,000.
The above is suitable, and preferably 10,000 or more.

The (a) dilong-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt and (b) acrylamide-based polymer may be added and dispersed at a ratio of (a) / (b) = 99.9 / 1 to 1/1. It is more preferably 99/1 to 75/25. If the proportion of the acrylamide polymer is too small, the softening effect on the cotton cloth becomes small, while if it is too large, the dissolution and dispersibility of the particles deteriorates.

Next, the lower alcohol as a solvent is removed from the quaternary ammonium salt solution in which the acrylamide polymer is uniformly dispersed and suspended. The lower alcohol can be removed by vacuum distillation using a topping device or the like.

In the polymer dispersion obtained by removing the solvent, the polymer is uniformly dispersed in the quaternary ammonium salt without producing coarse particles. By cooling and finely pulverizing the quaternary ammonium salt, The softening agent of the present invention is obtained.

The obtained pulverized product may be re-granulated to an appropriate particle size.

The softening agent obtained by the present invention is added to a granular detergent,
They may be blended and used, or may be used alone.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, by adding an acrylamide polymer to a dilong-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt in the presence of a lower alcohol, it is possible to prevent the formation of coarse particles of the polymer and to easily increase the polymer. It is possible to uniformly disperse the molecules, and it is possible to obtain a softening agent that exerts an excellent softening effect on a cloth to be washed, particularly a cotton cloth.

Example Using an paddle type stirrer, acrylamide polymer was dispersed in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution of quaternary ammonium salt under the conditions shown in Table 1, and the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure with a topping device. After cooling, it was pulverized to 70 μm to obtain a softening agent. In addition, Japanese Patent Application No. 59-238531
According to the above, an acrylamide polymer was dispersed in a quaternary ammonium salt melt, cooled, and similarly pulverized to obtain a softening agent of Comparative Example (Sample No. 8). At this time,
The dispersibility of the acrylamide polymer (formation of coarse particles) was evaluated according to the following criteria.

Good: Less than 0.05% Poor: 0.05% or more Further, the adhesion to the topping device was examined, and these results are shown in Table 1 together with the softening effect described later.

The abbreviations in the table indicate the following, respectively.

A: Copolymer of acrylamide monomer and sodium acrylate (copolymerization ratio 95/5, molecular weight 10 million) B: Copolymer of acrylamide monomer and sodium styrene sulfonate (copolymerization ratio 95/5, molecular weight 800)
10,000: C: acrylamide polymer (molecular weight: 5,000,000) (R ₈ : CH ₃ , R ₉ : H, R ₁₀ ; H in the general formula (III)) D: dihydrogenated tallow alkyldimethylammonium chloride E: distearyldimethyl Ammonium chloride F: Dihydrogenated tallow alkyldimethylammonium sulfate In addition, the obtained softening agent was added to a granular detergent having the following composition,
3% by weight of a quaternary ammonium salt was added to obtain a detergent composition. Washing was performed using this detergent composition, and the softening effect on cotton cloth is shown in Table 1.

Composition of granular detergent Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate Sodium (C ₁₂ alkyl) 20 wt% Sodium silicate 10 wt% Sodium carbonate 10 wt% Zeolite (A type zeolite, average particle size 2 μm) 15 wt% Carboxymethyl cellulose 0.6 wt% Soap (beef tallow fatty acid) 0.7 wt % Polyethylene glycol (Molecular weight 6000) 0.5wt% Sodium citrate 0.8wt% Fluorescent agent 0.5wt% Perfume 0.2wt% Sodium sulfate, water balance Flexibility effect test method Nylon tricot cloth (30 denier) 30g x 4 sheets Acrylic Jersey cloth 90g x 2 pieces Cotton towel 80g x 2 pieces Cotton bleached cloth 50g x 4 pieces Cotton knitted cloth 85g x 4 pieces After washing the test cloth for 15 minutes with the above granular detergent and 60 ° C tap water, Pre-treat the test cloth by rinsing 3 times for 3 minutes each with 60 ° C tap water. Next, this test cloth was placed in a jet-type home electric washing machine, and using the composition in which each softening agent was added to the above granular detergent and tap water at 25 ° C, a detergent concentration of 0.13% and a bath ratio of 30 times The procedure of washing for 10 minutes below, dehydrating for 1 minute, rinsing with tap water at 25 ° C. for 3 minutes, and dehydrating for 1 minute was repeated twice. Thereafter, the test cloth was air dried for 24 hours, and then the air dried test cloth was conditioned under the conditions of 25 ° C. and 65% RH.

A cotton towel was taken out from the test cloth thus obtained, and the feel of the cotton towel was evaluated by 5 judges, and the flexibility imparting effect of the additive composition was evaluated from the average of 5 judges. In addition, this touch determination was performed by the following preparations by making the feel of a cotton towel obtained by the same procedure as above except that a detergent containing no additive was used, to be zero.

Remarkably soft 5 points Quite soft 4 points Soft 2 points Slightly soft 1 point

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A di-long-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt solution containing 10 to 50% by weight of a C ₃ -C ₆ lower alcohol as a solvent, based on the di-long-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salt, at 40 to 70 ° C. A method for producing a softening agent, which comprises adding an acrylamide polymer having a particle size of 1 to 50 μm and dispersing, removing the solvent, cooling, and then pulverizing.