Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification – Treatment of hides – skins – feathers and animal tissues – Treatment of untanned skins or hides
Patent
1994-09-12
1996-06-11
Willis, Jr., Prince
Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification
Treatment of hides, skins, feathers and animal tissues
Treatment of untanned skins or hides
8 9421, 8 9422, 8 9423, 252 857, 25217421, 25217422, C14C 108, C14C 500, C11D 1825
Patent
active
055251200
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This application is a 371 of PCT/EP93/00527 filed Mar. 9, 1993.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to degreasing preparations based on nonionic emulsifiers of the fatty alcohol ethoxylate type for the treatment of skins, pelts, hides, leathers and the like.
RELATED ART
In the production of leathers and furs, the use of nonionic surfactants or surfactant mixtures and solutions thereof in selected auxiliary liquids, more particularly organic solvents, is of considerable importance in a number of process steps where products belonging to the classes in question are used. Compounds of this type are used in particular in the degreasing of pelts, for example in the treatment of sheepskins, and quite generally for surface degreasing or thorough cleaning in the soaking, liming and bating steps and also in other steps involved in the manufacture of leathers and furs.
Known nonionic emulsifiers of the type in question are addition compounds of ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide with alkylphenols, fatty alcohols or fatty acids. The importance of the class of compounds in question lies inter alia in the fact that nonionic emulsifiers of the described type have hardly any capacity for attachment to the skin or leather fibers. Accordingly, they are able optimally to perform their function of solubilizing sebum without being impeded by interaction with the skin itself.
One of the hitherto most commonly used compounds of this class of surfactants belongs to the group of alkylphenol ethoxylates. The compound in question is nonylphenol ethoxylate which contains an average of 10 EO groups and which is marketed under a variety of names for the particular application in question. The desired result in regard to the degreasing of skins and/or pelts is optimally achieved. Nevertheless, there is concern about the continued use of this compound. Its degradation products can lead to problems in biological stages of sewage treatment plants.
Experts have for some time developed comparable products based on fatty alcohol alkoxylates which are capable of at least partly fulfilling the required performance profile, but are less problematical in terms of wastewater treatment than the aromatic alkyl compounds mentioned above.
Thus, German patent application DE-OS 25 22 902 describes degreasing preparations containing nonionic and/or anionic surfactants as auxiliaries. Example 1 specifically discloses a mixture containing 10% by weight of an anionic surfactant (alkyl benzenesulfonate), 10% by weight of alcohol-based solvent (isopropyl alcohol), 20% by weight of an adduct of 10 moles of ethylene oxide with C.sub.12/18 fatty alcohol and 20% by weight of an adduct of 3 moles of ethylene oxide with C.sub.10/12 fatty alcohol. However, a degreasing process based on a mixture such as this could never be satisfactory on account of the large number of auxiliaries required. In addition, increasing environmental awareness dictates that the use of anionic surfactants and the use of solvents should be avoided as far as possible.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
However, the requirement profile which the degreasing preparations according to the invention are expected to satisfy is not confined to their outstanding capacity for emulsifying and dispersing fats, fatty acids, metal soaps and/or waxes and soil residues of all kinds; on the contrary, there are a number of other requirements to be satisfied. The degreasing preparations should be readily removable from the skin by washing and should not enter into any unwanted interactions with other anionic, cationic and/or nonionic substances, for example dyes and fat liquors. They should also show adequate electrolyte stability and, in particular, should be unaffected by water hardness, more particularly by high degrees of water hardness. Finally, the degreasing preparations should be usable both at acidic and at alkaline pH values.
Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide an optimized degreasing preparation based on nonionic fatty alcohol alkoxylate
REFERENCES:
patent: 3086944 (1963-04-01), Wedell
patent: 4288339 (1981-09-01), Wilsberg
patent: 5246147 (1993-11-01), Houghton et al.
patent: 5364552 (1994-11-01), Merz et al.
Fat Sci. Technol. 1991, No. 1, pp. 13-19 (Month Unknown).
Herrmann Klaus
Meffert Alfred
Prinz Wolfgang
Wolter Fredi
Zauns-Huber Rudolf
Diamond Alan D.
Henkel Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien
Jaeschke Wayne C.
Ortiz Daniel S.
Szoke Ernest G.
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