WO1992009677A1

WO1992009677A1 - Liquid built detergent composition

Info

Publication number: WO1992009677A1
Application number: PCT/GB1991/002083
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sean Geoffrey Hall; John Thomas Mccullins
Original assignee: S.B. Chemicals Limited
Priority date: 1990-11-26
Filing date: 1991-11-26
Publication date: 1992-06-11
Also published as: GB9025691D0; EP0559693A1; NZ240753A; ZA919331B; PT99612A; IE914108A1; JPH06502662A; CA2096955A1; AU8947191A

Abstract

A liquid built detergent composition comprises a substantially anhydrous organic liquid phase having uniformly distributed therein (i) an amine salt of an anionic surfactant acid which contains one or more sulphonic acid groups and (ii) a finely divided particulate builder.

Description

LIQUID BUILT DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS

This invention relates to liquid built detergent compositions and to their production and use.

In recent times, mainly for reasons of manufacturing economics, aqueous heavy duty built liquid detergents have made in-roads into the spray dried washing powder market with the result that much work has taken place both in relation to the physics and also to the chemistry of product formulation. Such built liquid detergents are often sold in 2 litre plastics bottles. Typical of such products are those described in GB-B-2123846, GB-B-2153839, EP-B- 0086614 and EP-B-0151884.

As a consequence of this commercial development the spray dried market sector has responded by the introduction of detergent concentrates which are very low in inert ingredients. This means that, without fillers and extenders, the product can be presented to the public with a so-called environmentally-friendly connotation and so that it can be claimed that in use the product is less polluting. This is because very much less product is used per washinq machine load because of its strength. In addition the associated packaging can be significantly reduced in comparison to the traditional powder pack with a resulting saving in paper and board.

The use of diethanolamine dodecyl benzene sulphonate in an aqueous heavy duty detergent is mentioned in connection with Table 3 of AU-B-507431.

Another advance in detergent technology occurred when the heavy duty built liquid section of the market responded to the concentrated powder products. As a result there became available liquid detergent concentrates which are typically sold in 1 litre plastics bottles. In view of the greater detergent power of such concentrates the amount of concentrate needed for a typical washing machine load is often about one half of the volume of an aqueous heavy duty built detergent needed for laundering the same load of washing. Hence a 1 litre bottle of concentrate can be used to wash approximately as many loads of washing as a 2 litre bottle of a conventional aqueous heavy duty built liquid detergent. However, to date, this sector has basically been forced to formulate its products either as dispersions of inorganic builders in non-aqueous mixtures of non-ionic surfactants, as in EP-B-0030096 or EP-B-0120659, or as formulations of a non-ionic surfactant mixture in the emulsion state with a saturated solution of one or more builders using vegetable gums, or other emulsifying agents, as stabilisers, as in GB-A-2148926.

A problem arises with conventional non-aqueous built liquid detergent compositions which contain non-ionic surfactants as the sole class of surfactant in that they tend to gel upon dispersion in water.

In the case of GB-A-2148926 the surfactants in the emulsion are non-ionic surfactants whereas, in the case of EP-B-0120659, claim 9 cites the presence of an anionic surfactant in the composition but the specification completely omits to teach its use in any of its Examples. This omission is because it is difficult in commerce to acquire anionic surfactants, such as sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate, in the non-pasty solid state (any that do exist are normally offered in admixture with sodium sulphate to prevent the material from being sticky and balling together

The prior art therefore does not make use of anionic surfactants in non-aqueous built detergent liquids and this is unfortunate because this class of detergent is one of the cheapest and most effective of all the commercially available surface active agents.

In the non-aqueous class of liquid built detergent the water analogue of the built system of, for example, GB-B-2153839, is the class of anhydrous solvents known as the polyethylene glycols (P.E.Gs). Liquid members of this class are those with a molecular weight between about 100 and about 600, commonly called PEG.100, PEG.200, PEG.300 and so forth.

It would be desirable to produce a non-aqueous heavy duty built liquid detergent composition with an anionic surfactant as an integral part of the liquid phase in which the builders are dispersed by either rod, bead or ball milling. It would further be desirable to produce a non-aqueous heavy duty built liquid detergent composition which does not gel upon dispersion in water.

The present invention accordingly seeks to provide a substantially anhydrous liquid built detergent composition containing an anionic surfactant. It further seeks to provide a substantially anhydrous liquid built detergent composition which shows little or no tendency to gel upon dispersion in water.

According to the present invention there is provided a liquid built detergent composition comprising a substantially anhydrous organic liquid phase having uniformly distributed therein (i) an amine salt of an anionic surfactant acid which contains one or more sulphonic acid groups and (ii) a finely divided particulate builder.

The organic liquid phase is substantially anhydrous. In other words it is preferably devoid of added water and contains only that amount of water which is normally present in the ingredients used in production of the liquid built detergent composition oi the invention. Hence a composition in accordance with the invention typically contains less than about 5% w/w water, more preferably less than about 2% w/w water, and even more preferably less than about 1% w/w water, e.g. about 0.5% w/w or less, down to about 0.1% w/w or less of water, based upon the total weight of the composition.

The organic liquid phase may include a water- soluble organic solvent. In this case there is provided a liquid built detergent composition comprising a water- soluble organic solvent phase having uniformly distributed therein (i) an amine salt of an anionic surfactant acid which contains one or more sulphonic acid groups and (ii) a finely divided particulate builder.

Normally a significant proportion of the amine salt of the anionic surfactant acid, and preferably all of it, is dissolved in the organic liquid phase, presumably in a form akin to the micelles typically found in aqueous detergent solutions, while the builder is insoluble in the organic liquid phase.

The water-soluble organic solvent may comprise a lower molecular weight alcohol, for example an alkanol containing from 1 to 6, or more preferably 2 to 4 carbon atoms, such as ethanol, n-propanol, iso-propanol, n-butanol or the like. Another suitable class of water-soluble organic solvents is liquid water-soluble organic compounds containing two or more hydroxy groups. Examples of such compounds include ethylene glycol, jpropylene glycol, 1,4- butylene glycol, 1,5-pentamethylene glycol, glycerol, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, and mixed polyoxyalkylene ether glycols, such as polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene glycols, as well as mixtures of two or more thereof.

A preferred type of water-soluble organic solvent is the polyethylene glycols, of which those having molecular weights of at least about 150, for example molecular weights in the range of from about 200 to about 600, are preferred. However, any solvent that is liquid at ambient temperatures and below (e.g. down to about -10°C), that is water miscible, and that will allow dispersion of the amine salt of the anionic surfactant acid and of the builder can be used. Mixtures of water-soluble organic solvents can be used, if desired. For example, a mixture of an alkanol, such as ethanol or iso-propanol, and a polyethylene glycol can be used.

Normally it will be necessary to incorporate at most a minor amount only of an organic water-soluble solvent or of a mixture of organic solvents, for example, up to about 20% w/w of solvent based upon the total weight of the composition. A preferred range is from about 1% w/w up to about 15% w/w of solvent based upon the total weight of the composition.

One of the purposes for which this solvent, if present, is added may be to adjust the viscosity of the composition to a desired value. A useful degree of control over the viscosity of the composition can be achieved, in particular, by addition of a glycol such as a polyethylene glycol (e.g. polyethylene glycol PEG 200).

Amine salts useful in the practice of the present invention can be prepared by reacting an organic amine with an anionic surfactant acid containing one or more sulphonic acid groups.

Particularly preferred amines are alkanolamines, such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine, and heterocyclic monocyclic amines, such as morpholine.

In use the liquid built detergent compositions of the invention will be diluted with water. This dilution step may take place in the wash cycle of an automatic washing machine, for example. Since the builder is normally alkaline in nature and may typically contain an alkali metal ion, exchange of cations may occur upon dilution of the liquid built detergent composition with water. Thus the quaternary ammonium ion of the salt of the anionic surfactant acid present in the composition may, for example, undergo exchange with sodium ions from the builder. Hence the anions of the anionic surfactant acid may be associated in the resulting aqueous solution with, for example, sodium ions or the ions of another alkali metal, whilst the quaternary ammonium ion, may undergo hydrolysis to yield the free amine. Since some amines have pungent or unpleasant odours, it will normally be preferred to select as the amine salt of the anionic surfactant acid a material which upon hydrolysis of the quaternary ammonium ion does not release an amine with an unpleasant odour. For this reason preferred salts of anionic surfactant acids for use in the compositions of the invention contain alkanolammonium ions or morpholinium ions such as monoalkanolammonium, dialkanolammonium and trialkanolammoniu salts of anionic surfactant acids, such as monoethanolammonium, diethanolammonium and triethanolammonium salts of anionic surfactant acids, and morpholinium salts of anionic surfactant acids.

As builder there can be used any of the known builders such as sodium metaphosphate, sodium paraphosphate , sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium silicate, sodium carbonate, a zeolite, a layer silicate, trisodium citrate, or a mixture of two or more thereof. It is beneficial to include an anhydrous material, such as anhydrous sodium carbonate, as an ingredient in the formulation of a non-aqueous liquid built detergent composition according to the invention because the anhydrous material absorbs water to form a solid hydrate of sodium carbonate. In this way any water present or formed in the composition, can be absorbed and the substantially non-aqueous nature of the composition is retained, in addition to the sodium carbonate being available to act as an alkaline builder.

Examples of surfactant acids include alkyl benzene sulphonic acids, in which the alkyl group contains from about 6 to about 20 carbon atoms, for example from 10 to 14 carbon atoms, primary or secondary alkyl sulphonic acids containing from about 10 to about 26 carbon atoms, for example from 10 to 14 carbon atoms, and alpha-olefin sulphonic acids obtained by sulphonation of an alpha-olefin containing, for example from about 10 to about 22 carbon atoms, such as a C-^g to C^g olefin or a mixture containing same. Besides a material containing a sulphonic acid group there may also be used for the production of the amine salt or salts, usually in admixture with a material containing a sulphonic acid group, a sulphated fatty alcohol; typical sulphated fatty alcohols include those containing from about 10 to about 26 carbon atoms, for example a sulphated fatty alcohol mixture containing C-_IQ, C--^, C-^, -_^ - and C-^g fatty alcohols. Typical of such a fatty alcohol mixture is one containing alcohols in the following proportions: C₁₀ 3.0%, C₁₂ 57.0%, C₁₄ 20.0%, C- - 9.0% and C₁₈ 11.0%.

The composition of the invention may further include one or more non-ionic surfactants. Typical non- ionic surfactants include fatty acid monoethanolamides such as coconut fatty acid monoethanolamide, a typical formulation for which is a mixture of monoethanolamides of fatty acids as follows: Cg 0.5%, Cg 6.5%, C_1Q 6.0%, C₁₂ 49.5%, C₁₄ 19.5%, C₁₆ 8.5%, C₁₈ (stearic) 2.0%, C₁₈ (oleic) 6.0%, and C^ (linoleic) 1.5%. Other suitable non-ionic surfactants include polyoxyalkylene ethers of alkanols, typically polyoxyethylene ethers of alkanols containing typically 3 or more ethylene oxide groups, for example from about 6 to about 20 ethylene oxide residues and based upon alkanols containing from about 6 to about 26 carbon atoms. Mixed polyoxyethylene oxypropylene ethers of alkanols can also be used? these can also be based on C₆ to C₂₆ alkanols and can contain from about 3 up to about 20 alkylene oxide residues, i.e. a mixture of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide residues. The alkanols and alkanol mixtures upon which such non-ionic surfactants are based can be produced by hydrogenation of methyl esters produced by transesterification of naturally occurring vegetable oils such as coconut oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, rape seed oil, and the like, or of animal fats, such as tallow or lard. A typical polyoxyethylene ether of an alkanol is based upon lauryl alcohol condensed with approximately 8 moles of ethylene oxide. Polyoxyalkylene ethers of alkylphenols are another type of non-ionic surfactant. Mixtures of non-ionic surfactants can be used.

The compositions of the present invention may include an amphoteric surfactant or a mixture of amphoteric surfactants. Typical amphoteric surfactants include dicarboxylated derivatives of oleic imidazoline, capryiσ amphocarboxy glycinate, octyl imino dipropionate, octyl dimethyl betaine, complex coco i inodiglycinates, and fatty ampho polycarboxyglycinates. Often a mixture of amphoteric surfactant and non-ionic surfactant are present together in the compositions of the invention. The weight ratio of amphoteric surfactant to non-ionic surfactant may vary within wide limits, for example in the range of from about 1:100 to about 100:1.

Preferably a liquid built detergent composition according to the invention contains at least about 0.1% w/w of an amine salt of an anionic surfactant acid up to about 20% w/w or more, e.g. up to about 25% w/w, even more preferably from about 2% w/w up to about 15% w/w, based on the total weight of said composition. Preferably a liquid built detergent composition according to the invention comprises from about 0.1% w/w up to about 20% or more of a non-ionic surfactant or surfactants, of an amphoteric surfactant or surfactants, or of a mixture of non-ionic and amphoteric surfactants, even more preferably up to about 35% w/w or more, e.g. up to about 50% w/w, most preferably from about 2% up to about 35% w/w, based on the total weight of the composition.

A liquid built detergent composition according to the invention may further comprise a bleach and, optionally, a bleach activator. Typically such a composition may contain from about 0.1% w/w up to about 10% w/w or more, e.g. up to about 15% w/w of a bleach and, optionally, from about 0.03% w/w up to about 3% w/w or more, e.g. up to about 5% w/w of a bleach activator, based upon the total weight of the composition.

Other minor ingredients which may be included in the composition of the invention include preservatives, optical brighteners, fragrances, foam depressants, foam boosters and/or stabilisers, soaps, dyes, pigments, buffers, corrosion inhibition agents, sequestration agents, anti- ingestion agents, humectants, enzymes, enzyme stabilisers, fabric softeners, fabric conditioners, and the like. Typical sequestration agents include ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid, nitrilotrioacetic acid, and acrylic-maleic copolymers such as those sold under the trade mark Polycarboxylate AMC. One or more of these minor ingredients can be included in the compositions of the invention as appropriate. Such other minor ingredients typically comprise not more than about 5% w/w each of the compositions of the invention, for example in the range of from about 0.001% w/w up to about 2% w/w each based upon the total weight of the composition.

The compositions of the invention may be formulated so as to have approximately the same laundering power as conventional aqueous heavy duty built liquid detergents. Preferably, however, the compositions of the invention will be formulated as concentrates which have several times, e.g. about 2 to about 5 times, the laundering power of conventional aqueous heavy duty built liquid detergents. To this end it is desirable to formulate the compositions as concentrates in which the solid components comprise in total at least about 30% w/w and preferably at least about 45% w/w up to about 50% w/w or even higher, based upon the weight of the composition.

The invention further provides a process for the production of a liquid built detergent composition which includes the step of reacting in an organic phase an anionic surfactant acid containing one or more free sulphonic acid groups with an amine. Such an amine may be a primary amine, a secondary amine, or a tertiary amine.

In one form of the process the reaction is carried out in an organic phase which includes a water-soluble organic solvent. In this case there is provided in accordance with the invention a process for the production of a liquid built detergent composition which includes the step of reacting an anionic surfactant acid containing one or more free sulphonic acid groups in an organic solvent phase comprising a water-soluble solvent with an amine. The amine may be a primary amine, a secondary amine, or a tertiary amine.

Hence the invention contemplates producing in-situ quantities of organic base salts of anionic surfactant sulphonic acids. By this means highly successful built liquids can be produced from solutions of an acid such as dodecylbenzene sulphonic. acid in PEG 200 (polyethylene glycol 200), in alkylene oxide addition products, or in a blend of both. Such solutions may further contain anhydrous non-ionic surfactants. The organic bases which were used were mono-, di-, and triethanolamine and morpholine but any primary, secondary or tertiary amine without an unpleasant odour can be used. From these materials very transparent pale yellow syrups can be produced which are excellent vehicles for carrying the silicate, carbonate, phosphate and polyphosphate builders which are to be micronised to give the non-aqueous built laundry liquids.

As an example of this technology the following solution was prepared:-

Dodecyl Benzene Sulphonic Acid 67.5 gms

Fatty Alcohol Ethoxylate (4 moles of E.O) 15.0 gms Alkylene Oxide Addition Product (Marlox FK 64) 100.0 gms Polyethylene Glycol 200 75.0 gms

(The word "Marlox" is a trade mark) .

The above ingredients were simply stirred together in any order to give an amber syrup. This solution was then converted to the quaternary ammonium salt of the sulphonic acid by titration with one of the previously mentioned amines. The resulting syrups had the following viscosity:

Viscosities at 25°C (mPa) Triethanolamine salt 275

Diethanolamine salt 247

Monoethanolamine salt 254

Morpholine salt 261

A further series of similar syrups can be prepared by omitting the polyethylene glycol or the fatty alcohol ethoxylate.

When any of these syrups was mixed with a builder such as sodium tripolyphosphate (35%), sodium silicate "Soluble C" powder or sodium carbonate (5% each) and micronised by milling, the result was a fully built pourable liquid laundry detergent. All the other usual minor ingredients could be added and are compatible, including soaps which can be formed in-situ by having a fatty acid in solution in the PEG mixture prior to titration with the amine.

The invention is further illustrated in the following Examples. EXAMPLE 1

A liquid built detergent concentrate is produced from the following ingredients:-

% w/w

Dodecyl Benzene Sulphonic Acid 11.5

Alkylene Oxide Addition Product (Marlox FK 64) 12.0

Alcohol Ethoxylate (4 moles E.0. ) 3.0

Coconut Fatty Acid 5.2

Triethanolamine 8.5

Polyethylene Glycol (PEG 200) 12.0

Sub-total 52.2

Sodium Silicate (Soluble C powder) 5.0

Sodium Carbonate Anhydrous (Soda Ash) 5.0

Sodium Tripolyphosphate 35.0

Minor Ingredients 2.8

Sub-total 47.8

Total 100.0

All the organics, with the exception of the triethanolamine, are mixed together to yield a dark amber syrup. To this is added enough triethanolamine for neutralisation; the approximate end point corresponds to the syrup colour becoming a lighter yellow. To this syrup are added all the other ingredients and the mixture is then micronised in a bead mill. In this preparation the presence of the sodium carbonate is bifunctional in that it acts both as an alkaline builder in the product and a drying agent. EXAMPLES 2 to 5

Further liquid built detergent concentrates were produced by admixing the following ingredients and micronising in a bead mill:

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Notes :

1. Alcohol ethoxylate (3 moles EO) = polyethylene glycol ether (3 moles of ethylene oxide) of a ^c12-15 alkanol mixture.

2. Alcohol ethoxylate (7 moles EO) - polyethylene glycol ether (7 moles ethylene oxide) of a

^12-15 ^alkanol mixture.

3. Alcohol alkoxylate = polyethylene/propylene glycol ether (7 moles of alkylene oxide: 92% propylene oxide/8% ethylene oxide) of a ^c12-15 alkanol mixture.

4. TAED tetraacetyl ethylene diamine.

5. EDTA ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid.

6. Minor ingredients ^*■*** enzymes, fragrance, Ti0₂, Bitrex (an anti-ingestion agent) , and an optical brightener. Successful liquid built detergent concentrates resulted.

Ethanol can be used in place of iso-propanol with similarly good results. EXAMPLES 6 to 9

The diethanola ine salt of dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid was replaced in the formulations of Examples 2 to 5 by an equal weight of the corresponding triethanolamine salt. Liquid built detergent concentrates of similarly good quality were obtained in each case. EXAMPLES 10 to 21

Liquid built detergent concentrates were produced by mixing the following ingredients and blending together all the liquid ingredients in each formulation listed, with the exception of the minor ingredients. Amine salt formation from the dodecylbenzene sulphonic acid was accomplished by stoichiometric addition of the relevant amine. Then all the solid ingredients were added, with the exception of any thermally labile enzyme present. The resulting mixture was then micronised in a ball mill to produce an easily flowable product which could then be inoculated with the appropriate quantity of enzyme or enzymes (if used) :

Example No .

Dodecylbenzene sulphonic acid Alcohol ethoxylate (3 moles EO) Marlox FK 64 Triethanolamine

Diethanolamine - ~ - 3.14

Monoethanolamine - 2.70

Polyethylene glycol (PEG 200)

Iso—propaπol 2.68 — 2.49 2.50

Sub-total

Zeolite (Wessalit P) Sodium tripolyphosphate Soda ash Sodium silicate powder

(Soluble C) EDTA

Sodium carboxymethylcellulose

Optical brightening agent

(DMS-X) 0.80 0.97 0.90 0.90

Optical brightening agent

(CBS-X) 0.05

Antifoam agent (DB 100) Ti0₂

Fragrance Esters: Esperase

Termamyl SL Sodium perborate TAED

Sub-total

Total

Example No. 14

%w/w

Dodecylbenzene sulphonic acid 8.36

Alcohol ethoxylate (3 moles EO) 10.50

Marlox FK 64 26.00 Triethanolamine

Diethanolamine 3.14 3.14

Monoethanolamine - -

Polyethylene glycol (PEG 200) - - 10.19

Iso-propanol 2.50 2.50 Sub-total

Zeolite (Wessalith P) Sodium tripolyphosphate Soda ash Sodium silicate powder

(Soluble C) EDTA

Sodium carboxymethylcellulose

Optical brightening agent

(DMS-X) 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90

Optical brightening agent

(CBS-X) -

Example No.

Diethanolamine - 3.21 - 3.13

Monoethanolamine "

Polyethylene glycol (PEG 200) Iso-propanol Sub-total

Zeolite (Wessalith P) Sodium tripolyphosphate Soda ash Sodium silicate powder

(Soluble C) EDTA

Sodium carboxymethylcellulose

Optical brightening agent

(DMS-X) 0.90 - 0.40 0.50

Optical brightening agent

(CBS-X) -

Antifoam agent (DB 100) τio₂

Fragrance

Enzymes:Esperase SL Termamyl SL Sodium perborate TAED

Sub-total

Total

Examples 22 to 26

Further liquid detergent concentrates were made according to the general procedure of Examples 10 to 21 using the following ingredients:-

Zeolite (Wessalith P) - 22.75 - 15.10 15.10 Sodium tri¬ polyphosphate 38.00 - 20.00

Soda ash 5.00 5.95 26.00 17.80 11.90

Sodium silicate powder

(Soluble C) 3.00 4.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 EDTA 0.40 0.80 0.20 0.40 -U.40

Sodium carboxymethyl¬ cellulose 1.00 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 Optical brightening agent (DMS-X) Ti0₂

Fragrance

Enzymes:Esperase SL Termamyl SL Sodium perborate TAED

Sub-total

Total

If desired a small amount of a bitter tasting material, such as Bitrex, can be added to a concentrate according to any one of Examples 10 to 26, in order to deter ingestion of the concentrate by, for example, small children. In the case of Bitrex, amounts as low as about 0.005 %w/w suffice for this purpose.

Reference should be made to the Notes to Examples 2 to 5 for further explanation of Examples 10 to 26; the words "Wessalith", "Bitrex", "Esperase" and "Termamyl" are trade marks.

Claims

1. A liquid built detergent composition comprising a substantially anhydrous organic liquid phase having uniformly distributed therein (i) an amine salt of an anionic surfactant acid which contains one or more sulphonic acid groups and (ii) a finely divided particulate builder.

2. A liquid built detergent composition according to claim 1, in which said organic liquid phase comprises a water-soluble organic solvent.

3. A liquid built detergent composition according to claim 2, in which said water-soluble organic solvent comprises a hydroxylic solvent selected from lower molecular weight alkanols and glycols.

4. A liquid built detergent composition according to claim 2 or claim 3, in which said water-soluble organic solvent comprises an alkanol containing from 2 to 4 carbon atoms, a polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight in the range of from about 150 to about 600, or a mixture thereof.

5. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 2 to 4, which comprises from about 1% w/w to about 20% w/w of said water-soluble organic solvent.

6. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which said amine salt is a salt derived from an alkanolamine or a heterocyclic monocyclic amine.

7. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which said amine salt is a salt derived from monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, or morpholine.

8. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which said anionic surfactant acid comprises an alkyl benzene sulphonic acid in which the alkyl group contains from about 6 to about 20 carbon atoms, a primary or secondary alkyl sulphonic acid containing from 10 to about 26 carbon atoms, an alpha-olefin sulphonic acid obtained by sulphonation of an alpha-olefin containing from about 10 to 22 carbon atoms, or a mixture thereof.

9. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which comprises from about 0.1% w/w to about 25% w/w of said amine salt.

10. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in which said builder comprises sodium metaphosphate, sodium paraphosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium silicate, sodium carbonate, a zeolite, a layer silicate, trisodium citrate, or a mixture of two or more thereof.

11. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which comprises from about 15% w/w up to about 60% w/w of said builder.

12. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which further comprises at least one non-ionic surfactant.

13. A liquid built detergent composition according to claim 12, in which said non-ionic surfactant comprises a fatty acid monoethanolamide, a polyoxyalkylene ether of an alkanol, a polyoxyalkylene ether of an alkylphenol, or a mixture thereof.

14. A liquid built detergent composition according to claim 12 or claim 13, which comprises from about 0.1% w/w up to about 50% w/w of said non-ionic surfactant or surfactants.

15. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 14, which further comprises an amine salt of a sulphated fatty alcohol containing from about 10 to about 26 carbon atoms.

16. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 15, which further comprises a bleach.

17. A liquid built detergent composition according to claim 16, which further comprises a bleach activator.

18. A liquid built detergent composition according to claim 17, which comprises from about 0.1% w/w up to about 15% w/w of a bleach and from about 0.03% w/w up to about 5% w/w of a bleach activator.

19. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 18, which further comprises an enzyme.

20. A liquid built detergent composition according to claim 19, which further comprises an enzyme stabiliser.

21. A liquid built detergent composition according to any one of claims 1 to 20, which further comprises an amphoteric surfactant.

22. A process for the production of a liquid built detergent composition which includes the step of reacting in an organic phase the acidic form of an anionic surfactant acid containing one or more free sulphonic acid groups with an amine.