WO2002064688A1

WO2002064688A1 - Cleaning composition for removing graffiti

Info

Publication number: WO2002064688A1
Application number: PCT/FR2002/000519
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-Pierre Lallier; Daniel Bignon
Original assignee: Atofina
Priority date: 2001-02-14
Filing date: 2002-02-12
Publication date: 2002-08-22
Also published as: FR2820748A1; FR2820748B1

Abstract

The invention concerns a composition for removing graffiti. Said composition comprises at least an alkyl lactate, dimethylsulphoxide, at least an ionic or non-ionic surfactant and water.

Description

CLEANING COMPOSITION FOR REMOVING GRAFFITIS

The present invention relates to a cleaning composition for removing graffiti from a solid surface.

There are more and more inscriptions, undesirable drawings, that is to say graffiti on the palisades, on the walls of apartment buildings, on buildings accessible to the public such as schools, restaurants, museums, on the walls of subway corridors, station halls, on wagons, the seats of public transport vehicles, on metal surfaces, and even on works of art.

These graffiti, generally made up of paints or various dyes such as shoe dye, are affixed to solid surfaces by means of aerosol cans for motor vehicles, or quite simply by brushing said surfaces with brushes.

These graffiti can be affixed to solid surfaces of a very different nature such as walls made of porous materials (stone, concrete, brick ...), plastic panels (PVC, polyurethane, polycarbonate, ...), metal, flexible material (leatherette, fabrics), even wooden, which can be painted or not.

Many methods and / or products are used to remove graffiti. They are mostly expensive, sometimes use aggressive and / or toxic for the environment products, and often require repainting the cleaned surface because it has become rough or even porous.

Thus, for example, many formulations of organic solvents proposed for cleaning graffiti very often contain lactams such as N-methylpyrroiidone (NMP). In European patent application 680 501, there is proposed a cleaning composition for removing graffiti comprising from 40 to 90% by weight of a 5-member lactam such as NMP and from 60 to 10% by weight of a triester of glycerol.

Patent application EP 489 803 mentions a complex formulation for removing graffiti comprising 20 to 40% of NMP associated with propylene carbonate, a thickening agent, an active additive chosen from the group of glycols and isocethyl alcohol and a surfactant. These formulations have the disadvantage of containing NMP which is known to have a harmful action (cracks, milky appearance), on the plastics commonly used in the building such as

PVC, polycarbonate and glass surface.

Other formulations used to remove graffiti use highly caustic solutions. They have been shown to be expensive and have the drawback of attacking more or less on the surface when it is painted, which requires repainting.

When using so-called "general public" commercial products, it is often recommended to carry out, after application of the product, cleaning with a detergent. This additional tedious operation requires a second product (such as a household detergent) and in fact reveals the poor performance of the graffiti removal product.

Other compositions are cited as preserving painted surfaces and are sometimes very close to paint stripping compositions. However, they have the drawback of containing volatile and harmful solvents such as methylene chloride (EP 630 395) or toluene (US 3,853,619, EP 630 395).

The present invention provides a cleaning composition for removing graffiti from a solid surface which has a high efficiency for removing graffiti affixed to all kinds of solid surfaces, while preserving painted surfaces and / or plastic surfaces and not requiring subsequent cleaning of said surface with a detergent. The present invention therefore relates to a cleaning composition for removing graffiti from a solid surface, characterized in that it comprises:

(A) at least one alkyl lactate,

(B) dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), (C) at least one anionic and / or nonionic surfactant, and

(D) water.

The composition according to the invention comprises, per 100 parts by weight of (A) + (B) + (C) + (D):

- 40 to 90, in particular 50 to 70 parts by weight of (A), - 5 to 80, in particular 10 to 30 parts by weight of (B),

- 1 to 20, in particular 5 to 15 parts by weight of (C), and

- 1 to 20, in particular 5 to 15 parts by weight of (D). According to the present invention, an alkyl lactate is used, the alkyl radical of which, linear or branched, has a number of carbon atoms ranging from 1 to 6 and, preferably ranging from 1 to 4. Preferably the lactate will be used ethyl or n-butyl lactate and, especially ethyl lactate.

By way of illustration of nonionic surfactants which can be used according to the invention, mention will be made of ethoxylated fatty alcohols.

By way of illustration of anionic surfactants which can be used according to the invention, mention will be made of the oxyethylated tridecyl acid phosphates having a number of ethyleneoxy groups (-OCH ₂ CH ₂ -) ranging from 2 to 10. The acid phosphate of tridecyl with 6 ethyleneoxy groups sold by the company ATOFINA under the designation BEYCOSTAT A136.

According to the present invention, it is also possible to use an anionic surfactant with a nonionic surfactant.

According to the present invention, the cleaning composition can be diluted by adding water.

The amount of dilution water can vary widely. It is generally between 10 and 20 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of (A) + (B) + (C) + (D).

The composition according to the invention is usually produced by simple mixing of the constituents at room temperature using conventional stirring means known to those skilled in the art.

The composition of the invention can be applied to the solid surface on which graffiti is affixed by means of a cloth or possibly a brush. The composition is then left in contact with the surface for a more or less long period which depends on the nature of the graffiti to be removed.

Then, the cleaned surface can be advantageously rinsed with water using a sponge or by means of a Karcher (water under pressure).

The composition according to the invention has the advantage of effectively removing graffiti on porous materials (cement, concrete, stone), on wood, on plastics, on flexible materials (skai, fabrics), on all of said materials. painted substrates, without altering the substrate on the one hand and the paint on the other.

The following examples illustrate the invention. Cleaning composition according to the invention: A composition is prepared by simple mixing of the constituents at room temperature which contains per 100 parts by weight of the composition:

- 60 parts by weight of ethyl lactate, - 20 parts by weight of DMSO,

- 10 parts by weight of BEYCOSTAT A136 (anionic surfactant), and

- 10 parts by weight of water.

Cleaning tests with the composition previously prepared:

For the tests, three "aerosol" paints used to carry out the graffiti were selected:

1) fluorescent green (ALAC),

2) shiny black (Lak Bricorama paint),

3) white (marking, tracing, HERPE marking).

Six types of surfaces on which the paints were applied were used:

(1) bare brick,

(2) brick + façade waterproofing,

(3) brick + acrylic plaster,

(4) brick + glycerophthalic, (5) PVC,

(6) steel.

Results (obtained with the three paints): In all the tests, the liquid formula is deposited on the surface soiled with graffiti using a cloth. The product is left to act for a few minutes, then passed with a cloth and rinsed with water (or sponge).

On smooth surfaces such as brick + glycerophthalic and brick + façade waterproofing: very good effectiveness of the cleaning composition. In a few minutes (3 to 10 min) of action, the passage of a rag removes the graffiti without altering the paint. By adding 10 to 20 parts by weight of water in the composition, no alteration of the paint is observed after 1 hour.

On porous surfaces such as bare brick and brick + acrylic plaster: very good effectiveness of the cleaning composition on bare brick. Very good effectiveness of the diluted composition by adding 10 parts by weight of water on brick + acrylic plaster;

On painted surfaces such as waterproofing, plaster, oil-based, polyester and PVC: very good performance of the composition cleaning without alteration of paints or PVC after a few minutes. By adding 10 to 20 parts by weight of water in the composition, the contact time can be up to 1 hour.

Claims

1. Cleaning composition for removing graffiti from a solid surface, characterized in that it comprises: (A) at least one alkyl lactate,

(B) dimethyl sulfoxide (D SO),

(C) at least one anionic and / or nonionic surfactant, and

(D) water.

2. Cleaning composition according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises, per 100 parts by weight of (A) + (B) + (C) -l- (D):

- 40 to 90 parts by weight of (A),

- 5 to 80 parts by weight of (B), - 1 to 20 parts by weight of (C), and

- 1 to 20 parts by weight of (D).

3. Cleaning composition according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises, per 100 parts by weight of (A) + (B) + (C) + (D):

- 50 to 70 parts by weight of (A),

- 10 to 30 parts by weight of (B),

- 5 to 15 parts by weight of (C), and

- 5 to 15 parts by weight of (D).

4. Cleaning composition according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises, per 100 parts by weight of (A) + (B) + (C) + (D):

- 60 parts by weight of (A), - 20 parts by weight of (B),

- 10 parts by weight of (C), and

- 10 parts by weight of (D).

5. Cleaning composition according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the alkyl radical, linear or branched, of the alkyl lactate (A) has a number of carbon atoms which ranges from 1 to 6 and preferably ranges from 1 to 4.

6. Cleaning composition according to claim 5, characterized in that the alkyl lactate is ethyl lactate.

7. Cleaning composition according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the surfactant (C) is an anionic surfactant.

8. Cleaning composition according to claim 7, characterized in that the anionic surfactant is an oxyethylated tridecyl acid phosphate having a number of ethyleneoxy groups which ranges from 2 to

10.

9. A cleaning composition according to claim 8, characterized in that the oxyethylated tridecyl acid phosphate is an oxyethylated tridecyl acid phosphate which has 6 ethyleneoxy groups.

10. Cleaning composition according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the surfactant (C) is a nonionic surfactant.

/ /. Cleaning composition according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that an anionic surfactant is used with a nonionic surfactant.

12. Cleaning composition according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that for 100 parts by weight of (A) + (B) + (C) + (D), 10 to 20 parts by weight d are added. 'water.