WO2004110506A1

WO2004110506A1 - Method for eliminating or neutralising undesirable odour effects and fragrance composition based on natural aromatic substances

Info

Publication number: WO2004110506A1
Application number: PCT/NL2004/000409
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter Van De Graaf
Original assignee: Kiva V.O.F. Product Ecology
Priority date: 2003-06-12
Filing date: 2004-06-10
Publication date: 2004-12-23
Also published as: NL1023646C1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for eliminating or neutralising undesirable odour effects from human or animal excretion products which uses a fragrance composition based on natural aromatic substances, wherein the natural aromatic substances or synthetic variants thereof are harmonically combined with products that occur in urine or in faeces or with decomposition products thereof, so as to produce a neutral or a pleasant smell. The invention furthermore relates to a fragrance composition.

Description

Method for eliminating or neutralising undesirable odour effects and fragrance composition based on natural aromatic substances.

DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a method for eliminating or neutralising undesirable odour effects from human or animal excretion products.

Methods for eliminating such odour effects are generally known. The known methods can be subdivided into four groups, respectively based on: (1) using fragrant substances (the so-called perfumes) which produce their own fragrance, which predominates over the undesirable odour effects, said own fragrance being stronger; (2) chemically decomposing the organic and inorganic products that cause the undesirable odour effects, for example by oxidation reactions, using aggressive, chemical substances; (3) retarding the (usually biochemical) processes that, in urine or faeces, lead to products that cause the undesirable odour effects (for example by inhibiting ureases); (4) replacing the entire air volume of the space in which the undesirable odour effects occur several times per day, or even per hour, and possibly treating the removed air, using substances that absorb the odorous substances.

The known methods have a few drawbacks. The methods of group 1 are in fact masking methods. Frequently it appears that, apart from the fragrant substance (the perfume) that is being used, the undesirable odour effects remains clearly perceptible. The fragrant substances that are used frequently have an artificial, distinct toilet odour. The methods of groups 2 and 3 use aggressive chemical substances, for example oxidizing chemical products. Not only do the aggressive substances cause environmental pollution, they also constitute a hazard to the personnel who must use the substances. Moreover, the chemical substances in question usually have an unpleasant smell of their own or they produce unpleasant smells. An example of this is escaping hypochlorite gas. The methods of group 4 are not only laborious, but in addition they require costly structural arrangements. As a matter of fact, the symptoms rather than the causes of the undesirable odour effects are treated when using the methods of groups 4 and 1.

There is a need in the art for a method for eliminating or neutralising the aforementioned undesirable odour effects which is not associated with the drawbacks of the prior art methods and wherein a new, neutral or pleasant smell is obtained in a simple manner. The substances being used should not be hazardous or cause environmental pollution.

The above object can be achieved by using the method according to the present invention, which is characterised in that a fragrance composition based on natural aromatic substances is used, wherein the natural aromatic substances or synthetic variants thereof are harmonically combined with products that occur in urine or in faeces or with decomposition products thereof, so as to produce a neutral or a pleasant smell .

One advantage of the present invention is the fact that the components of urine or faeces that produce the undesirable odour effects are at least neutralized by the use of a harmonic combination with the natural aromatic substances or the synthetic equivalents thereof, because the combination with said components leads to a new harmonic odour, a new so-called "accord". Accordingly, the present invention is not based on an added aromatic substance, such as a perfume, being prevalent (refer to the above group 1 methods), which methods are symptomatic and which usually lead to the average person nevertheless perceiving two individually distinctive odour effects. According to the present invention, a harmonic odour effect or accord is composed from the individual smell components of urine or faeces and sympathically acting natural aromatic substances or synthetic variants thereof, with no individually distinctive odour effects being perceived. The method according to the present invention leads to a harmonic odour effect which is at least neutral and which, depending on the natural aromatic substances being used, provides a pleasant impression and perception. The sense of well-being that is thus created is an attendant advantage of the invention. In this connection, schools or hospitals having poorly maintained toilets may be mentioned by way of example. Constipation complaints with children or patients, for example, can be avoided by using the invention. Also, unpleasant odour effects in other public buildings, such as restaurants, airports and shops can be prevented by using the invention.

In principle, the method according to the present invention can be used on or with any type of substrate. According to a preferred embodiment, the fragrance composition is used on porous substrates. The term porous substrates refers to substrates such as cement, concrete, wood, some types of stone, textiles and the like. The urine, or possibly faeces products, can penetrate deep into porous substrates and will cause undesirable odour effects for long periods of time. The method is also preferably used on glass fibre substrates. Such substrates are also used in the production of parts used in toilets, for example. The method is also preferably used on nonporous substrates. Urine or faeces products can dry on such substrates, for example consisting of metals and some plastics. Preferably, the fragrance composition is used on glazed or glasslike substrates.

Depending on the substrates in question, it is preferable to use the fragrance composition before or, quite the reverse, after urine has come into contact with the substrates.

In especially preferred methods, the fragrance composition is used during the production of a porous substrate, or during the production of a plastic material. In this way the natural aromatic substances or synthetic variants thereof are incorporated in the substrates, so that the desired effect according to the present invention upon or after penetration of urine or faeces products is obtained not only on the substrate but also in the substrate. Thus, the aromatic substances may for instance simply be mixed with cement, or porous pieces of stone or blocks of concrete may be impregnated with a solution or an emulsion of the aromatic substances. Especially in the case of the so- called "waterless toilets" the desired effect according to the invention will be obtained already during urination. According to the present invention, the fragrance composition is furthermore preferably used on a textile product before urine has come into contact with the textile product. Within the context of the present invention, the term textile product is understood to mean not only clothes, such as underwear for use in hospitals, but also sheets, blankets, or mats and the like. In particular, mats treated in accordance with the present method may be used at places where urine may land on the floor.

In principle, any method of using the fragrance composition is possible according to the present invention. As already explained above, the fragrance composition may be used during the production of porous or nonporous substrates. Preferably, the fragrance composition is used by spraying it in the form of an aerosol. In this way, also large spaces can be treated. Any other type of evaporation may be used for spreading the fragrance composition.

The natural aromatic substances or synthetic equivalents thereof are preferably selected from the group consisting of wood aromatic substances, balsam aromatic substances, resinoid aromatic substances and incense substances. Of said substances, patchouli oil, sandalwood oil, orange oil, benzoin resinoid and guaiac wood oil are particularly preferred.

The present invention also relates to a fragrance composition based on natural aromatic substances or synthetic equivalents thereof. Such fragrance compositions are generally known. However, there is a need for a fragrance composition with a base of natural aromatic substances or synthetic equivalents thereof in the field of eliminating or neutralising undesirable odour effects from human or animal excretion products.

The fragrance composition according to the present invention is characterised in that the fragrance composition comprises natural aromatic substances, which - when combined with malodour causing products present in urine or faeces, or decomposition products thereof - eliminate or neutralise the undesirable odour effects of the natural products or the decomposition products, and possibly stabilising agents, auxiliary substances or diluents.

Preferably, the natural aromatic substances are selected from the group consisting of wood aromatic substances, balsam aromatic substances, resinoid aromatic substances and incense substances. Patchouli oil, sandalwood oil, orange oil, benzoin resinoids and guaiac wood oil are particularly preferred. According to a preferred implementation, the natural aromatic substances are each individually present in a dilution of from 1:50 to 1:1000 in water. Preferably, the fragrance composition is in the form of an aerosol or incorporated in a stick or a cartridge. The present invention will now be illustrated by means of a few non-limitative examples. As regards the substances that are known as such and the techniques being used for mixing and preparing fragrance compositions, reference is made to general reference books in the field of perfumery, such as "The Chemistry of Fragrances", Springer Verlag (1999), ISBN: 0854045287, and "Perfumery: Practice and Principles", Wiley-Interscience (1994), ISBN: 0471589349.

As explained above, according to the present invention a harmonic odour effect or accord is composed from the components of urine or faeces products that cause undesirable odour effects on the one hand, and sympathically active components of the present fragrance composition on the other hand. The effect may be neutral, i.e. not only are undesirable odour effects no longer perceived, but in addition no other odour is distinctly and individually perceptible. It stands to reason that, using the method according to the present invention, natural aromatic substances may be selected in such a way that accords having pleasant odours are obtained. Such variants may be composed for generating a woody or a vanilla-like smell sensation, for example. Example 1.

Using methods that are known in the field of perfumery, the following Composition 1 was prepared: 78.43% Patchouli Oil Dark Indonesian

4.50% Sandalwood Oil West Australian

9.00% Orange Oil Sweet Wild

2.70% Guaicwood Oil S. America

0.65% Vanilla Absolute C02 Madagascar 0.45% Cypress Oil France

2.47% Benzoin Resinoid Sumatra (97% in ethanol)

1.35% Peru Oil Molecular Distilled

0.45% Tonka Bean Absolute C02 (14% in ethanol).

This composition was mixed with emulsifier Ethylan CD 919 in a proportion of 1 : 1.

Example 2.

A plastic container measuring 10 cm by 7 cm and having a height of 2 cm was filled with a layer of ENCI Portland cement having a thickness of 0.5 cm. The cement was dried for three days, and subsequently 100 ml of male urine was added. The container with the cement and the urine present therein was exposed to the outside air for three days. After that, excess urine was removed. A manifest, unpleasant odour of stale urine could be smelled near the cement. An amount of 1 ml of Composition 1 was added and spread over the surface of the cement. Instantly, a pleasant odour, not containing any traces of urine, could be perceived.

The same favourable effects were obtained after treatment of objects made of metallic, glass fibre and glazed materials that had been treated with urine. Example 3.

A toilet block comprising two school toilets, presenting a very distinct urine problem, was treated. The floor and the walls were moisturized up to a height of 1 m, using a solution of 1 ml of Composition 1 dissolved in 200 ml of water per m². After the solution had dried overnight, the toilet was cleaned in the usual way with water on the following day. Two days later, a solution of 0.3 ml of Composition 1 dissolved in 200 ml of water per m² was applied in the same manner. The fragrance produced by Composition 1 was quite distinctly discernable. The schoolchildren's urine, present on the floor in pools during the daytime, could no longer be smelled.

Example 4. Using methods that are known in the field of perfumery, the following Composition 2 was prepared:

81.03% Patchouli Oil Dark Indonesian 2.31% Sandalwood Oil West Australian 9.26% Orange Oil Sweet Wild 1.16% Guaicwood Oil S. America

0.46% Vanilla Absolute CO₂ Madagascar 4.62% Benzoin Resinoid Sumatra (97% in ethanol) 1.16% Vetiver Oil Java

Example 5.

A large toilet space of an airport, which was strongly polluted with urine, was treated in two stages.

First, a so-called buffering treatment was carried out, using a buffering solution consisting of 15 ml of Composition 1 diluted in 250 ml of water. The buffering solution was applied to a tile floor having a surface area of 15 m², and to 16 m² of the walls to a height of 1 m, using a microfibre cloth. After some time, the surfaces were wiped with a rubber wiper and excess solution was removed. After that, the toilet space was maintained by applying a maintenance solution consisting of 5 ml of Composition 2 dissolved in 250 ml of water to the tile floor in the manner described above, once daily. The walls, the toilet bowls, the urinals and the partitions were treated with micro fibre cloths sprayed with which the maintenance solution or possibly with a diluted maintenance solution (consisting of 2.5 ml of Composition 2 in 1 litre of water). The result of these treatments was that the undesirable odour effects from urine, and , for that matter, also from faeces products, were harmonically included in the fragrance from the composition, even in cases of considerable contamination, so that no urine smell or smell from faeces products could be perceived any more. Example 6.

Using methods that are known in the field of perfumery, the following Composition 3 was prepared:

2.5% Geranium oil Chinese

12% Ylang ylang oil No.3 25% Orange oil Sweet

56.5% Patchouli oil Indonesian

2% Sandalwood oil Australian

2% Benzoin resinoid Sumatra.

Composition 3 was used in particular for eliminating undesirable odour effects caused by faeces.

Toilet bowls and tiles in toilet spaces of a large department store and of a large airport, contaminated with faeces and decomposition products thereof, were treated with Composition 3. The methods used were comparable to the methods used in Example 5. The undesirable odour effects from faeces products were harmonically included in the fragrance from Composition 3, so that the undesirable odour effect was eliminated.

Example 7.

Using methods that are known in the field of perfumery, the following Composition 4 was prepared:

18% Peppermint oil Tasmanian

12% Rosemary oil Tunisian 25% Lavandin oil Grosso

39% Patchouli oil Indonesian

1% Vetivert oil Java

2% Guaiacwood oil 2% Sandalwood oil Australian

1% Benzoin resinoid Sumatra

Composition 4 was used in particular for eliminating undesirable odour effects from faeces.

Textile products such as towels and bedclothes from a hospital contaminated with faeces and decomposition products thereof were treated with Composition 4 after being contaminated. The treatment consisted of impregnating and/or spraying. Said methods were also used on textiles that had not come into contact with faeces products yet.

The undesirable odour effects from faeces products were harmonically included in the fragrance from Composition 4, so that the undesirable odour effect was eliminated.

Claims

1. A method for eliminating or neutralising undesirable odour effects from human or animal excretion products, characterised in that a fragrance composition based on natural aromatic substances is used, wherein the natural aromatic substances or synthetic variants thereof are harmonically combined with products that occur in urine or in faeces or with decomposition products thereof, so as to produce a neutral or a pleasant smell .

2. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used on porous substrates.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used on glass fibre substrates.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used on nonporous substrates.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used on glazed or glasslike substrates.

6. The method according to any one of the claims 1-5, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used before urine has come into contact with the substrates.

7. The method according to any one of the claims 1-5, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used after urine has come into contact with the substrates.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used during the production of a porous substrate.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used during the production of a plastic material .

10. The method according to claim 6, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used on a textile product before urine has come into contact with the textile product.

11. The method according to any one of the claims 1-7 and 10, characterised in that the fragrance composition is used by spraying it in the form of an aerosol .

12. The method according to any one of the claims 1-11, characterised in that the natural aromatic substances or synthetic equivalents thereof are selected from the group consisting of wood aromatic substances, balsam aromatic substances, resinoid aromatic substances and incense substances.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterised in that the natural aromatic substances or synthetic equivalents thereof are selected from the group consisting of patchouli oil, sandalwood oil, orange oil, benzoin resinoid and guaiac wood oil.

14. A fragrance composition with a base of natural or synthetic equivalents thereof, characterised in that the fragrance composition comprises natural, which - when combined with malodour causing products present in urine or faeces, or decomposition products thereof - eliminate or neutralise the undesirable odour effects of the natural products or the decomposition products, and possibly stabilising agents, auxiliary substances or dilents.

15. The fragrance composition according to claim 14, characterised in that the natural aromatic substances are selected from the group consisting of wood aromatic substances, balsam aromatic substances, resinoid aromatic substances and incense substances.

16. The fragrance composition according to claim 15, characterised in that the natural aromatic substances have been selected from the group consisting of patchouli oil, sandalwood oil, orange oil, benzoin resinoids and guaiac wood oil.

17. The fragrance composition according to claim 14 or 15, characterised in that the natural aromatic substances are each individually present in a dilution of from 1:50 to 1:1000 in water.

18. The fragrance composition according to any one of the claims 14-16, characterised in that the composition is in the form of an aerosol .

19. The fragrance composition according to any one of the claims 14-16, characterised in that the composition is incorporated in a stick or a cartridge.