WO2021052901A1

WO2021052901A1 - Detergent composition

Info

Publication number: WO2021052901A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/075616
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arpita Sarkar; Papiya BAG; Anindita HALDER; Hitesh Gaja CHAKRAPANI
Original assignee: Novozymes A/S
Priority date: 2019-09-17
Filing date: 2020-09-14
Publication date: 2021-03-25

Abstract

The present invention provides a solid free-flowing particulate laundry detergent composition which has a bulk density greater than 0.6, and which comprises certain components in certain ranges, wherein the composition at 1% (w/w) dilution in deionized water at 22.5°C has an equilibrium pH value in the range of 8.5 to less than 10; and wherein the alkali metal carbonate and alkali metal bicarbonate are present in a ratio of less than 0.7, more preferably in a ration of less than 0.65, and most preferably in a ratio of less than 0.6.

Description

DETERGENT COMPOSITION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a so-called biological laundry detergent composition suitable for hand washing, wherein said composition comprises a number of constituents in certain wt.% ranges, wherein said composition has certain characteristics.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Powder laundry detergents often have a high pH in order to ensure effective cleaning. This is a problem, especially for hand-washing laundry as the high pH is harsh on the hands. Accordingly, there is a demand for laundry detergent compositions that are effective in cleaning, mild and gentle on the skin and also preserve the color of fabrics, especially for hand-washing laundry, and which are environmentally friendly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a powder laundry detergent delivering lower wash pH (<10) which is gentler on the skin of the hands during the wash process while being effective in cleaning and also preserves the color of fabrics.

Accordingly, the instant invention provides solid free-flowing particulate laundry detergent compositions which have a bulk density greater than 0.6, and which comprises:

- 5 - 30% (w/w) of one or more anionic surfactant;

- 0-30 % (w/w) of alkali metal carbonate;

- 10 - 40% (w/w) of alkali metal bicarbonate;

- 2 - 60% (w/w) of one or more flow aid having high liquid carrying capacity;

- 5 - 84% (w/w) of one or more soluble salt;

- 2 - 15% (w/w) of one or more alkali metal salt of one or more organic acid, preferably of one or more of citric acid, adipic acid, maleic acid, maleic acid, most preferably of citric acid;

- 0.1 - 5% (w/w) of one or more enzyme, wherein the compositions at 1% (w/w) dilution in deionized water at 22.5°C have an equilibrium pH value in the range of 8.5 to less than 10; and wherein the alkali metal carbonate and alkali metal bicarbonate are present in a ratio of less than 0.7, more preferably in a ration of less than 0.65, and most preferably in a ratio of less than 0.6. DEFINITIONS

Bulk density: The bulk density of a material is the ratio of the mass to the volume (including the interparticulate void volume) of an untapped powder sample.

Anionic surfactant: An anionic surfactant contains an anionic functional group at its head, such as sulfate, sulfonate, phosphate, and carboxylates. Most commonly used anionic surfactants are linear alkylbenzene sulphonate-sodium salt, sodium lauryl sulfate (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SLS, or SDS), and the related alkyl-ether sulfates like sodium laureth sulfate (sodium lauryl ether sulfate or SLES), alpha olefin sulphonate, methyl ester sulphonate.

Flow aid: A solid component with high liquid carrying capacity, such, as clay, precipitated calcium carbonate, zeolite, dolomite, talc, silica, etc are used as fillers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figures 1 and 2 show the effect of flow-aid on powder flow property in Example 4.

Figure 3 shows the colour care benefit of the compositions in Example 7, evaluated using E252 (Empa new fabric) & E253 (Pre-pilled fabric), the photos were taken after 10 washes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the invention relates to solid free-flowing particulate laundry detergent compositions which have a bulk density greater than 0.6, and which comprise:

- 5 - 30% (w/w) of one or more anionic surfactant;

- 0-30 % (w/w) of alkali metal carbonate;

- 10 - 40% (w/w) of alkali metal bicarbonate;

- 2 - 60% (w/w) of one or more flow aid having high liquid carrying capacity;

- 5 - 84% (w/w) of one or more soluble salt;

- 0.1 - 5% (w/w) of one or more enzyme, wherein the compositions at 1% (w/w) dilution in deionized water at 22.5°C have an equilibrium pH value in the range of 8.5 to less than 10; and wherein the alkali metal carbonate and alkali metal bicarbonate are present in a ratio of less than 0.7, more preferably in a ration of less than 0.65, and most preferably in a ratio of less than 0.6. The amount of enzyme (% w/w) is calculated based on commercially available enzyme formulations. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the anionic surfactant comprises one or more non- alkoxylated anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of Cs-22 alkylbenzene sulfonates, Cs-22 alkyl sulfates, Cs-22 alkyl ester sulphonates and combinations thereof.

Another preferred embodiment relates to a composition of the first aspect, which comprises 5 - 30% by wt. of one or more non-alkoxylated anionic surfactant, preferably 8 - 25% by wt. of one or more non-alkoxylated anionic surfactant, more preferably 8 - 20% by wt. of one or more non- alkoxylated anionic surfactant.

Yet another preferred embodiment relates to a composition of the first aspect, which comprises less than 30% by wt. of alkali metal carbonate, more preferably less than 20% by wt. of alkali metal carbonate, and most preferably less than 12% by wt. of alkali metal carbonate.

In a preferred embodiment, the alkali metal carbonate comprises or consists of a water-soluble carbonate salt containing sodium and/or potassium ions.

Another preferred embodiment relates to a composition of the first aspect, which comprises 10 - 40% by wt. of alkali metal bicarbonate, more preferably 15 - 30% by wt. and most preferably 15 - 20% by wt. of alkali metal bicarbonate.

In another preferred embodiment, the alkali metal bicarbonate comprises or consists of a water- soluble bicarbonate salt containing sodium and/or potassium ions.

The flow aid of the first aspect of the invention preferably comprises one or more solid, water- insoluble, inorganic filler having a liquid-carrying capacity greater than 15%, more preferably greater than 20%, and most preferably greater than 30%.

Preferably, the flow aid comprises one or more water-insoluble filler selected from:

- alkaline earth metal carbonate, preferably precipitated calcium carbonate and/or dolomite,

- metal oxide, preferably titanium dioxide,

- mixed metal oxide, preferably hydrotalcite,

- aluminosilicate, preferably clay, talc, zeolite and/or silica.

- precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), and/or

- dolomite.

Yet another preferred embodiment relates to a composition of the first aspect, which comprises 2 - 60% by wt. of one or more flow aid, more preferably 5 - 40% by wt. of flow-aid, and most preferably contains 8 - 20% by wt. of one or more flow aid.

The soluble salt preferably comprises one or more of alkali metal chloride and alkali metal sulphate; more preferably the soluble salt comprises one or more of sodium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium sulphate, and potassium sulphate, and most preferably the soluble salt comprises one or more of sodium chloride and/or sodium sulphate. Another preferred embodiment relates to a composition of the first aspect, which comprises 5 - 84% by wt. of one or more soluble salt, more preferably comprises 15 - 70% by wt. of one or more soluble salt, and most preferably contains 30 - 60% by wt. of one or more soluble salt.

The alkali metal salt of an organic acid is preferably selected from Sodium and/or Potassium, and wherein the organic acid of the alkali metal salt of the organic acids is one or more polybasic carboxylic acid having a basicity of ³ 2; preferable citric acid, adipic acid and/or maleic acid; preferably the alkali metal salt of an organic acid is Sodium citrate and/or Potassium citrate.

One preferred embodiment relates to a composition of the first aspect, which comprises 2 - 15% by wt. of one or more alkali metal salt of one or more organic acid, more preferably 3 - 12% by wt. of one or more alkali metal salt of one or more organic acid, and most preferably 4 - 10% by wt. of one or more alkali metal salt of one or more organic acid.

Preferably, the one or more enzyme is one or more hydrolase, isomerase, ligase, lyase, oxidoreductase, and transferase; preferably one or more acetylxylan esterase, acylglycerol lipase, amylase, alpha-amylase, beta-amylase, arabinofuranosidase, cellobiohydrolases, cellulase, feruloyl esterase, galactanase, alpha-galactosidase, beta-galactosidase, beta- glucanase, beta-glucosidase, lysophospholipase, lysozyme, alpha-mannosidase, beta- mannosidase, mannanase, muramidase, phytase, phosphodiesterase, phospholipase A1, phospholipase A2, phospholipase D, protease, pullulanase, pectin esterase, triacylglycerol lipase, xylanase, beta-xylosidase or any combination thereof; preferably the one or more enzyme comprises at least one protease and at least one cellulase. The one or more enzyme may be formulated in dry, granular form, may be single enzymes, blended or co-granulated blends of enzymes, may be coated and/or may be coloured/dyed.

In a preferred embodiment, the composition of the first aspect comprises 0.1 - 5% by wt. of the one or more enzyme, preferably 0.2 - 2% by wt of the one or more enzyme, and most preferably 0.3 - 1% by wt. of the one or more enzyme.

Preferably, the composition of the first aspect at 1% (w/w) dilution in deionized water at 22.5°C has an equilibrium pH value in the range of 8.5 to less than 10, preferably in the range of 8.6 - 9.5.

In another preferred embodiment, the composition of the first aspect has a bulk density greater than 0.6, preferably a bulk density in the range 0.7 - 1 , and most preferably a bulk density in the range of 0.75 - 0.95.

Yet another preferred embodiment relates to a composition of the first aspect, which has a ratio of tapped density versus bulk density in the range of 1 - 1.18; more preferably in the range of 1 - 1.15.

In a final preferred embodiment, the composition of the first aspect also comprises 0.1 - 5% by wt. of one or more solid surface-active agent, such as, SLES needles; 0.1 - 5% by wt. of one or more cationic surfactant in solid form; and/or 0.01 - 3% by wt. of one or more anti-bacterial agent. EXAMPLES

Materials:

1. LABSA- Linear alkyl benzene sulphonic acid (90% AM, Oil Base, India)

2. MES- Methyl ester sulphonate (Lion corp.)

3. PAS/SLS- Primary alkyl sulphate (Texapon OCN, BASF)

4. Soda ash- Sodium carbonate (Tata chemicals, India)

5. Sodium bicarbonate (Tata chemicals, India)

6. Sodium chloride (Tata chemicals, India)

7. Zeolite

8. Precipitated calcium carbonate (SD Fine chemicals, India)

9. Dolomite

10. Sodium citrate (SD Fine chemicals, India)

11. Citric acid (SD Fine chemicals, India)

12. Enzymes: Medley Core 100T, Medley Power 100T, Celluclean 4500T from Novozymes

13. Mass tier powders (India, market sample)- Ghadi powder

Preparation of the composition:

Appropriate amount of soda ash, bicarbonate, PCC and dolomite were taken in a sigma mixer and mixed thoroughly for 1-2 mins. LABSA slurry was added slowly to this solid powder mixture along with catalytic amount of water. This was mixed for 5-7 mins, followed by addition of sodium chloride, sodium citrate and zeolite. This mixture was mixed for 5-7 minutes and then transferred to a sieve shaker. The powder was collected post-sieving and was used for the subsequent experiments.

Evaluation of Bulk Density:

In order to evaluate the bulk density of the prepared powder samples, a known weight of powder was gently poured into a graduated measuring cylinder of 100 ml capacity. The volume of the powder in the measuring cylinder was noted. The bulk density of the powder was calculated as follows:

Bulk density = Weight of powder taken (g) ÷ Volume of powder (ml)

Powder flow property:

In order to evaluate whether a powder is free-flowing or not, compressibility of a powder is measured. Compressibility index or Carr’s index is defined as the percentage decrease in volume when a powder is tapped to expel out all the inter-particle air.

Carr’s Index = (VB-VT)*100/ VT _; VB is the initial volume before tapping and VT is the volume of the powder after tapping. Carr’s index (C) is also defined in terms of the bulk density and tapped density of the powder. C = 100 (1- p_B/ p_T)

Hausner ratio which is defined as the ratio between tapped density and the bulk density of a powder can also be used as a measure of compressibility or flowability of a powder.

Hausner ratio = p_T / p_B The smaller the difference between the tapped density and bulk density of a powder, better is the flowability of a powder. Typically most powder detergents with good flow properties have Hausner ratio in the range of 1.0-1.18 (table 1 below).

Table 1. Wash pH evaluation:

A 1 % (w/w) solution of the said powder was prepared by dilution in deionized water at 22°C. The solution was stirred vigorously for 10-15 minutes with the help of a magnetic stirrer. Post dissolution, the equilibrium pH of the powder solution was recorded with the help of a stand pH meter.

Stain set:

Different technical stains (table 2 below) were purchased from CFT, Netherlands and were used for the evaluation of wash-performance.

Table 2.

For colour care and colour preservation studies, Empa 252 and Empa 253 fabrics, procured from CFT were used. Washing protocol:

All the washing experiment was conducted in TOM (tergo-to-meter) at 350 ppm (2:1) water hardness and 27-28°C. In all the washing experiments, the total volume of wash liquor was maintained at 800 ml, the stain load being 16 g so that the L/C is maintained at 50. In all the washes to evaluate the stain-removal performance, the stains were soaked for 15 mins and then washed at 120 rpm for 15 minutes, followed by two rinses. The stains post-wash were dried in doors in a dark room. Post-drying, the extent of stain removal was evaluated by measuring the reflectance (R460) of the fabrics at 460 nm using a X-rite spectrophotometer. Higher the R460 values, higher is the extent of stain removal.

For the colour care/fabric care studies, washing was done for 45 minutes at 120 rpm, followed by two rinses. Post-wash, the fabrics were dried in-doors. The fabrics were subjected to multiple- washes and were visually evaluated post 20 washes.

Example 1 : Effect of wt.% of bicarbonate

Powder detergent formulations were prepared containing 12% by wt. of sodium LAS (in-situ neutralization of LABSA with calculated amount of soda ash), 6% by wt. of tri-sodium citrate dihydrate, 8% by wt. of Zeolite 4A, 6% by wt. of PCC (precipitated calcium carbonate), 12% by wt. of dolomite and 0.6% of enzyme (combination of protease, amylase and cellulase) with different wt.% of sodium bicarbonate. 1g of the said powder was then dissolved in 100 g water and its pH was recorded post-dissolution.

Comparative-1 is an example which is outside the scope of the instant invention and is presented as a control for comparison with the examples (Ex-1 to Ex-3) in table 3 below, which are within the scope of the instantly claimed invention.

Table 3.

Example 2. Effect of wt.% of soda:

Powder detergent formulations were prepared containing 12% by wt. of sodium LAS (in-situ neutralization of LABSA with calculated amount of soda ash), 40% by wt. of sodium bicarbonate, 6% by wt. of tri-sodium citrate dihydrate, 8% by wt. of Zeolite 4A, 6% by wt. of PCC (precipitated calcium carbonate), 12% by wt. of dolomite and 0.6% of enzyme (which is a combination of protease, amylase and cellulase) with different wt.% of soda. 1g of the said powder is then dissolved in 100 g water and its pH is recorded post-dissolution. Compositions which upon dissolution at 1 % by wt. provide pH less than 10 are within the scope of the patent.

Comparative-2 is an example which is outside the scope of the instant invention, and is provided as a control for comparison with the examples (Ex-4 to Ex-7) in table 4 below, which are within the scope of the instantly claimed invention.

Table 4. Example 3. Effect of soda-bicarbonate ratio:

Powder detergent formulations were prepared containing 12% by wt. of sodium LAS (in-situ neutralization of LABSA with calculated amount of soda ash), 6% by wt. of tri-sodium citrate dihydrate, 8% by wt. of Zeolite 4A, 6% by wt. of PCC (precipitated calcium carbonate), 12% by wt. of dolomite and 0.6% of enzyme (which is a combination of protease, amylase and cellulase) with different wt.% of soda and sodium bicarbonate in different ratios. 1g of the said powder is then dissolved in 100 g water and its pH is recorded post-dissolution. Compositions which upon dissolution at 1 % by wt. provide pH less than 10 are within the scope of the patent. Comp-3 and Comp-4 are examples which are outside the scope of the instant invention and are provided as control for comparison with the examples (Ex-8 to Ex-12) in table 5 below, which are within the scope of the instantly claimed invention.

Table 5.

Example 4: Effect of flow-aid on powder flow property

In order to obtain free-flowing powder with good flow properties (as defined by Hausner ratio), it is essential to include flow-aid with high liquid carrying capacity. Powder compositions were prepared containing no free soda, 10% by wt. of sodium bicarbonate, 6% by wt. of sodium citrate, 0.8% by wt. of enzyme (which is a combination of protease, amylase and cellulase) at different surfactant levels. Compositions with higher LABSA content require higher wt.% of flow-aid such as zeolite. Compositions containing a mixture of LABSA and a secondary solid surfactant such as PAS, AOS or MES require less wt.% of flow-aid. Comp-5 shows a composition which is outside the scope of the invention. This composition does not have a good flow property and is susceptible to caking (Fig 1). Compositions as described in Ex-13 to Ex16 have good flow behaviour as inferred from their Hausner ratio (Fig 2).

Table 6.

Example 5. Effect of sodium citrate:

Lowering of wash pH impacts wash performance primarily owing to reduced alkalinity and also owing to inefficient removal of water-hardness ions (mostly Calcium ions) which leads to toughening-up of the stains. Proteinaceous stains, sebum based stains and oily stains in particular are mostly impacted. Sodium citrate can help to improve the calcium ion removal efficiency and can boost wash performance at reduced wash pH.

Powder detergent compositions were prepared containing 11% by wt. of sodium LAS, no free soda, 10% by wt. of sodium bicarbonate, 16% by wt. of PCC, 0.5% by wt. of enzyme (which is a combination of protease, amylase and cellulase) and with different amount of sodium citrate. Comparative-6 is outside the scope of the instant invention, Ex-17 to Ex-19 in table 7 are within the scope, as they all perform better wrt the former in terms of wash performance.

Table 7.

The wash performance of these compositions was evaluated (method described in earlier section) using stains procured from CFT such as E117 (Blood/milk/ink on PC) ,E116 (Blood/lnk/milk on CO) ,CS08 (Grass on CO), CS98 (JIS sebum) , CS80 (Grass/mud on CO), E111 (Blood on CO), WFK 20D (sebum with pigment on PC) along with whiteness tracer CN42 (double jersey cotton). The sum of R460 of all of these stains are tabulated below in table 8, where the second column is the wt.% of Sodium citrate

Table 8. Example 6. Effect of Enzyme:

Lowering of wash pH impacts wash performance. Proteinaceous stains, sebum based stains and oily/fatty stains in particular are mostly impacted. The soil-suspension capacity is also lowered at reduced wash pH which increases redeposition of soil. Powder detergent compositions were prepared as per the details shown below in table 9:

Table 9.

The wash performance of these compositions was evaluated (method described in earlier section) using stains procured from CFT such as E117 (Blood/milk/ink on PC) , E116 (Blood/lnk/milk on CO) ,CS08 (Grass on CO), CS98 (JIS sebum) , CS80 (Grass/mud on CO), E111 (Blood on CO), WFK 20D (sebum with pigment on PC), CS 28 (rice starch), C01 (Mineral oil with carbon black), KC 046 (Madras curry) along with whiteness tracer CN42 (double jersey cotton), summarized in Table 10 (split in two parts):

Table 10A.

Table 10B. Comparative-7 with lower wash pH provides less wash performance on most of the stains in comparison to the control (current powder, at high wash pH). The formulations which are within the scope of the invention (Ex20 and Ex 21) containing different enzyme blends provide similar or better wash performance in comparison to the control even at low wash pH. Example 7. Effect on colour care: Powder formulations delivering lower wash pH (<10) are within the scope of the patent and offer improved color and fabric care benefits upon repeated wash. Comparative-8 is outside the scope of the invention and delivers high wash pH and does not provide colour or fabric care benefits. Powder detergent compositions prepared as per the detail below in table 11.

Table 11.

The colour care benefit of these compositions was evaluated (method described in earlier section) using E252 (Empa new fabric) & E253 (Pre-pilled fabric) fabrics procured from CFT. The images in figure 3 of the fabrics were taken after 10^th washes. Example 8. Result Of Panel Study For Skin Mildness

Powder formulations delivering lower wash pH (<10) according to the invention are gentler on the skin of the hands during the wash process. Comparative-8 is outside the scope of the invention and delivers high wash pH >10, and does not provide skin mildness based the overall panel study result shown herein. Powder detergent compositions were prepared as per the detail below in table 12. Both the formulations contain 0.5% by weight of enzyme which is a combination of protease, amylase and cellulase.

Table 12

A panel study was conducted to evaluate the effect of mildness on hands during wash. A total of 18 panellists were called for the panel test, and they were asked to immerse their left and right hands separately in the wash liquors of the above compositions for 3 minutes, and after that they rinsed their hands thoroughly with water and dried their hands properly. After drying, they were asked to give a rating between 1 to 5 based on the preference on hand feel (Ex less dryness, more soft) for both hands separately, where 1 is the lowest value which indicated not preferred by the panellist, and 5 being the highest value, which indicated most preferred by the panellist. The results are provided in table 13 below. Overall, the panellist preferred Ex-20 as mild for their hands, compared to Comparative-8. They felt more dryness on that hand that was soaked in the wash liquor of comparative-8.

Table 13.

Claims

1. A solid free-flowing particulate laundry detergent composition which has a bulk density greater than 0.6, and which comprises:

- 5 - 30% (w/w) of one or more anionic surfactant;

- 0-30 % (w/w) of alkali metal carbonate;

- 10 - 40% (w/w) of alkali metal bicarbonate;

- 2 - 60% (w/w) of one or more flow aid having high liquid carrying capacity;

- 5 - 84% (w/w) of one or more soluble salt;

- 0.1 - 5% (w/w) of one or more enzyme, wherein the composition at 1% (w/w) dilution in deionized water at 22.5°C has an equilibrium pH value in the range of 8.5 to less than 10; and wherein the alkali metal carbonate and alkali metal bicarbonate are present in a ratio of less than 0.7, more preferably in a ration of less than 0.65, and most preferably in a ratio of less than 0.6.

2. The detergent composition of claim 1, wherein the anionic surfactant comprises one or more non-alkoxylated anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of Cs-22 alkylbenzene sulfonates, Cs-22 alkyl sulfates, Cs-22 alkyl ester sulphonates and combinations thereof.

3. The detergent composition of claim 1 or 2, which comprises 5 - 30% by wt. of one or more non-alkoxylated anionic surfactant, preferably 8 - 25% by wt. of one or more non-alkoxylated anionic surfactant, more preferably 8 - 20% by wt. of one or more non-alkoxylated anionic surfactant.

4. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which comprises less than 30% by wt. of alkali metal carbonate, more preferably less than 20% by wt. of alkali metal carbonate, and most preferably less than 12% by wt. of alkali metal carbonate.

5. The detergent composition of claim 4, wherein the alkali metal carbonate comprises or consists of a water-soluble carbonate salt containing sodium and/or potassium ions.

6. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which comprises 10 - 40% by wt. of alkali metal bicarbonate, more preferably 15 - 30% by wt. and most preferably 15 - 20% by wt. of alkali metal bicarbonate.

7. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, wherein the alkali metal bicarbonate comprises or consists of a water-soluble bicarbonate salt containing sodium and/or potassium ions.

8. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, wherein the flow aid comprises one or more solid, water-insoluble, inorganic filler having a liquid-carrying capacity greater than 15%, more preferably greater than 20%, and most preferably greater than 30%.

9. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, wherein the flow aid comprises one or more water-insoluble filler selected from:

- metal oxide, preferably titanium dioxide,

- mixed metal oxide, preferably hydrotalcite,

- aluminosilicate, preferably clay, talc, zeolite and/or silica.

- precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), and/or

- dolomite.

10. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which comprises 2 - 60% by wt. of one or more flow aid, more preferably 5 - 40% by wt. of flow-aid, and most preferably contains 8 - 20% by wt. of one or more flow aid.

11. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, wherein the soluble salt comprises one or more of alkali metal chloride and alkali metal sulphate; more preferably the soluble salt comprises one or more of sodium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium sulphate, and potassium sulphate, and most preferably the soluble salt comprises one or more of sodium chloride and/or sodium sulphate.

12. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which comprises 5 - 84% by wt. of one or more soluble salt, more preferably comprises 15 - 70% by wt. of one or more soluble salt, and most preferably contains 30 - 60% by wt. of one or more soluble salt.

13. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, wherein the alkali metal of the alkali metal salt of an organic acid is selected from Sodium and/or Potassium, and wherein the organic acid of the alkali metal salt of the organic acids is one or more polybasic carboxylic acid having a basicity of ³ 2; preferable citric acid, adipic acid and/or maleic acid; preferably the alkali metal salt of an organic acid is Sodium citrate and/or Potassium citrate.

14. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which comprises 2 - 15% by wt. of one or more alkali metal salt of one or more organic acid, more preferably 3 - 12% by wt. of one or more alkali metal salt of one or more organic acid, and most preferably 4 - 10% by wt. of one or more alkali metal salt of one or more organic acid.

15. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more enzyme is one or more hydrolase, isomerase, ligase, lyase, oxidoreductase, and transferase; preferably one or more acetylxylan esterase, acylglycerol lipase, amylase, alpha-amylase, beta-amylase, arabinofuranosidase, cellobiohydrolases, cellulase, feruloyl esterase, galactanase, alpha- galactosidase, beta-galactosidase, beta-glucanase, beta-glucosidase, lysophospholipase, lysozyme, alpha-mannosidase, beta-mannosidase, mannanase, muramidase, phytase, phosphodiesterase, phospholipase A1, phospholipase A2, phospholipase D, protease, pullulanase, pectin esterase, triacylglycerol lipase, xylanase, beta-xylosidase or any combination thereof; preferably the one or more enzyme comprises at least one protease and at least one cellulase.

16. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which comprises 0.1 - 5% by wt. of the one or more enzyme, preferably 0.2 - 2% by wt of the one or more enzyme, and most preferably 0.3 - 1% by wt. of the one or more enzyme.

17. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, wherein the composition at 1% (w/w) dilution in deionized water at 22.5°C has an equilibrium pH value in the range of 8.5 to less than 10, preferably in the range of 8.6 - 9.5.

18. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which has a bulk density greater than 0.6, preferably a bulk density in the range 0.7 - 1 , and most preferably a bulk density in the range of 0.75 - 0.95.

19. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which has a ratio of tapped density versus bulk density in the range of 1 - 1.18; more preferably in the range of 1 - 1.15.

20. The detergent composition of any preceding claim, which also comprises 0.1 - 5% by wt. of one or more solid surface-active agent, such as, SLES needles; 0.1 - 5% by wt. of one or more cationic surfactant in solid form; and/or 0.01 - 3% by wt. of one or more anti-bacterial agent.