JPH07286196A - Granular nonionic detergent composition excellent in granule strength and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a granular nonionic detergent composition capable of obtaining an excellent granule strength even for the detergent granule containing a nonionic surfactant having a small binder effect as a main component, preventing the generation of dusting caused by the fine powdering of the detergent granules before used, extremely large in dissolution speed in water, and suitable for full automatic washing machines or drum type washing machines. CONSTITUTION:A method for producing the granular nonionic detergent composition comprises homogeneously mixing and kneading (a) 10-85wt.% of a nonionic surfactant, (b) 0.2-5wt.% of porous inorganic powder containing >=50wt.% of SiO2, and (c) 0.1-20wt.% of a water-soluble or swellable granule-reinforcing binder (excluding a soap), adding an inorganic powder material as a grinding auxiliary agent to the formed solid detergent, and subsequently grinding the solid detergent into particulate or granular detergent granules. In the formed granular nonionic detergent composition, the granule-reinforcing binder forms a net structure in the detergent granule.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a granular detergent composition containing a nonionic surfactant as a main component, which has excellent particle strength and an extremely high dissolution rate, and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Nonionic surfactants have unique properties such as hard water resistance, miscibility with other components, and low foaming property. However, on the other hand, nonionic surfactants have not been widely discussed in conventional detergents because they require a powdering treatment because they are liquids and have low foaming properties. It is beginning to be reassessed by the recent changes in the consumption environment such as the increase in density and the spread of fully automatic washing machines.

[0003] Usually, a granular detergent containing a nonionic surfactant is prepared by adding a nonionic surfactant to a detergent slurry and spray-drying it, or by stirring a nonionic surfactant and other detergent components. It is manufactured by the method of charging and granulating. However, when a detergent containing a nonionic surfactant is manufactured by a spray drying method, there is a problem that a part of the nonionic surfactant is decomposed or scattered during the drying, and it is necessary to take measures against exhaust gas pollution. In addition, particles produced by the spray drying method have a weak particle strength because they form a hollow structure, particle destruction occurs during production or storage, and there is a problem that dust generation is aggravated by the fact that fine powder is generated. there were.

US Pat. No. 3,838,072 discloses that
A method of spraying and impregnating spray dried builder substrate beads with a nonionic surfactant is described. However, this method requires a complicated operation for manufacturing the base bead, and a large amount of energy is required for spray drying.
In addition, the strength of the particles is weak because the obtained particles have a hollow structure.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 125400/1993, a blending component containing a porous oil-absorbing carrier and a nonionic surfactant is charged into a specific agitating mixer and granulated. And a fine powder are mixed to coat the surface of the granulated product. However, in this method, since the degree of mixing and the denseness of the obtained granules are coarse, the particles are fragile, and the particles are broken during the production or storage and the dust generation property is deteriorated.

Further, in JP-A-54-163907, a nonionic surfactant obtained by adding 2 to 9 mol of ethylene oxide to an alcohol having 10 to 18 carbon atoms, a quaternary ammonium salt, a phosphate and silicic acid is disclosed. A method is described in which salts are mixed in specific proportions and spray dried. However, this method has a problem that the nonionic surfactant is thermally decomposed by heating during spray drying.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-42598, the porosity of the detergent particles is improved by allowing the organic components in the components constituting the detergent composition to form a powder skeleton as a continuous phase (matrix). It is described that a high bulk density detergent having good dispersibility and solubility in water is obtained regardless of the size. However, this method is intended for anionic surfactants, and is technically irrelevant to the present invention of improving the particle strength of the granular detergent containing a nonionic surfactant. Further, the anionic surfactant has poor rinsability as compared with the nonionic surfactant and is not suitable for a fully automatic washing machine, particularly a drum type washing machine.

[0008]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a granular detergent composition containing a nonionic surfactant as a main component, which is excellent in particle strength and solubility.

[0009]

The granular nonionic detergent composition of the present invention is characterized in that a substance having a binder effect forms a network structure inside the detergent particles and has an excellent particle strength. . The above-mentioned detergent particles include, for example, detergent particles in which a nonionic surfactant, a powder raw material and a substance having a binder effect (hereinafter referred to as a binder substance) are kneaded and mixed and then crushed. By the kneading treatment, the binder substance is densely distributed on the detergent particles to form a network structure.

The above-mentioned granular nonionic detergent composition is, for example, (a) nonionic surfactant: 10% by weight or more and 85% by weight
(B) Porous inorganic powder containing 50 wt% or more of SiO ₂ content: 0.2 wt% or more and less than 5 wt% (c) Water-soluble or water-swellable particle-reinforced binder (excluding soap): 0. A solid detergent is formed by uniformly kneading and mixing 1% by weight or more and 20% by weight or less, and then an inorganic powder is added as a grinding aid, and the solid detergent is crushed to give powdery or granular detergent particles. It can be manufactured.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The granular nonionic detergent composition of the present invention comprises a binder material forming a network structure inside the detergent particles, and a powder raw material and a nonionic surfactant are incorporated therein. , Or other detergent ingredients are present.

[0012] Such a network structure has a nonionic surfactant, a powder raw material that functions as a carrier for the nonionic surfactant, and a binder substance, which are densely and uniformly dispersed so that the powder raw material is mainly nonionic surfactant. The agent is adsorbed and held, and the powder particles are integrated with the binder substance to obtain detergent particles having a structure in which the nonionic surfactant and the powder raw material are held in the network structure formed by the binder substance.

The above-mentioned uniform dispersion is obtained by kneading and mixing treatment, and by crushing the obtained solid detergent into granular or granular detergent particles, the binder substance has a network structure inside the detergent particles. A granular nonionic detergent composition having is obtained.

As a result, at the time of handling at the factory or during storage, a strong particle strength is obtained due to the network structure of the binder substance, and the generation of fine powder and dust is prevented. In addition, since the binder substance is formed of a water-soluble or water-swellable substance, it is quickly dissolved or disintegrated when added to water during use.

Examples of the nonionic surfactant used in the present invention include the following. (1) C3-C22, preferably C8-C18 aliphatic alcohol with C2-C4 alkylene oxide on average 3
-30 mol, preferably 7-20 mol added polyoxyalkylene alkyl (or alkenyl) ether.
Among these, polyoxyethylene alkyl (or alkenyl) ether and polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene alkyl (or alkenyl) ether are preferable. (2) Polyoxyethylene alkyl (or alkenyl) phenyl ether (3) General formula (I) of the following chemical formula 1 in which alkylene oxide is added between ester bonds of long-chain fatty acid alkyl ester
Fatty acid alkyl ester alkoxylate

[0016]

Embedded image R ₁ CO (OA) nOR ₂ ... (I) (R ₁ CO: 6 to 22 carbon atoms, preferably 10 to 18 fatty acid residue OA: _{2 to} 4 carbon atoms such as OCH ₂ CH ₂ ; Preferably 2
Addition unit of alkylene oxide of 3 n: shows the average addition mole number of alkylene oxide, 5
30, preferably a number of 7 to 20 R ₂ : a lower alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms)

(4) Polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester (5) Polyoxyethylene sorbit fatty acid ester (6) Polyoxyethylene fatty acid ester (7) Polyoxyethylene hydrogenated castor oil (8) Glycerin fatty acid ester (9) Carbon number 6 A sugar ester nonionic surfactant comprising an ester of a fatty acid of -18 and a monosaccharide having 5 to 6 carbon atoms or a monoalkyl ether thereof. (10) A sugar alkyl ether-based nonionic surfactant represented by Chemical formula 2.

[0018]

Embedded image R ₁ O (CH ₂ CH ₂ O) n (Z) x (R ₁ : an alkyl group having 8 to 18 carbon atoms n: 0 to 12 Z: a sugar residue having 5 to 6 carbon atoms x: 1 2-10)

Among the above nonionic surfactants, polyoxyethylene alkyl (or alkenyl) ethers,
A fatty acid methyl ester ethoxylate obtained by adding ethylene oxide to a fatty acid methyl ester is particularly preferably used.

The nonionic surfactant as the component (a) is 10
A range of more than 85% by weight and preferably 10-6% by weight
It is mixed and kneaded and mixed in the range of 0% by weight. If this amount is less than 10% by weight, the excellent cleaning properties of the nonionic surfactant cannot be utilized, while if it is more than 85% by weight, the tackiness of the solid detergent obtained by kneading and mixing is significantly increased. However, adhesion to the crusher occurs, which makes manufacturing difficult.

As the binder substance, a water-soluble or water-swellable substance is used, and specific examples thereof are as follows. (1) Aqueous silicate solution: sodium silicate aqueous solution, lithium silicate aqueous solution, colloidal silica, etc. (2) Aluminate aqueous solution: sodium aluminate water-soluble, etc. (3) Alkali: caustic such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide Alkali, etc. (4) Layered silicate: sodium polysilicate hydrate, potassium polysilicate hydrate, etc.

(5): Soap: a fatty acid salt having 10 to 24 carbon atoms. Specific examples thereof include tallow fatty acid salts such as hardened beef tallow and uncured tallow, vegetable oil fatty acid salts such as coconut oil and palm oil, and synthetic fatty acid salts. Examples of salts include alkali metal salts and alkanolamine salts. (6) Cationic surfactant: diester type quaternary ammonium salt having an ester bond in the di-long alkyl (or alkenyl) chain, tertiary amine, etc.

(7) Cellulose: ethyl cellulose,
Methylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, etc. (8) Polymer: polyacrylic acid polymer, methacrylic acid polymer, polyvinyl alcohol, etc. (9) Sugars: starch, glucose, saccharose, etc.

The binder material is 0.1 to 20% by weight,
It is preferably blended in an amount of 0.2 to 15% by weight and kneaded and granulated. If the amount used is less than 0.1% by weight, sufficient particle strength cannot be obtained. On the other hand, if it exceeds 20% by weight, the kneaded product becomes soft and crushing becomes difficult.

The powder raw material is preferably a porous inorganic powder, particularly a porous inorganic oxide powder, particularly an inorganic oxide powder containing 50% by weight or more of SiO ₂ . Moreover, the conventional powdery detergent raw material can be used as all or a part of the powdery raw material of the present invention.

As the porous inorganic oxide powder containing 50% by weight or more of SiO ₂ , amorphous silica (trade name: Tokusil (Tokuyama Soda), Aerosil (Japan Aerosil), Sildex (Asahi Glass)), crystal Calcium silicate (trade name: Fluorite (Tokuyama Soda)), crystalline magnesium silicate (trade name: Wollastonite (Hayashi Kasei)) and the like.

The porous inorganic oxide powder is blended in an amount of 0.2% by weight or more and less than 5% by weight, preferably 1 to 4% by weight and kneaded and granulated. If the blending amount is less than 0.2% by weight, the fluidity of the resulting detergent composition is significantly reduced, while
When it is 5% by weight or more, the particle size of the obtained detergent composition becomes small and the dusting property deteriorates.

In the granular nonionic detergent composition of the present invention,
The following ingredients that are usually blended in detergent raw materials can be blended, and these may be blended in the solid detergent at the time of kneading and mixing, and the detergent particles obtained by crushing the solid detergent can be powdered. You may mix.

(1) Aluminosilicate (2) Inorganic alkali builder: sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium sulfite, sodium silicate, etc. (3) Fluorescent agent: bis (triazinylamino) stilbenedisulfonic acid derivative, bis (sulfo) Styryl) biphenyl salt [Chinopearl CBS], etc.

(4) Enzyme: lipase, protease, cellulase, amylase, etc. (5) Bleach: percarbonate such as sodium percarbonate, perborate, etc. (6) Antistatic agent: dialkyl type quaternary ammonium salt,
Tertiary amines, etc. (7) Surface modifiers: bentonite, kaolinite, etc. (8) Anionic surfactants: α-olefin sulfonates, linear alkylbenzene sulfonates

Of the above powder detergent raw materials, the use of aluminosilicates and sodium carbonate gives favorable results. As the aluminosilicate, synthetic zeolite having an average particle size of 0.1 to 10 μm is preferably used, and 5 to 5 of the detergent composition is used.
It is desirable to blend in an amount of 0% by weight, preferably 20 to 40% by weight.

As sodium carbonate, heavy sodium carbonate having a high bulk density (trade name: granular ash (Asahi Glass)), light sodium carbonate having a low bulk density (trade name: light ash (Asahi Glass))
And the like, and is mixed at the time of kneading and mixing so as to be contained in the detergent composition in an amount less than 75% by weight. Further, sodium carbonate is preferably added in an amount of 5% by weight or more, and preferably 10 to 50% by weight.

In the process for producing the detergent composition of the present invention, for example, the above components are introduced into a kneader such as a continuous kneader and uniformly kneaded and mixed to obtain a kneaded product (solid detergent). . Then, an inorganic fine powder is added to the obtained solid detergent as a grinding aid and crushed to obtain an average particle diameter of 300 to 1500 μm.
The granular non-ionic detergent composition of the present invention is obtained by externally adding other optional components by powder mixing or the like.

As the grinding aid, an inorganic powder having a JIS 200 mesh sieve passing amount of 50% or more is suitable, and as the material, for example, carbonates such as sodium carbonate and calcium carbonate, amorphous silica. , Silicates such as calcium silicate and magnesium silicate, and aluminosilicates such as zeolite are used. The grinding aid is preferably used in an amount to be blended in the composition of the present invention in an amount of 0.5 to 15% by weight, more preferably 1 to 10% by weight.

[0035]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, since the binder substance is present in the form of a mesh inside the granular nonionic detergent composition, even in detergent particles containing a nonionic surfactant having a small binder effect as a main component. It is possible to obtain excellent particle strength. As a result, it is possible to prevent the detergent particles from being pulverized to generate dust before use. Furthermore, since this binder substance is water-soluble or water-swellable, its dissolution rate in water is extremely fast, and it is suitable for use in a fully automatic washing machine or a drum type washing machine.

[0036]

EXAMPLES In the examples, each sample was evaluated by the following test methods. [Particle Strength Evaluation Method] 20 polypropylene balls having a diameter of 10 mm and 100 g of the granular nonionic detergent composition were placed on a JIS 200 # sieve having a diameter of 30 cm, and a tabletop standard sieve shaker (manufactured by Tsutsui Rikagaku Kikai Kikai; VSS-50).
After shaking for 30 minutes using a mold, the weight ratio (%) of the 200 # sieve passed portion was determined.

[Evaluation Method of Dissolution Rate] Tap water of 5 ° C. was put into a beaker of 1 liter, 5 g of detergent particles of 24 # pass to 42 # on was added, and the particles were gently stirred using a magnetic stirrer. The time until the solution completely melted was visually determined.

Examples 1 to 5 The components of the detergent raw material composition shown in Table 1 except for the grinding aid, the enzyme and the fragrance were added to a continuous kneader (KRC2 manufactured by Kurimoto Iron Works).
Type) is kneaded and mixed, and the obtained kneaded product and zeolite as a grinding aid are put into Fitzmill (DKASO6 type manufactured by Hosokawa Micron) to form detergent particles, and the enzyme is powder-mixed with this to give a fragrance. Was sprayed to obtain a granular nonionic detergent composition having the properties shown in Table 2.

Comparative Examples 1 and 2 The detergent raw materials shown in Table 1 were mixed with a Loedige mixer (Matsusaka Giken M2
(Type 0), and the resulting mixture was put into a Fitzmill to obtain a nonionic detergent composition having the properties shown in Table 2 in the same manner as in Examples below.

[0040]

[Table 1] Table 1: Detergent composition Composition Example Comparative Example 1 2 3 4 5 12 Composition (wt%): Nonionic surfactant AE Nonion-1 25 − − − − 25 − AE Nonion-2 −40 50 − − − 50 FME Nonion − 1 − − − 30 60 − − Porous inorganic powder Amorphous silica 4 1 − 2 − − − Crystalline silicate Ca − 2 3 1 3 − 3 Binder substance Ethyl cellulose 13 − − − − − − No. 2 sodium silicate − 2.5 − − − − − − Poval − − 7.5 − − − 25 Arcard 2HT − − − 1 − − − Layered silicate − − − − 0.7 − − Arbitrary component A zeolite 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Sodium carbonate 37.5 34.0 19.0 45.5 15.8 54.5 1.5 Grinding aid 5 5 5 5 5 − − Enzyme 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Perfume 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 Fluorescent agent 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 AE nonion − 1: polyoxyethylene dodecyl ether (average number of moles of ethylene oxide added (EOp =
8, melting point 15 ° C.) AE nonion 2: polyoxyethylene alkyl ether (C13 of alkyl group, EOp = 9, Dovanox 23H manufactured by Lion Chemical Co., Ltd.) FME-1: fatty acid having 12 carbon atoms of fatty acid residue Condensation product of methyl ester and ethylene oxide (EOp = 9) Amorphous silica: Tokseal N (manufactured by Tokuyama Soda Co., Ltd.) Crystalline Ca: Fluorite R (Tokuyama Soda Co., Ltd., crystalline calcium silicate) Poval: Kuraray Polyvinyl alcohol manufactured by Co., Ltd., molecular weight 1000 Arcard 2HT: Distearyldimethylammonium chloride (manufactured by Lion Akzo Co., Ltd.) Layered silicate: Na-SKS-6 (manufactured by Hoechst) Grinding aid: Zeolite Enzyme: Alcalase: Alkaline protease: Alkaline lipase = 1: 1: 1 mixture Fluorescent agent: Chi Chino Pearl CBS manufactured by Bageigie: a mixture of Whitetex SKC = 5: 1 manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.

[0041]

[Table 2]Table 2: Evaluation results Example Comparative example 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 Evaluation results: Average particle size (μm) 500 530 580 520 580 500 − *¹  Bulk density (g / ml) 0.91 0.87 0.81 0.89 0.86 0.85 − Particle strength (%) 2 3 1 2 3 55 − Dissolution rate (sec) 40 55 50 50 40 110 − * 1) Cannot be crushed

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A granular nonionic detergent composition excellent in particle strength, comprising a nonionic surfactant, and a substance having a binder effect forming a network structure inside detergent particles. . 2. A nonionic surfactant, a powder raw material and a substance having a binder effect are uniformly kneaded, mixed and crushed into detergent particles, and the substance having a binder effect has a network structure inside the detergent particles. A granular nonionic detergent composition having excellent particle strength, which is characterized by being formed. 3. (a) Nonionic surfactant: 10% by weight
Or more and less than 85 wt% (b) porous inorganic powder containing 50 wt% or more of SiO ₂ content: 0.2 wt% or more and less than 5 wt% (c) water-soluble or water-swellable particle reinforced binder (however, soap is Excluding): 0.1 wt% or more and 20 wt% or less The above components (a), (b) and (c) are uniformly kneaded and mixed in the above amounts to form a solid detergent, and then the inorganic powder is added. A granular nonionic detergent characterized in that the solid detergent is added as a grinding aid to be crushed into powder particles or granular detergent particles to cause the particle strength binder to form a network structure inside the detergent particles. A method for producing a composition.