SK113995A3 - Synthetic detergent bar and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A detergent composition which is suitable for making into bars for personal washing comprises: (a) 10-60 %wt of a synthetic, non-soap detergent; (b) 10-60 %wt of water-soluble material which is neither soap nor a non-soap detergent and which has a melting point in the range 40 DEG C to 100 DEG C; and (c) 5-50 %wt of water-insoluble material which is neither soap nor a non-soap detergent and which has a melting point in the range 40 DEG C to 100 DEG C. The content of water, if any does not exceed 20 %wt of the composition and better is less than 15 %wt. The materials (b) and (c) serve to give structure to the bars. The compositions can be prepared by melting together the above-mentioned components at a temperature of 50-100 DEG C, without the conventional energetic working. Desirably the molten mixture contains less than 20 %wt material, other than synthetic, non-soap detergent, which does not enter the liquid phase. The melt can be cast into bars or cooled, milled, plodded and stamped into bars.

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to synthetic block detergents and detergent compositions which can be formed into pieces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Solid washing products may be classified into soap bars, mixed active articles containing a significant proportion of soap and, thirdly, to synthetic soap detergents containing little or no soap.

Conventional soap bars contain a large proportion, typically 60 to 80% by weight, of a fatty acid soap. The fatty acid soaps are selected to provide a balance of soluble and insoluble soaps which provide the desired functional properties with respect to foam formation and soap bar structure. Conventional piece soaps are made by grinding, pelletizing and embossing a semi-solid mass of soap and other ingredients.

Lump soaps are known which contain a mixture of soap and synthetic detergent, where the amount of soap may be less than the amount of synthetic detergent, but is still a significant contribution to the content of the lot. In such articles, as in conventional soap bars, the soap content, particularly insoluble soap, contributes to the structure and physical properties of the bar.

The third category are synthetic detergent articles, often known as Syndet pieces, in which there is no soap or only a small amount of soap, the detergent active being mostly or wholly synthetic non-soap detergent. Generally, such pieces contain a substantial proportion of non-detergent material that serves to form the piece structure. Such structurants are normally water insoluble and include such materials as starch and kaolin. Often, the detergent articles also contain a plasticizer: known plasticizers include stearic acid and cetyl alcohol. PCT 92/13060 discloses a syndrome piece comprising a long chain alkylsylphate, water, and a three component plasticizer system comprising a free fatty acid; monoglyceride and polyethylene glycol. Polyethylene glycol-containing block detergents are also known from US 3687 855 and 2987 484. US 3687 855 discloses iodine-containing germicidal block detergents in which polyethylene glycol facilitates the homogeneous distribution of the active germicidal substance and detergent reagent in the piece. In U.S. Pat. No. 2987,484, polyethylene glycol is mentioned as a filler for bulk detergents produced by a closed mold compression process which involves the use of a molten mixture of active ingredients.

Known surfactants and syndetes include primary alkyl sulfates, alkyl ether sulfates, betaines, sarcosinates, sulfosuccinates, and isethionates. These soap-free or soap-free syndet pieces are traditionally produced by energetically treating a physical mixture of a surfactant, plasticizer and surfactant, i. soluble and insoluble component, in a high shear mixer to an end point at which the product is not sandy. The mixture is then formed into syndet pieces.

The known method has some disadvantages in that the physical mixing step is carried out batchwise and requires an energetic mixer.

We have now found that by modifying a new mixture, the syndet pieces can be produced in a manner that can be handled without the known energy processing step.

In contrast to the prior art compositions and processes, the invention relies on ingredients that melt at conveniently achievable temperatures, but which are above the temperatures normally included during the use of the syndet pieces. Due to the need for intimate mixing of the particulate detergent ingredients, it can be accomplished by simple mixing since the composition is liquid, rather than relying on energy processing to achieve tight mixing of the solids composition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides a detergent composition which is or may be formed into a synthetic lump detergent composition and the composition comprises:

(a) 10 to 60% by weight of a synthetic non-soap detergent; (b) 10 to 60% by weight of a water-soluble structurant which is neither a soap nor a soap-free detergent and has a melting point in the range of 40 to 100 ° C; up to 50% by weight of a water insoluble surfactant which is neither a soap nor a soap detergent and has a melting point in the range of 40 to 100 ° C; and (d) 0 to 20% by weight of water.

Desirably, the content (if any) of material other than said synthetic non-soap detergent (a) which does not heat below 100 ° C is less than 20% by weight of the composition.

In many embodiments of the invention, the content of synthetic detergent (a) will be in the range of 10 to 50% by weight. Preferably, the composition will contain some water, in an amount of from 3% by weight or 5% by weight to 20% by weight, more preferably at most 15% by weight of the composition.

From the above, it can be seen that a significant component of the composition of the present invention is a water-soluble material that melts at a temperature in the range of 40 to 100 ° C and serves to provide the structure of the package. Such a material assists in imparting the desired properties, in particular, that the particulate detergent has a rigidly rigid form.

It will also be appreciated from the above that the bulk detergent composition may tolerate the presence of certain material that does not melt below 100 ° C. Such a material may also serve as a structurant. Such a material is not an essential requirement and may be completely absent. If such a material is present, the molten mixture will not be completely liquid at temperatures up to 100 ° C unless the non-melting material dissolves in the other materials present. We have found that a slight amount of non-heating material can be dispersed in the molten mixture, while the mixture remains sufficiently liquid to mix without requiring energy treatment. As mentioned below, this material, which dissolves but does not heat, may be at least partially of a non-soap synthetic detergent (a) and / or a material other than this category.

Suitable synthetic detergents (a) are: alkyl ether sulfates; alkyl ethoxylates; alkyl glyceryl ether sulfonates; alpha-olefin sulphonates; taurides; methyl acyl taurates; N-acyl glutamates; acyl isethionates; anionic acyl sarcosinates; alkyl phosphates; methylglucose esters; protein condensates; ethoxylated alkyl sulfates; alkylpolyglucosides; alkyl amine oxides; betaines; sulphobetaines; sulphosuccinates; dialkyl; acyllactylates and mixtures thereof. The above are preferably those based on C8 to C24, more preferably those based on C8 to C18 alkyl and acyl groups.

For many embodiments of the invention, the amount of synthetic detergent (a) will range from 10 to 50% by weight. Further, at least 20% by weight and not more than 40% by weight are preferred.

Among the above synthetic detergents, some, particularly acyl isethionates, are less water soluble than others. If a low solubility detergent is used, it is preferably mixed with another synthetic detergent. Thus, the acyl isethionates from the synthetic detergents (a) can be excluded from the detergent compositions of the present invention or can be incorporated in conjunction with other synthetic detergents. In some embodiments of the invention, the acyl isethionate does not comprise more than 10% by weight of the composition, for example from 5% to 9.5% by weight. However, other embodiments of the invention include larger amounts of acyl isethionate, for example up to 30% by weight of the composition

A water-soluble surfactant (b) with a melting point in the range of from 40 ° C to 100 ° C is required so that it can melt to form a detergent composition but be in a solid state at temperatures at which the detergent composition will use. Preferably, it has a melting point of at least 50 ° C, especially in the narrower range of 50 ° C to 90 ° C.

Materials which may be considered as water-soluble structurants (b) are medium molecular weight polyalkylene oxides having a suitable melting point, and in particular polyethylene glycols and mixtures thereof.

The polyethylene glycols (PEG-γ) used may have a molecular weight in the range of 1500 to 10,000. However, in some embodiments of the present invention, it is preferred to include a much smaller amount of polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight in the range of 50,000 to 500,000, especially molecular weight about T00,000. Such polyethylene glycols have been found to increase the wear rate of bulk detergents. It is believed that this is because their long polymer chains remain tangled even when the lump detergent composition is wetted during use.

When such high molecular weight polyethylene glycols (or any other water-soluble high molecular weight polyalkylene oxides) are used, the amount is preferably from 1 wt% to 5 wt%, more preferably from 1 wt% or 1.5 wt% to 4 wt% or 4.5% by weight of the mixture. These materials will generally be used with a large number of other water-soluble structurants (b), such as the aforementioned polyethylene glycols having a molecular weight of 1500 to 10,000.

Some polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide block copolymers melt at temperatures within the desired range of 40 to 1000 ° C and may be used as part or all of the water-soluble structurant (b). Block copolymers in which the polyethylene oxide provides at least 40% by weight of the block copolymer are preferred. Such block copolymers can be used in mixtures with polyethylene glycol or other water-soluble structurants.

Preferably, the total amount of water-soluble structurant (b) is from 20% to 50% by weight of the composition.

Water-insoluble structurants (c) are also required to have a melting point in the range of 40 to 100 ° C, more preferably at least 50 ° C, especially 50 ° C to 90 ° C. Suitable fatty acids, especially up to 24 carbon atoms, palmitic, mixtures. The source of these coconut, distilled babasou and tallow, and fatty acids or terials, which are considered especially those having a carbon chain of 12 movs. Examples are stearic, arachic fatty acids are coconut, palm, particularly partially lauric, and behenic and their palm kernel fatty acids, ¹ or fully hardened distilled fatty acids. Other suitable water-insoluble structurants include alkanols of 8 to 20 carbon atoms, especially cetyl alcohol. These materials generally have a water solubility of less than 5 g / liter at 20 ° C.

Relative ratios of water-soluble structurants (b) and water-insoluble. The structurants (c) control the rate at which the detergent article wears during use.

The presence of a water-insoluble structurant leads to retardation of the dissolution of the package when exposed to water during use and thus slows down the wear rate.

Preferably, the total amount of component (c) is from 10% to 40% by weight of the composition.

A water-insoluble material that does not heat below 100 ° C may act as an additional structurant of the bulk detergent. It may be desirable that the content (if any) of water-insoluble material which does not melt below 100 C ^e, is less than 20% by weight of the composition.

If a water-insoluble structurant (c) which is not heated at a temperature below 100 ° C is present, it may be suitably selected from plant materials or minerals. Starches, including corn starch, are preferred among plant materials, while kaolin and calcite are preferred mineral materials. The ratio of the water-soluble structurant (b) to the total water-insoluble structurant may be in the range of

-Ιού 2: 3 or 1: 1 to 3: 1 or 5: 1.

Certain soaps, i.e. so-called monocarboxylic fatty acid salts having chains of 8 to 22 carbon atoms, may be included in the detergent compositions of the present invention. Of course, their amount is not more than 10% by weight of the composition.

We have found that if water-insoluble soap is included, it is advantageous to reduce the wear rate of the bulk detergent. Such water-insoluble soaps are salts of saturated fatty acids having chains of 16 to 22 carbon atoms, especially 16 and 18 carbon atoms. Preferably, these salts are sodium salts. They drown at temperatures above 100 ° C and thus fall into category (e), which is a material other than a synthetic detergent that melts above 100 ° C.

If water-insoluble soap is present in the composition, it is required that its amount does not exceed 10% by weight of the composition, for example in the range of from 3% to

9.5 wt%, more preferably from 5 wt% to 9 wt%.

It is preferred to incorporate a combination of polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 50,000 to 500,000 as at least a portion of the soluble structurant (b) and a water insoluble soap as at least a portion of the insoluble material (c). The use of these materials in combination has been found to increase the wear rate of the bulk detergent, while giving it a good touch during use.

When such a combination of materials is used, the preferred amounts calculated for the composition are: 4 to 9.5% by weight of water-insoluble soap and 1.5 to 4.5% by weight of polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of from 50,000 to 500,000.

Materials that may be included but which do not heat below 100 ° C may be classified as a non-soap synthetic detergent that does not completely liquefy at temperatures below 100 ° C, for example acyl isethionates;

soap, especially water-insoluble soap which does not heat below 100 ° C;

other water-insoluble materials which do not melt below 100 ° C.

Materials other than synthetic detergents which are water soluble but do not heat below 100 ° C are preferably absent or present only in amounts that are small, such as not more than 10% by weight, more preferably not more than 5% by weight from the mixture.

It is desirable that the total amount of material in the second and third of these categories (i.e., materials other than non-soap synthetic detergents) be no more than 20% by weight of the composition. The total amount of materials not heated below 100 ° C should not exceed 50% by weight of the composition, preferably less than, for example, not more than 40% or not more than 30%, or even 20% by weight, and not so large as to the molten mixture ceased to be miscible.

The detergent compositions of the present invention will usually contain water, but the amount of water is only a very small proportion of the detergent, larger amounts of water reduce the hardness of the detergent. It is preferred that the amount of water is not above 15% by weight of the piece, for example lying in the range of 3% by weight or 5% by weight to 14.9% by weight.

The block detergent according to the invention may optionally include so-called quenching materials - materials included in small proportions which impart a certain useful property in addition to the basic cleaning action of the block detergent. Examples of such compositions are: skin conditioners, including emollients such as fatty alcohols and vegetable oil, essential oils, waxes, phospholipids, lanolin, antibacterial and hygiene agents, opacifiers, pearlescent agents, electrolytes, perfumes, suncreams, fluorescent agents and coloring agents reagents. Preferred skin conditioners include silicone oils, mineral oils and / or glycerol.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for the manufacture of synthetic block detergents comprising the steps of:

(i) preparing a liquid mixture of synthetic, non-soap surfactant, structurants, and optionally water at a temperature of 50 C. to 100 ^e C., preferably 50 DEG to 90 DEG C., the mixture comprises less than 20% by weight of materials other than synthetic non-soap detergent, which does not enter (ii) cooling the product of step (i) to a temperature at which it solidifies, and (iii) forming the product of step (ii) into pieces.

The liquid compositions may be single-phase or multi-phase systems. One phase may be an isotropic mixture, while multiple phase systems include either an emulsion or a liquid dispersion of crystals, the following from when the next

The composition may be prepared by mixing the mixture to a molten state, mixing, or heating the ingredients followed by mixing the ingredients. Step (i) may be carried out in a stirred heated vessel.

For a mixture that contains fatty acids or a mixture of soap and fatty acid and also contains polyalkylene oxides, a useful process begins to melt the fatty acid in a heated vessel with a stirrer. The stirrer is started and polyalkylene oxide is added. At this stage, a certain amount of soap is produced in situ by partial neutralization of the fatty acid.

A non-soap detergent is then added. The end result is a macroscopic homogeneous molten mixture with no more than 50% solids present.

Preferably, step (ii) is carried out on a cooled stripped roller, which may be part of a cooled mill.

Minor ingredients and quenchers may be added at this stage, between steps (ii) and (iii).

Step (iii) may include milling, pelletizing and embossing or milling followed by compressing the material into a piece shape.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the liquid mixture of step (i) is poured into molds. The pouring step may be used to form a strain which is further processed into pieces or to form pieces directly. If the product is poured into pieces, process steps (ii) and (iii) are combined; the molds to be used may form a final package of the pieces or the pieces may be removed from the forms and repacked.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To further understand the invention, it will be described by way of the following illustrative examples.

Example 1

The ingredients as listed in Table 1 below were melted together at 80 ° C to form a material consisting mainly of the liquid phase. All amounts are given in percent by weight. By cooling to room temperature, solid, generally cubic bodies were formed from mixtures (A) and (B) using a single press. Identical mixtures were also formed into pieces using a hot melt pouring process.

Table 1

A B SLES 3E0 * 21% 21% Stearic acid 10% 20% cetyl alcohol 10% - PEG 4000 ** 50% 50% Water 8% 8% perfume 1% 1%

* SLES 3E0 refers to sodium lauryl ether sulphate with average ethylene oxide units.

PEG 4000 refers to polyethylene glycol having an average molecular weight of 4000.

Both the cast and the pressed piece detergents had properties acceptable for the syndet pieces.

Example 2

The materials listed in Table 2 below, where all amounts are given in percent by weight, were melted together at 80 ° C to form a pumpable, miscible liquid. The liquid melt was poured into mold-shaped molds and allowed to cool to form a rigid piece, i. pieces were cast from the melt. Acceptable detergent pieces were obtained.

Table 2

2A 2B 2C 2D Aerosol OT * 21 45 25 50 PEG 4000 37 25 37.5 25 Stearic acid 37 25 37.5 25 Water 5 5 0 0

* Aerosol OT is dioctylsulfosuccinate

Example 3

The materials listed in Table 3 below were melted together at 80 ° C to form a pumpable, miscible liquid. All amounts are given in percent by weight. The liquid melt was cast into pieces as in Example 2.

Some melts were processed into pieces by a different route. The melt was cooled by passing through a chilled three-cylinder mill, small amounts of perfume, opacifier and fluorescent reagent were added, totaling less than% by weight of the mixture. The resulting mixture was milled again, passed through a vacuum pelletizer and punched to the desired piece shape using a hand press.

Table 3

3A 3B 3C 3D SLES 3E0 14 21 28 14 PEG 4000 40 35 30 53 Stearic acid 40 35 30 27 Water 6 9 12 6

Both methods yield acceptable detergent articles.

Example 4

The ingredients listed in Table 4 below were converted into detergent articles by the procedure of Example 2. All amounts are given in percent by weight. These pieces contained a mixture of two detergent active ingredients.

Table 4

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*

CD 4β 0 0 - '3 0 • n β Ρ 3 Ρ υ Π 0 42 - 3 0 Ρ 00 (Λ β 0 H 43 Ρ Ρ 0 ο CQ 3 Ε 42 Ρ \about 0 υ H 0 > E CD N Ο _) 0 Ν N about X CD • H > Ν υ 'P E β d) D E - H 44 '>> <Λ > > 'Λ P R-1 0 0 > 1 0 rh 42 > P - '3 - 'U N 44 3 • Η β > Ρ Ρ 0 0 • H - 'β 0 0 44 E P β Ρ γΗ Ή '3 0 3 Ή rh > β • Η Ε > Λ 0 0 Ρ 3 Ό Ή Θ 42 Ό Ή P Ν ϋ β • H X υ • Η '>! 3 E 0 N r ^- 1 β CD D • H > Ί Η Ρ 44 Ό R-1 ϋ 42 > N rh >> β '3 Μ) 'R-f >> ϋ > • Η Ό P 0 Ρ Ρ υ 42 0 4 = • H '> Ί -1) > Ν R-1 E about β β 0 < '> Ί N P Ρ β 3 (Λ 0 Ε X CD about β 3 υ > w H E Ε '<Ϋ 0 D rh - • H E 42 3 β E (U β 0 Ε Ή N • H 3 L > β 3 Ρ 0 Λ 0 Ρ Θ (Λ 44 0 > Ί 43 > • Η 0 β π4 rh <Η β • Η > Ί ABOUT (Λ • Η Ρ γ-1 Λ Λ Η 0 υ 0 0 '> Ί υ Ε 0 Ρ 44 β Ρ 42 > Ί (X rh C / ι 44 0 CD > . ω Ό 0 • r j • Η '>> R-1 0 Ο ω Ε β > Ί Ε β 3 P X 3 Ρ 0 w 0 • Η • Η 0 44 CD P Ρ 0 3 0 E 1) CU β Ε

Example 5

The materials listed in Table 5 below were converted to the bulk detergent by the procedure of Example 2. All amounts are given in percent by weight. In these pieces, the water-soluble structurant was a mixture of polyethylene glycol and a block copolymer of polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide, available as Pluronic F87, ex BASF, Germany.

Table 5

5A 5B Aerosol OT * 21 45 PEG 4000 20 20 Pluronic F87 17 5 Stearic acid 37 25 Water 5 5th

Example 6

The materials listed in Table 6 below were melted together at 80 ° C. All amounts are given in percent by weight.

PEG 4000 and stearic acid were the first materials to be heated and melted. Once thawed, a small amount of sodium hydroxide was added to neutralize a portion of stearic acid to sodium stearate. The remaining material was then added and mixed to form a pumpable, homogeneous liquid.

All melts were cooled by passing through a cooled three-roll mill. 1% by weight of perfume and 0.3% by weight of titanium dioxide was added as a opacifying agent, followed by milling and pelletizing the resulting mixture, and pressing to the desired shape with a hand press.

il t ´ i í í

Table 6

6A 6B 6C 6D SLES 3E0 11 11 10 10 DEFI ** 18 33 20 20 CAPB *** 1 5 1 1 PEG 4000 35 25 36 36 PEG 100000 4 4 0 8 Stearic acid 22 13 20 20 Sodium stearate 4 4 8 0 Water 5 5 5 5

Example 7

The materials listed in Table 7 below were made into bulk detergents by the procedure of Example 3, in which the melt was cooled in a mill, pelletized and embossed into pieces. All amounts are given in percent by weight. These block detergents contained a mixture of three detergent active ingredients.

Table 7

7A 7B 7C 7D 7C 7D SLES 3E0 10 9.56 9.22 10.42 9.96 9.6 DEFI 17 16.2 15.68 31.26 29,87 28.83 CAPB 1 0.96 0.92 4.72 4.53 4.37 PEG 4000 33 31.53 30.43 23.68 22.63 21.84 PEG 100000 4 3.82 3.69 3.8 3.62 3.5 Stearic acid 21 20.1 19.37 12.32 11.77 11.36 Sodium stearate 4 3.82 3.69 3.8 3.6 3.5 Water 10 14 17 10 14 17

Compositions 7C and 7F provided compositions that were too soft to process while the remaining compositions could be processed into solid pieces.

Example 8

Many of the mixtures of the preceding examples were evaluated for fineness using a zein assay generally as described by Gotte, Proc. Int. Cong. Surface Active Subs., 4th, Brussels, 3, 89-90 (1964). The assay determined the amounts of amino acid dissolved from the zein under specific conditions. Dissolved material is determined by nitrogen test. The results were as follows.

Mixture number Dissolved nitrogen 3A 0.08 3B 0.13 3C 0.16 4D 0.11 4G 0.1 4K 0.11 6A 0.12 6C 0.05 from 0.05 7D 0.2 80/20 coconut / tallow soap 0.73 DOVE commercial syndicate piece based on DEFI 0.22

The low solubility values of the zein for the block detergents of the present invention indicate very good fineness.

Claims (10)

PATENT CLAIMS 1. A detergent composition comprising: (a) 10 to 60% by weight of a synthetic non-soap detergent; (b) 10 to 60% by weight of a water-soluble material that is neither a soap nor a non-soap detergent and has a melting point in the range of 40 to 100 ° C; 5 to 50% by weight of a water-insoluble material which is neither a soap nor a soap-free detergent and has a melting point in the range of 40 to 100 ° C; and (d) 3 to 20% by weight of water. 2. A detergent composition according to claim 1 wherein the amount of component (a) is from 10 to 50% by weight. 3. A detergent composition according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the amount of water is from 5 to 14.9% by weight. Detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the content of the material other than said non-synthetic detergent which does not liquefy below 100 ° C is less than 20% by weight of the composition. A detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein component (b) comprises one or a mixture of polyethylene glycols having a molecular weight of from 1500 to 10,000. A detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein component (b) comprises polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of from 50,000 to 500,000 in an amount that is from 1 to 4.5% by weight of the composition. The detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein component (c) is selected from the group consisting of lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, arachic and behenic acids and mixtures thereof. A detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it contains water-insoluble soap in an amount of from 3% by weight to 10% by weight of the composition. 9. A detergent composition according to claim 1, characterized in that it is in unit form. 10. A method for producing a synthetic lump detergent comprising the steps of: (i) preparing a liquid composition comprising (a) 10 to 60% by weight of a synthetic non-soap detergent; (C) 5 to 50% by weight of a water-insoluble material which is neither a soap nor a soap-free detergent and has a melting point in the range of 40 to 100 ° C; and (d) 3 to 20% by weight of water. (ii) cooling the product of step (i) to a solidification temperature, and (iii) forming the product of step (ii) into pieces.