SE462050B - CONCENTRATED SOFTWARE FOR FABRICS AND SATISFACTION FOR PREPARATION OF THE SAME - Google Patents

Description

462 050 10 15 20 25 30 f! up to about 140 ° F (about 60 ° C). U.S. Pat. No. 3,681,241 discloses a concentrated emollient emulsion for fabric which consists essentially of 3.5 to 6.5 parts by weight of a compound such as, for example, distearyl dimethylammonium chloride, from 3.5 to 6.5 parts by weight of an alkylamidoimidazolinium alkyl sulfate, and from 0 - 3 parts by weight of another but similar fatty acid amidoimidazolinium alkyl sulphate, the latter being said to give low temperature stability to the preparation. The intended total amount of active ingredients is in the range from around 8 - 13%.

British Patent Application 2053249A published February 4, 1981 discloses cationic fabric softeners which contain 15 to 60% by weight of cationic plasticizer, 25 to 75% by weight of aqueous medium, and 0.5 to 40% by weight of a specified aqueous solution. lig polymer.

U.S. Patent 3,974,076 discloses quaternary ammonium-containing plasticizers containing conventional levels of cation, i.e., from about 3% to about 6%.

These agents are characterized by the very small particle size of the substantially water-insoluble quaternary ammonium plasticizer, i.e. 90% by weight of the quaternary ammonium compounds are in the form of particles passing through a 1.2 micron mesh filter.

The formulations are described as constituting a combination of cation plasticizers, a C8 to C20 alkyl alcohol containing from about 0.1% to about 2.0% of a non-ionic surfactant having an HLB value of from about 8 to about 15, and preferably from about 10 to about 14. The preferred nonionic substances have a lipophilic hydrocarby horse corresponding to 9 to 15 carbon atoms and having 7 to 13 hydrophilic ethylene oxide residues.

This patent does not address the problem of stability of concentrated aqueous cation plasticizers, but relates to improving the degree and uniformity of the plasticizer. using customary concentrations.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides concentrated aqueous plasticizers which are stable at low and high temperatures and which are based on quaternary ammonium plasticizers and a small amount of nonionic surfactant and an electrolyte. The present invention also provides a method by which highly concentrated fabric softeners are prepared.

Detailed Description of the Invention The formulations of the present invention are stable aqueous formulations which contain a high content of a cation softener for fabric which consists of a water-dispersible quaternary ammonium compound described below, a non-ionic surfactant and an electrolyte.

The aqueous formulations of the invention contain at least about 12% cation plasticizer and up to about 20%, said cation plasticizer having the general formula I in which the R group is selected from C1 to C30 aliphatic C462. Groups, preferably alkyl or alkanyl, aryl (for example phenyl, tolyl, cumyl, etc); aralkyl (for example benzyl, phenethyl etc); and corresponding groups substituted with halogen, amide, hydroxyl, and carboxy; with the proviso that at least one R is C 14 to C 30 and preferably C 14 to C 18, and the others are lower alkyl, more preferably at least two R groups are C 14 to C 18 and the others are lower alkyl of C 1 to C 4 (and most preferably methyl or ethyl), and Y is a water-solubilizing anion such as chloride, bromide, iodide, fluoride, sulfate, methosulfate, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and carboxylate (ie acetate, adipate, propionate, phthalate, benzoate, oleate, etc). Typical cationic compounds of formula I include the following: distearyldimethylammonium chloride ditalgdimethylammonium chloride dihexadekyldimethylammonium chloride distearyldimethylammonium bromide di (hydrogenated tallow) dimethylammonium bromide distearyldi (isopropyl) , and may generally vary with the cationic plasticizer in a weight ratio of cationic to nonionic agent of from about 20: 1 to about 3: 1, and preferably from about 10: 1 to about 5: 1.

The non-ionic compounds are condensates of ethylene oxide with C12 to C20 aliphatic alcohols and alkylphenols characterized by an HLB (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance) of 16.5 in 1.0. A full account of the HLB system can be found in "The HLB System" (1976 Edition 16 pages) publ. 10 15 20 25 30 462 050 5 by ICI United States, Inc. and said publication is hereby incorporated by reference. In general, the non-ionic agents in question have a hydrophilic nature with a large and strong hydrophilic group. In the present invention, this group is an oxyethyl chain generally having at least about 15 terminal oxyethyl groups (ie the oxyethyl groups are contiguous and terminate with a hydroxyl group).

Particularly suitable nonionic surfactants include a C13-15 aliphatic alcohol containing 20 moles of condensed ethylene oxide, available under the name Synperonic A20; an ethoxylated oxyethylene with 16 moles of ethylene oxide available under the name Triton X-165 and an ethoxylated nonylphenol with 30 moles of ethylene oxide available under the name Dowfax NP30.

A third preferred ingredient is an electrochemical material in an amount of from about 0.1 to about 1.5% by weight. The use of an electrolyte not only acts to regulate the viscosity but also helps to stabilize the system against gel formation and phase inversion at high temperatures, for example above about 40 ° C. Particularly suitable electrolytes include sodium chloride and calcium chloride. Other useful electrolytes include sodium formate, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, sodium acetate, as well as water-soluble salts of other cations such as potassium, lithium, magnesium, ammonium and the like. Smaller amounts of lower alkanols can be used, especially when the viscosity is further changed. Alcohols generally tend to decrease viscosity at ambient temperatures, although moderate amounts can lower the phase inversion temperature. The preferred formulations of this invention exhibit phase inversion temperatures higher than about 80 ° C and preferably higher than about 90 ° C, with alcohol amounts in the range of from about 1% to about 10% by weight. Particularly suitable alcohols are ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol.

In addition to the above-mentioned components of the plasticizer according to the invention, numerous conventional, complementary optional components may be included, which do not adversely affect the stability and / or functional properties of the present formulations. Thus, for example, common perfumes, dyes, pigments, coatings, germicides, optical brighteners, anti-rust agents (eg sodium silicate), water-soluble polymers, antistatic agents and the like may be included.

When used, they can each be from 0.01% to about 5% by weight of the formulation.

It is well known and understood that most of the available chemical materials and especially those containing a hydrocarbyl residue are generally mixtures of closely related residues. The long chain alkyl groups (R) in the cationic residues used in this invention need not only be a single carbon chain but are more likely to be a mixture. A particularly useful quaternary array in which the alkyl groups are derived from tallow is in this context one containing about 35% C16 and 60% C18 and minor amounts of C14 and also others. Similarly, the aliphatic alkdh fl precursors of the agents used herein may have a simple carbon chain but are more likely to be a mixture with any proportion of useful chain length compounds.

The plasticizers for fabrics according to the invention must, in addition to viscosity and phase stability, have such required viscosity (ie for pourability) and such for the rinsing cycle (or other type of dilution before use) required dispersibility in water, which consumers have come to accept and desire through their use of less concentrated products. The products referred to in this application may thus have viscosities in the range of from about 30 cps to about 250 cps, and preferably from about 40 cps to about 120 cps.

The general procedures for the preparation of the present compositions are manifold, with the stability of the final product varying slightly. The procedures differ with regard to the order of addition of materials as well as with regard to the process conditions.

A preferred process (A) comprises adding the non-ionic materials and dyes to the amount of water to be included, the water having a temperature of about 70 ° C. To this solution is slowly added the cation plasticizer in molten form. Usually a gel forms.

The mixture is cooled to about 40 ° C, after which the electrolyte is added to break the gel. The preparation is then cooled to room temperature with stirring. A modification of process (A) involves adjusting the pH to about 12 prior to the addition of the molten cation agent.

In this case, no gel is formed. After cooling to about 40 ° C, the pH is adjusted to between 5 and 6, after which the preparation is cooled with stirring to room temperature, after which electrolyte is used to adjust the viscosity (method B). A further process (C) involves adding the nonionic agents to at least 80% hot water (temperature not higher than about 40 ° C), then the electrolyte, and finally the molten cationic agent. Then the remainder of water, if any, is added, after which the composition is cooled with stirring to room temperature. 462 050 9 10 15 20 25 The following examples are intended to illustrate the present invention, but without limiting the invention thereto. Unless otherwise stated, the parts are by weight.

Example 1 Using the procedure A described above, 2 parts of an ethoxylated nonylphenol (containing 16 moles of ethylene oxide) are dissolved in about 75 parts of water with a temperature of about 70 ° C. To this solution is slowly added 20 parts of distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (75% activity and containing about 10% isopropanol and the remainder water) in molten form (temperature = 55 ° C) with stirring.

A gel is formed. The gel is cooled to about 40 ° C, after which 0.5 parts of calcium chloride dihydrate are added. The mixture is cooled to room temperature (about 20 ° C) with stirring.

A stable product with a viscosity of about 100 cps is obtained.

Example 2 The procedure of Example 1 is repeated using the following parts of (A) cationic agent (active), (B) surfactant and (C) electrolyte (a) A = 12; B = 1.0; C =. (b) A - 14; B = 1.5; C =. (c) A - 16; B = 1.8; C =. (d) A - 18: B = 2.5; C =. Examples 3 Examples 1 and 2 are repeated, using instead of distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride the following: (a) ditallow dimethyl ammonium chloride (b) distearyl dimethyl ammonium methosulfate (c) di (hydrogenated tallow) dimethyl ammonium bromide d) dihexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (e) distearyl diethylammonium chloride Example 4 Examples 1, 2 and 3 are repeated, in each case adding some polyethylene glycol (MW400) to the nonionic agent in the first step of the preparation process.

Polyethylene glycol (MW400) can illustrate a low molecular weight water-soluble polymer which, if desired, can be used in the plasticizers of the invention. Among examples of other useful polymers, reference may be made to British published patent application 2053249A, which is mentioned above and which is incorporated in the present application by reference. The compositions of the invention may comprise any or all of such polymers and also other water-soluble polymers. In the compositions of this invention, from 0.1 to 20% by weight of these materials may be used throughout the preparation.

Example 5 Each of the preceding Examples 1 to 4 is repeated, using as electrolyte: (a) sodium chloride (b) sodium nitrate (c) sodium formate (d) ammonium bromide (e) potassium chloride (f) calcium nitrate (g) lithium acetate (h) magnesium chloride 462 050 M 10 15 20 25 30 Example 6 Each of Examples 1 to 5 is repeated with the respective composition, but according to the procedure (B) for the preparation of the preparations. This process involves a modification of the process described in Example 1 in that the pH is adjusted to 12 with sodium hydroxide after dissolving the nonionic agent (and polyethylene glycol if used), after which the pH is adjusted to 5-6 with hydrochloric acid after the addition of the cationic agent. At this stage no gel is formed as in process (A). The electrolyte is added after the mixture has cooled to room temperature.

Example 7 Each of Examples 1 to 5 is repeated again with the respective compositions, but using the procedure (C) to prepare the formulations.

In this process, the nonionic agent (and the water-soluble polyethylene glycol, when used) are dissolved in 80% of the final total water content of the preparation, based on the total weight composition, at a temperature of 35-40 ° C. The electrolyte is then added to accompany the molten cationic agent. The remaining amount of water is then added, after which a mixture is cooled to room temperature with stirring.

The aqueous plasticizers of this invention are generally useful in the same manner as other such agents and are particularly useful during the rinse cycle of an automatic washing machine. In such use as in any other desired way of treating clothing, the agents are usually used to generally give an active content of (sf '462 050 from about 0.005% to 0.3% by weight of the treated clothes, preferably 0.007% to About 0.2% it meet advantageously from about o.o1% to 0 about 0.15%

Claims (10)

462 050 'Q PATENTKRAV Stable aqueous, concentrated fabric softener characterized in that it contains about 12 to 20% by weight of a cation plasticizer of the formula \ m Rß / N \. R 4 wherein R 1, R 2, R 3 and R 4 are aliphatic groups containing between 1 to 30 carbon atoms wherein at least 2 of the groups 10 are alkyl of 14 to 30 carbon atoms and wherein X - is a water solubilizing anion, 1 to 5% by weight of a nonionic surfactant having an HLB value of 16.5 * 1.0, and 0.5 to about 1.5% by weight of electrolyte. s Rl Rz 2. An agent according to claim 1, characterized in that the cation plasticizer is distearyl dimethylammonium chloride. Agent according to claim 2, characterized in that the nonionic surfactant is an ethoxylated nonylphenol containing on average about 16 moles of ethylene oxide. Agent according to claim 1, characterized in that the ratio between the cation plasticizer and the surfactant is about 20: 1 - 3: 1. Agent according to claim 4, characterized in that the amount of the cation plasticizer is about 12% and that the amount of the surfactant is about 2%. 25 Agent according to claim 1, characterized in that the total concentration of the cation plasticizer is about 12 - 15% by weight. f »10 15 20 25 30 462 050 13f 7. A process for the preparation of a stable aqueous, concentrated plasticizer for fabric, characterized in that an aqueous solution of a nonionic surfactant having an HLB value of 16.5 in 1.0 in hot water is first prepared with a temperature of up to about 80 ° C, and then add a cation plasticizer of the formula wherein R 1, R 2, R 3 and R 4 are aliphatic groups containing between 1 to 30 carbon atoms, at least two of the groups being alkyl of 14 to 30 carbon atoms and wherein X- is a water-solubilizing anion, in the molten state to form a gel, cools the gel to below 40 ° C and then adds electrolyte to break the gel, causing the cation plasticizer to constitute 12 - 20% by weight of the composition and the the nonionic surfactant is made up to 1 to 5% by weight thereof, and the electrolyte is made up to 0.5 to 1.5% by weight. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that the temperature of the hot water is about 70 ° C, and that the gel is cooled to slightly below 40 ° C, after which the mixture is cooled to a room temperature with stirring after the gel has been broken. . Process for the preparation of a stable, aqueous, concentrated fabric softener - characterized in that an aqueous solution of a nonionic surfactant having an HLB value of 16.5É1.0 in hot water is first prepared at a temperature of up to 462,050 10 15 20 25 14 to 80 ° C, adjusts the pH with alkaline material to above about 10, adds a cation plasticizer in molten cation plasticizer has the formula R1 \ N / R3 + px- Rz / \ R4 wherein R 1, R 2, R 3 and R 4 are aliphatic groups containing form which is between 1 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein at least two of the groups I are alkyl of 14 to 30 carbon atoms, and wherein X - is a water solubilizing anion, the pH value is adjusted to below 7, cools to about room temperature and then adds electrolyte to adjust the viscosity, causing the cation plasticizer to constitute 12 - 20% by weight of the agent, the surfactant to make 1 - 5% by weight of the agent, and the electrolyte to be made to 0.5 - 1 .5% by weight. Process for the preparation of a stable, aqueous, concentrated fabric softener, characterized in that an aqueous solution of a nonionic surfactant having an HLB value of 16.5 μl, 0, is then prepared adding electrolyte, followed by the addition of a cation plasticizer in molten form and cooling to room temperature, the cation plasticizer having the formula R 1 \ N / R 3 - R 2 / R 4 wherein R 1, R 2, R 3 and R 4 are aliphatic groups containing between 1 to 30 carbon atoms, wherein at least two of the groups 462,050 are alkyl of 14 to 30 carbon atoms, and wherein X - is a water solubilizing anion, and the cation plasticizer is made up to 12 to 20% by weight of the agent, the surfactant is made up to 1 to 5% by weight of the agent, and the electrolyte is made up to 0.5 - 1.5% by weight of the agent.