MXPA06010311A - Composition comprising alcohol alkoxylates and their use - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to low foaming non-ionic surfactants being alcohol alkoxylates comprising at least two different oxyalkylene -groups derivable from a mixture of linear an branched alcohols and their use

Description

COMPOSITION COMPRISING ALCOHOL ALCOHOLATES AND THEIR USE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to non-ionic low foaming surfactants which are alcohol alkoxylates comprising at least two different oxyalkylene groups obtainable from a mixture of linear and branched alcohols by alkoxylation and their use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Non-ionic surfactants are widely used in commercial and domestic applications where their valuable performance as wetting agents, their detergency and grease removal characteristics, their adaptability to be combined with other types of surfactants and their resistance are used. to hard water conditions. Many such nonionic surfactants form a lot of foam for applications in which the degree of foaming is critical, for example, in automatic dishwashers. In recent years a number of low-foaming non-ionic surfactants have been developed and have been used commercially. When the need for foam suppression is of paramount importance, nonionic surfactants developed to meet this requirement have often had to sacrifice other desirable characteristics, such as detergency, wetting properties, and biodegradation performance. Nonionic surfactants based on ethylene oxide and / or propylene oxide adducts are well known in the art. Known surfactants based on ethoxylates and / or propoxylates of detergent grade alcohols often show a number of drawbacks, such as those for many applications in which improvement of foaming performance is needed. It has long been known to prepare low-foaming nonionic surfactants by adding ethylene oxide and / or propylene oxide to various alcohols, usually long-chain monohydric alcohols. Numerous different adducts have been suggested which comprise one or more of an alkoxylate in block and / or random structure. The representative prior art relating to alcohol alkoxylates comprising alkoxylates having block structure are described, for example, in US 4,410,447, US 3,956,401 and EP 0 882 785-A1. EP 0 882 785-A1 discloses a nonionic surfactant having foaming power, low detergency characteristics, and consisting of a product having the general formula (I): RO- (EO) x- ( PO) y- (EO) zH (I) in which R represents a linear or branched C12 to C15 alkyl chain, EO and PO are oxyethylene and oxypropylene units respectively, andxyz are stoichiometric indices and are equal to or greater than 1 and "y" represents an average number ranging from 0.5 to 6. However, the surfactant having the general formula (I) has a number of limitations, such as that the molecular weight of this product should not be greater than 1200 because otherwise the detergent properties deteriorate or the surfactant can not be diluted in water in amounts less than 50% by weight because at lower concentrations there are significant variations in viscosity. The succession of the EO and PO indices must remain within certain limits to avoid a reduction in the detergent properties. These restrictions, and others specified in the test procedure described in EP 0 882 785-Al, make the surfactant having the general formula (I) of little interest from an industrial point of view. Document US Pat. No. 3,956,401 discloses a biodegradable, low foaming, nonionic surfactant which is liquid at room temperature and does not gel in aqueous solution. The surfactant has the general formula (II): RO- (CH2CHR '-O) x- (CH2CH2-0) y- (CH2CHR "-0) ZH (II) in which R is a linear alkyl group containing 7 to 10 carbon atoms, R 'and R "are most desirably a methyl group, x is an integer from 1 to 6," y "is an integer from 4 to 15 and z is an integer from 4 to 25. This detergent comprises successively an oxypropylene (PO) block, an oxyethylene block (EO) and an oxypropylene (PO) block attached to the alcohol, US 4,410,447 also discloses a low-foaming, liquid, non-ionic surfactant which is said to be also having good detergency and fat removal properties This surfactant has the formula (III): RO-Ax-BH. (III) in which: R is a primary alkyl group having from 7 to 11 carbon atoms, A is an oxypropylene group, with the proviso that the total number of carbon atoms in R plus A is 12 to 22, x is an integer from 2 to 15, and B is a random mixture of oxyethylene groups and oxypropylene, in which the molar ratio of oxyethylene to oxypropylene in A and B is from 0.2: 1 to 1.5: 1 while the molar ratio of oxyethylene to oxypropylene in B is from 1: 1 to 5: 1. Therefore, this patent of the prior art discloses a detergent comprising successively a PO block bound as an adduct to the alcohol and a random mixture of EO and PO units. The respective compositions have a turbidity point of about 20 to 60 ° C. The method for using alcohols having a particular number of carbon atoms relative to certain amounts of ethylene oxide and / or propylene oxide to obtain products that are liquid and with low foaming and that have superior wetting and detergency properties it is common to all patents of the prior art. An alternative strategy in the patent literature to solve the above problem is by modifying the hydrophobic portion of the surfactant molecule. Said strategy is described, for example, in US 6,057,284. US 6,057,284 discloses a non-ionic low foaming surfactant which uses isotridecanol as the hydrophobic portion of the surface active agent and has the formula (IV): RO- (CmH2mO) x- (CnHn-0) and H (IV) wherein R is isotridecyl which is based primarily on primary C 3 alkanols having at least 3 branches, m is 2 when n is 3 or 4, om is 3 or 4 when n is 2, yxy and "are independently of each other from 1 to 20, provided that x is not less than NXy" when m = 2, and n = 3 or 4. Isotridecanol (isotridecyl alcohol) is of synthetic origin in the sense that it it is produced by oligomerization of appropriate lower olefins and subsequent oxo reaction (hydroformylation). For example, they may be isobutylene, 1-butylene, 2-butylene or mixtures thereof catalytically trimerized, catalytically tetramerized propylene or catalytically dimerized 2-methyl-1-pentene. The C12 olefins which can be obtained in this way are then converted to the C13 homologous alcohol, for example by means of addition of CO and hydration on an appropriate catalyst. However, it is not necessary that the underlying alcohol component is pure isotridecanol only; homologous mixtures of branched C 1 to C 14 alkanols comprising isotridecanol as the main component are also suitable. Said homologous mixtures are formed under certain conditions in the course of the above described oligomerization of lower olefins and subsequent oxo reaction. The alkoxylation grades x and y and y, which are generally averages, because the alkylene oxide units are normally present in a random distribution with a maximum frequency, preferably independently of each other are from 1.5 to 12 The described isotridecanol block alkoxylates can be adducts of ethylene oxide-propylene oxide or ethylene oxide-butylene oxide, however, surface-active agents based on isotridecanol alkoxylates known in the detergents and cleaners field and in the field of chemical engineering applications have a number of disadvantages.Specially physical and application properties such as surface tension, cleaning power and foam behavior are in need of improvement.Due to the multi-branched structure of the hydrophobic alcohol the isotridecanol adducts that contain PO often have unsatisfactory biodegradation properties. The alcohol alkoxylates of Cl to C6 of alcohols obtained by Fischer Tropsch (FT) are known, for example, from DE 20303420-U1 (page 4). Likewise, EP 0 329 670-B1 (page 23) describes semi-linear surfactants obtained from ethoxylated and / or propoxylated alcohols. The semi-linear alcohol alkoxylates are also well described in some of the applications of Procter & amp;; Gamble directed to branched alcohol derivatives in the middle of the chain of which EP 0 898 607-B1 (= WO 97/39089) is an example. However, none of the aforementioned references describe the specific structure, composition and use of the subject matter of this invention. Biodegradation is a crucial property of alcohol alkoxylates comprising propylene oxide units, because the incorporation of propylene oxide has a negative influence on the biodegradation capacity of the molecule. In the technical literature it is described that the known alcohol-EO-PO adducts often have only low biodegradation properties, which often avoids their widespread use. In the periodic publication Tenside Detergents 23 (1986), 6, pgs. 300-304 Gerike and W. Jasiak state that for many alcohol derivatives the capacity for biodegradation is often impaired by propoxylation, for example in the Test of Copulated Units, a fatty acid alcohol of C12 to C14 with 4 EO units and 5 units PO shows a C removal of only 49%. In the document Tenside Detergents March / April 1988, p. 86-107, it is reported that a C12-C18 fatty acid alcohol alkoxylated with 2.5 units of ^ EO and 6 units of PO has a biodegradation of only 37% (Test of Copulated Units). The compound does not reach the approved level with respect to the capacity of easy biodegradation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Because the detergent markets are moving towards more environmentally safe products, and as more stringent environmental regulations are imposed, for example the new European Union Directive for Detergents, there is a need for detergents with low foam formation that offer improved biodegradation performance, along with adequate physical-chemical properties and adequate cleaning capabilities. The known low foaming surfactants do not have an appropriate combination of foam suppression properties, wetting action, biodegradation performance and ability to be formulated that are suitable for all applications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In order to find a nonionic surfactant with a low foaming power that does not have the disadvantages of those of the known art, it has surprisingly been discovered that by using an alcohol obtainable from hydroformylation of a Fischer-Tropsch type olefin, a nonionic surfactant can be obtained which satisfies the required requirements, which imparts physico-chemical properties and excellent detergents and superior biodegradability with respect to the traditional low foaming surfactants. The nonionic surfactant with low foaming power comprises a mixture of alcohol alkoxylates having the general formula (V): R0- [(CH2CHR10) x (CH2CHR20) and] zH (V) The alcohols of the reserve material R-OH are alcohols which can be prepared by the hydroformylation of olefins which is obtained in the FT process from synthesis gas. The alcohols of the stock used are a mixture of alcohols ROH, which are essentially primary alcohols, consisting of (a) from more than 20 to 80% by mass, preferably 40 to 80% by mass, of alcohols that are linear and aliphatic, preferably saturated, and comprising 8 to 20, preferably 9 to 16, and more preferred 10 to 14 carbon atoms, (b) more than 10 to 80 mass%, preferably 40 to 80% en mass, of alcohols which are aliphatic, preferably saturated, and comprising - 8 to 20, preferably 9 to 16 and more preferred 10 to 14 carbon atoms, and - to 3, preferably 1 or 2 carbon atoms are atoms of tertiary carbon while - neither of the two carbon atoms in position 1 or 2, preferably none of the three carbon atoms in positions 1, 2, or 3, relative to the OH group, is a carbon atom tertiary, preferably neither of the two, preferably none of the three atoms carbon at the end of the chain are tertiary carbon atoms, and (c) up to 25% by mass, preferably 10 to 20% by mass, of alcohols other than (a) and (b) comprise 8 to 20, preference 9 to 16, and more preferred 10 to 14 carbon atoms, in which for all alcohols according to (a), (b) and (c) - at least 80%, preferably at least 95% , of the tertiary carbon atoms, related to the total of all the tertiary carbon atoms in the alcohol mixture, are not directly adjacent, - the alcohols according to (a), (b) and (c) are complemented by yes essentially up to 100% by mass and in which for the alcohols (b) and (c) which may comprise alkyl branching - at least 80%, preferably at least 95%, of the alkyl branches are methyl and / or or ethyl. Said alcohol blends are commercially available and are sold by SASOL Ltd, South Africa as SAFOL ™ 23, SAFOL ™ 25, and SAFOL ™ 45. These alcohols are obtained from the hydroformylation of olefins from Cll to C12, C13 olefins. to C14 and their mixtures obtained respectively from the Fischer-Tropsch reaction at elevated temperature. More preferably, an alcohol of Fischer-Tropsch from C12 to C13 (alcohol SAFOL ™ 23). SAFOL 23 is a primary alcohol and consists of about 50% by mass of linear alcohol isomers, about 30% of mono-branched alcohol isomers with methyl and about 20% by mass of other isomeric alcohols. R1, R2, x, "y" and z in general formula V: RO- [(CHs-CHR ^) x (CH2CHR20) and] Z-H (V) are defined as follows: R1 and R2 independently of each other and optionally different for each z, are selected from the group consisting of: H and linear aliphatic Cl to C3 hydrocarbons and are preferably methyl and / or ethyl with the proviso that R1 and R2 are not the same for a subscript z, x and y independently of each other and optionally different for each z, are values of 2 to 10, and z has a value of 1 to 5.

In which further R1 is H, x preferably falls in the range of 1 to 10, more preferred in the range of 1 to 6, with R2 methyl, ethyl or propyl and "and" preferably in the range of 1 to 10. , more preferred in the range of 1 to 6. z is preferably in the range of 1 to 2, more preferred 1. Alternatively, when R1 is methyl, ethyl or propyl, x preferably falls in the range of 1 to 10, more preferred in the range of 2 to 6, with R2 equal to H and "y" preferably in the range of 1 to 10, more preferred in the range of 2 to 6. z is preferably in the range of 1. a 2, more preferred 1. The nonionic surfactant having the general formula (V) can be prepared with known techniques, for example by reacting an alcohol R-OH with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide or butylene oxide, alternating blocks of the former with blocks of the latter, in the presence of a basic catalyst that is selected from the hydroxides of such alkaline or alkaline earth metals or from mixed oxides of magnesium-zinc, magnesium-tin, magnesium-titanium or magnesium-antimony, or acids such as H2S04, or Lewis acids such as TiCl4. Catalysts based on a mixture of calcium hydroxide, dispersed in an alcohol ethoxylate medium, partially neutralized with 2-ethylhexanoic acid and sulfuric acid can also be used and catalysts based on a mixture of calcium hydroxide can also be used, dispersed in an alcohol ethoxylate medium, partially neutralized with 2-phenyl-hexanoic acid and sulfuric acid and mixed with aluminum alkoxide. Most preferred are the KOH, NaOH, and MeONa catalysts. The catalysts are preferably used in amounts of about 0.1 mol% up to about 3.0 mol%, with 0.2 mol% up to 1.0 mol% being most preferred. The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process is a process for the synthesis of hydrocarbons. The synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, is reacted in the presence of an iron or cobalt catalyst. An important source of the hydrogen-carbon monoxide gas mixture is coal gasification. The procedure is named after F. Fischer and H. Tropsch, the German coal researchers who discovered it in 1923. In the Fischer-Tropsch process, synthesis gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen) obtained from gasification of coal or natural gas reforming, is reacted through a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst to produce a mixture of hydrocarbons ranging from methane to waxes and smaller amounts of oxygenated materials. In a Fischer-Tropsch reaction at low temperature, the reaction takes place in a slurry bed reactor or fixed bed reactor, preferably a bed reactor in suspension, at a temperature in the range of 160 ° C to 280 °. C, preferably 210 ° C to 260 ° C, and at a pressure in the range of 18 to 50 bars, preferably between 20 to 30 bars, in the presence of a catalyst. The catalyst can include iron, cobalt, nickel or ruthenium. However, a cobalt-based catalyst is preferred for the reaction at low temperature. Normally, the cobalt catalyst is supported on an alumina support. The hydrocarbon condensation product includes olefins and paraffins in the range of C4 to C26, and oxygenates which include alcohols, esters, aldehydes, ketones and acids. In a Fischer-Tropsch reaction at elevated temperature, the reaction takes place in a two-phase reactor containing gas and catalyst, preferably a fluidized bed reactor, in a temperature range of 320 ° C to 350 ° C, preferably 330 ° C to 350 ° C, and at a pressure in the range of 18 to 50 bars, preferably between 20 to 30 bars. The catalyst comprises alkali promoted iron, which is prepared in existing commercial applications from molten magnetite. The iron oxide catalyst precursor is at least partially reduced to the metal before loading into the synthesis reactor and typically subjected to reactions and phase changes during operation under the conditions of synthesis that change the structure and composition of the catalyst. The products typically comprise linear and branched olefin products. Particular details of the process useful for the production of hydrocarbons that can be used as a starting material to obtain the desired alcohol mixture of the present invention are also described in Dry, ME, in "Catalysis-Science and Technology", Anderson, JR and Boudart, M (editors), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 159 (1981).

Use and Application The alcohol alkoxylates of the present invention can be used as low foaming surfactants, suds suppressors, and defoamers. These are suitable, in particular, for detergents and cleaners, and for industrial and chemical-technical applications. Low foaming refers to the fact that the respective compounds have a lower tendency to foam compared to equivalent compounds having the same structure with respect to the alcohol group and the same number of alkoxy groups but which are alkoxylated with ethylene oxide only. The described FT alcohol alkoxylates can be applied in a wide range of household and industrial and institutional cleaning formulations (I &I). Examples of typical applications include household laundry detergents and I & I, domestic dishwashers and I & I, domestic rinse aid and I & I, household hard surface cleaners and I & I, automotive cleaners, bottle washing, metal cleaning, spray cleaning, cleaning with machinery (for example floor cleaning machines), and cleaners for breweries and butchers. Likewise, the present invention provides detergent and cleaning formulations which, like the customary constituents, contain the alcohol alkoxylates of the formula (V) in concentrations of up to 50%, preferably from 0.1 to 20%, more preferred 0.1 to 15% by weight. In addition, in the field of detergents and cleaners, the claimed alcohol alkoxylates can be used in the processing of textile materials, leather processing, metal processing, lubricants for cooling, water treatment, fermentation, paper processing, latex paints , formulations for crop protection, and industrial processing. In addition to the alkoxylates based on FT alcohols, the compositions and formulations according to the present invention may also contain other anionic, nonionic and cationic surfactants, or mixtures thereof. Customary surfactants that can be used with the FT alcohol alkoxylates of this invention are described, for example, by Kurt Kosswig in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Volume A25 (1994), pp. 747-817. Suitable anionic surfactants that may be present include sulfonates and sulfates. Examples of sulphonate-type surfactants include linear alkylbenzene sulphonates, for example C14 to C13 LAS, C13 to C17 parafin sulfonates, and ester sulfonates having chain lengths of 12 to 20 carbon atoms. Examples of sulfate-type surfactants include monoesters of sulfuric acid with fatty acid alcohols of synthetic and natural origin, such as coconut fatty acid alcohol, tallow fatty acid alcohol, oleyl alcohol, or CIO oxo-alcohols. C20. It is also possible to use ether fatty acid sulfates, such as lauryl ether sulfate, ether sulfates of C12 to C13 alcohol, ether sulfates of C12 to C15 alcohol, or butyl glycol sulfate. Other suitable anionic surfactants are soaps, including saturated fatty acid soaps, such as alkali metal soaps or lauric acid alkanolamine, myristic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid. Soap mixtures obtained from natural fatty acids, such as coconut fatty acids, palm kernel oil, or tallow are preferred. Suitable nonionic surfactants include adducts of ethylene oxide and / or propylene oxide with alkylphenols, oxo-alcohols or natural or Ziegler alcohols, fatty acids, fatty acid amines and fatty acid amides. Adducts of 3 to 15 moles of ethylene oxide with alcohols of coconut fatty acid and tallow with oleyl alcohol or with synthetic alcohols having 8 to 18 carbon atoms are particularly preferred. You can also use alcohol-EO-PO compounds already on the market, sold under the trade names Biodac® and Marlox® (Sasol), Plurafac® LF (BASF) and Dehypon® LS (Cognis), and other suppliers. In addition to these, it is also possible to use tallow fatty acid alcohols with a high degree of ethoxylation or fatty acid alcohol ethoxylates which are blocked at the ends with alkyl groups as additional wetting agents.

Surfactants of the type comprising the alkyl (C8 to C18) -polyglucosides and amine oxides can also be used. It is also possible to use cationic surfactants and amphoteric products, such as ampholytes and betaines.

EXAMPLES For illustrative and non-limiting purposes, nonionic surfactants having the general formula (V) are prepared in which R is a mixture of linear and branched alkyl of C12 to C13 with Ri = H and R2 = CH3 and CH2CH3 and the subscript x is between 1 and 10, and "y" between 1 and 6 with z = 1. RO- [(CH2CHR? O) x (CH2CHR20) and] ZH (V) 297 grams of FT alcohol are placed from C12 to C13 (alcohol SAFOL ™ 23) in an autoclave into which 3.9 grams of potassium hydroxide (50% in water) are charged. The autoclave is then heated at 150 ° C under vacuum to dehydrate the reaction mixture. The temperature is then brought to 160 ° C, and 330 grams of ethylene oxide are slowly supplied. At the end of the reaction of the ethylene oxide, when the pressure drop has stabilized, 350 grams of propylene oxide are supplied. At the end of the reaction, the product is cooled to 80 ° C and neutralized to pH 6 with acetic acid. The physicochemical characteristics of the EO-PO alcohol compounds of the examples of the present invention prepared according to the aforementioned method are given in Table 1.

TABLE 1 The turbidity point is determined in butyl diglycol using the method DIN EN 1890. This involves determining the temperature above which the solution becomes cloudy. The lower the turbidity temperature, the lower the tendency to foam. The wetting power is determined at 20 ° C using the method DIN EN 1772. The wetting effect corresponds to the time it takes a cotton disc to sink in aqueous solution. The shorter the sinking time, the better the wetting efficiency. The foaming power is determined at 40 ° C under high pressure conditions with a surfactant solution of 1 g / l in a booth for foam testing. The test apparatus consists of a tank for the surfactant solution, a pump and a test booth. The foam is generated by spraying the surfactant solution with pressure on a wire net (placed in the cabin) and the height of the foam in the cabin is determined by a ruler (in cm). In this test commercially low foaming EO-PO alcohol compounds typically show foam heights of 1 to 10 cm, regular alcohol ethoxylates with 7 moles of EO produce foam height greater than 20 cm. In the following, the properties of the nonionic surfactants of the present invention are compared with typical traditional surfactants based on a linear alcohol (Table 2).

TABLE 2 Compared to the linear alcohol product of C12 to C14-5EO-4PO on the market, the C12-C13-FTE-4PO FT alcohol product of the present invention has a better wetting performance. The tests of biodegradation capacity carried out in the FT alcohol compounds of C12 to C13-2EO-4PO, FT alcohol of C12-C13-5EO-4PO and alcohol of FT of C12-C13-5EO-6PO give excellent results with respect to to the capacity of total biodegradation, and the given products turn out to be easily biodegradable. Figure 1 shows the biodegradation performance of the C12-C13-EO-PO FT alcohol products (C02 release test on the "easy" biodegradation capacity in accordance with OECD 301 B). All three alcohol products of FT-EO-PO reach the approved level of 60% for easy biodegradation capacity within the 10-day window: - FT alcohol of C12-C13 + 2EO + 4PO reaches 83% at end of the 10-day window - FT alcohol of C12-C13 + 5EO + 4PO reaches 79% at the end of the 10-day window - FT alcohol of C12-C13 + 5EO + 6PO reaches 81% at the end of the 10-day window Therefore all three products analyzed can be called "easily" biodegradable. The biodegradation of the alcohol derivatives of FT-EO-PO is compared with traditional alcohol-EO-PO products (Figure 2, C02 release test on "easy" biodegradation in accordance with OECD 301 B). The product Biodac® 40 is an alcohol-EO-PO based on a linear Ziegler alcohol, with an alkyl chain having 10 carbon atoms, ethoxylated with 4 moles of ethylene oxide and propoxylated with 2 moles of propylene oxide. Isofol® 12-1PO-4EO is based on an alcohol of Branched Guerbet, with an alkyl chain having 12 carbon atoms, propoxylated with 1 mole of propylene oxide and then ethoxylated with 4 moles of ethylene oxide. In comparison with the C12-C13-EO-PO FT alcohol products of the present invention, the Biodac 40 and Isofol® 12-1PO-4EO products show a lower level of biodegradation at the end of the 28 day period. Both Bíodac® 40 and Isofol 12-1PO-4EO do not reach the 60% level for "easy" biodegradation: Biodac® 40 reaches 48% at the end of the 10-day window. Isofol® 12-1PO-4EO reaches 42% at the end of the 10-day window.

Therefore, both products do not meet the 10-day window criteria and are not classified as "easily" biodegradable. Typical formulation examples for using the alcohol alkoxylates of this invention in dishwasher powder and in liquid rinse aid with low foaming characteristics are given in table 3 (dishwasher detergent) and table 4 (rinse aid) ). The indicated formulations show a characteristic of low foam formation when applied in dishwashing machines and a good performance of cleaning and rinsing.

TABLE 3 Automatic dishwashing powders Example A (phosphate free powder) 25% sodium disilicate Dehydrated sodium citrate 35% C12-13-5EO-4PO FT alcohol 2.5% Polycarboxylate 5% Sodium perborate monohydrate 15% Tetra- acetylethylenediamine (TAED) 4% Enzymes 4% Sodium sesquicarbonate up to 100 Example B (phosphate-based powder) FT alcohol C12-C13-5EO-4PO 1% Sodium tripolyphosphate 40% Sodium metasilicate 35% -1 Sodium carbonate 22% 2% sodium dichlorisocyanurate TABLE 4 0 Rinsing aids for dishwashing machines Example C FT alcohol of C12-C13-5EO-4PO 10% C16-C18-25EO fatty acid alcohol 5% (MARLIPAL® 1618/25, Sasol Germany) Citric acid 3% 5 Isopropanol 15% Water up to 100 Example D FT alcohol of C12-C13-5EO-4PO 10% Cumen sodium sulfonate *, 40% 10% Citric acid 5% Water up to 100 * (Cumen sodium sulfonate 40, Sasol Germany)

Claims (15)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and therefore the content of the following is claimed as property: CLAIMS

1. - A composition comprising alcohol alkoxylates of the general formula (V) RO- [(CH2CHR10) x (CH2CHR20) and] ZH (V) characterized in that the RO residue can be obtained from a mixture of alcohols ROH, which are essentially primary alcohols, consisting essentially of (a) from more than 20 up to 80% by mass, of alcohols which are linear and aliphatic, and which comprise from 8 to 20 carbon atoms, (b) from more than 10 to 80% by mass of alcohols which are aliphatic and comprise - 8 to 20 carbon atoms carbon, and - 1, 2 or 3 carbon atoms are tertiary carbon atoms while - none of the two carbon atoms in the one or two position relative to the OH group, is a tertiary carbon atom, and (c) Up to 25% by mass of alcohols are different from (a) and (b) and comprise from 8 to 20 carbon atoms, in which for all alcohols according to (a), (b) and (c) minus 80% of the tertiary carbon atoms relative to the total of all the tertiary carbon atoms in the alcohol mixture is not n directly adjacent, - the alcohols according to (a), (b) and (c) complement each other essentially up to 100% by mass and in which for the alcohols (b) and (c) which may comprise branching alkyl - at least 80% of the alkyl branches are methyl and / or ethyl and R 1 and R 2 independently of each other and optionally different for each z, are selected from the group consisting of: H and hydrocarbons of Cl to C3 linear aliphatics with the proviso that R1 and R2 are not the same for a subscript z, xy and y "independently of each other and optionally different for each z, have values of 1 to 10 and z has a value of 1 to 5.

2. The composition according to claim 1, characterized in that x is from 2 to 6, "y" is from 2 to 6, z is from 1 to 2, preferably 1, and R1 is H and R2 is methyl, ethyl or propyl or R1 is methyl, ethyl or propyl and R2 is H.

3. - The composition in accordance with at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the alcohol mixture comprises independently of one another - 40 to 80% by mass of alcohol (a), - 40 to 80% by mass of alcohol (b) and / or - 10 a 20% by mass of alcohol (c).

4. The composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the alcohols (a), (b) and / or (c) independently comprise one of the other 9 to 16, and more preferably 10 to 14 carbon atoms and in particular 12 to 13 carbon atoms.

5. The composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that for the alcohols (b) 1 or 2 carbon atoms are tertiary carbon atoms and independently none of the three carbon atoms in the position 1, 2 or 3 in relation to the OH group is a tertiary carbon atom.

6. The composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that for the alcohols (b) none of the two, preferably none of the three, carbon atoms at the end of the chain are tertiary carbon atoms .

7. The composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least 95% of the tertiary carbon atoms relative to the total of all the tertiary carbon atoms in the alcohol mixture are not directly adjacent. .

8. - The composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one subscript x or a subscript "y" is equal to or greater than 2 and preferably x and "y" are from 2 to 10.

9 The composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the alcohols ROH can be derived from olefins which can be obtained by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis by hydroformylation.

10. The composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the composition comprises the alcohol alkoxylates according to claim 1 in concentrations of up to 50%, preferably from 0.1 to 20% and more preferably from 0.2 to 20%. 15% by weight.

11. The composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the composition additionally comprises other anionic, nonionic and / or cationic surfactants, or mixtures thereof.

12. The composition according to claim 11, characterized in that the additional surfactants comprise sulfonates and / or sulfates and in particular C9 to C16 alkylbenzenesulfonates, C12 to C18 alkyl sulfates, C12 to C15 alcohol sulfate sulfates or sulphate of butyl glycol and / or saturated C12 to C18 fatty acid soaps.

13. The composition according to claim 11, characterized in that the additional non-ionic surfactants comprise adducts of ethylene oxide and / or propylene oxide of alkylphenols, fatty acids, fatty acid amines and / or fatty acid amides and / or ethylene oxide adducts with C8 to C18 fatty acid alcohols, preferably 3 to 15 moles of ethylene oxide.

14. The use of the composition according to at least one of the preceding claims, as low-foaming surfactants, foam suppressors, and anti-foaming agents.

15. The use of the composition according to at least one of claims 1 to 13 in laundry detergents, in detergents for dishwashing machines, in rinsing aids, in detergents for cleaning hard surfaces, in automotive cleaners, in detergents for washing bottles, for cleaning metals, as additives for textile or leather materials and / or for spray cleaning.