Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-14
2002-11-19
Ogden, Necholus (Department: 1751)
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing
For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
C510S424000, C510S426000, C510S428000, C510S492000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06482789
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to detergent compositions comprising anionic mid-branched surfactant compounds and additional anionic sulfate and sulfonate surfactants. The compositions are particularly useful as solid laundry detergent compositions.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Recently, a certain new type of anionic mid-chain branched surfactants has been developed. These surfactants are described in unpublished co-pending applications U.S. Ser. No. 97/06485, U.S. Ser. No. 97/06474, U.S. Ser. No. 97/06339, U.S. Ser. No. 97/06476 and U.S. Ser. No. 97/06338.
It has been determined that these mid-chain branched surfactants are excellent surfactants, in particular for use in laundry products, especially under cool or cold water washing conditions even as low as 20° C.-5° C. It has also been found that combination of two or more of these mid-chain branched surfactants can provide a surfactant mixture that is even higher in surfactancy and has better low temperature water solubility.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that detergent compositions comprising these mid-chain branched surfactants and an additional sulphate and sulphonate surfactant, present in specific ratios, has an improved cleaning performance, in particular of greasy stains and soils. It has been found that lower levels of the additional anionic sulfate and sulfonate surfactants, which are traditionally known and used in detergent formulations, can still have excellent cleaning performance when combined with the mid-chain branched anionic surfactants. An additional benefit of such a combination can be that it allows the reduction of the levels of (or even the elimination of) other surfactants which are traditionally employed in detergents, such as nonionic surfactants, whilst still achieving an excellent cleaning performance. Thus, the inclusion of the specific mid-chain branched surfactants in detergent compositions comprising anionic sulfate and sulfonate surfactants, allows an overall reduction of the levels and types of surfactants needed, to obtain excellent cleaning performance. Another additional benefit is that hereby the formulation costs can be reduced and the ease of formulation can be improved.
All documents cited are hereby incorporate herein by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to detergent compositions, preferably being solid laundry detergent compositions, comprising
a) at least 0.5%, preferably at least 5%, more preferably at least 10% by weight of the composition a surfactant system, comprising one or more longer alkyl chain, mid-chain branched surfactant compounds of the formula:
A
b
—X—B
wherein:
(I) A
b
is a hydrophobic mid-chain branched alkyl moiety, having in total 9 to 22 carbons in the moiety, preferably from 12 to about 18, having: (1) a longest linear carbon chain attached to the —X—B moiety in the range of from 8 to 21 carbon atoms; (2) one or more C
1
-C
3
alkyl moieties branching from this longest linear carbon chain; (3) at least one of the branching alkyl moieties is attached directly to a carbon of the longest linear carbon chain at a position within the range of the position 2 carbon, counting from position 1 carbon (#1) which is attached to the —X—B moiety, to the position of the terminal carbon minus 2 carbons, (the (&ohgr;-2) carbon); and (4) when more than one of these compounds is present, the average total number of carbon atoms in the A
b
—X moieties in the above formula is within the range of greater than 14.5 to about 18, preferably from about 15 to about 17;
(II) B is a hydrophobic moiety selected from sulfates, sulfonates, amine oxides, polyoxyalkylene, preferably polyoxyethylene and polyoxypropylene, alkoxylated sulfates, polyhydroxy moieties, phosphate esters, glycerol sulfonates, polygluconates, polyphosphate esters, phosphonates, sulfosuccinates, sulfosuccaminates, polyalkoxylated carboxylates, glucamides, taurinates, sarcosinates, glycinates, isethionates, dialkanolamides, monoalkanolamides, monoalkanolamide sulfates, diglycolamides, diglycolamide sulfates, glycerol esters, glycerol ester sulfates, glycerol ethers, glycerol ether sulfates, polyglycerol ethers, polyglycerol ether sulfates, sorbitan esters, polyalkoxylated sorbitan esters, ammonioalkanesulfonates, amidopropyl betaines, alkylated quats, alkyated/polyhydroxyalkylated quats, alkylated quats, alkylated/polyhydroxylated oxypropyl quats, imidazolines, 2-yl-succinates, sulfonated alkyl esters, and sulfonated fatty acids; and
(III) X is selected from —CH
2
— and —C(O—; and
b) at least about 0.5%, preferably at least about 5%, more preferably at least about 10% by weight of the composition of an additional sulfate surfactant; and
c) at least about 0.5%, preferably at least about 5%, more preferably at least about 10% by weight of the composition of an additional sulfonate surfactant,
whereby the ratio of the surfactant system a) to the surfactant b) is from 20:1 to 1:20 and the ratio of surfactant system a) to the surfactant c) is from 20:1 to 1:10.
Preferably, the surfactant system a) comprises mid-chain branched primary alkyl sulfate or sulfonate surfactants.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Mid-Chain Branched Surfactant Compounds-Containing Surfactant System
The detergent compositions of the invention comprise at least 0.5%, preferably at least 5%, more preferably at least 10% by weight of the composition of a surfactant system, comprising longer alkyl chain, mid-chain branched surfactant compounds, selected from the group consisting of surfactant compounds having the formula as defined above.
Preferred surfactant systems herein comprise longer alkyl chain, mid-chain branched surfactant compounds of the above formula wherein the A
b
moiety is a branched primary alkyl moiety having the formula:
wherein the total number of carbon atoms in the branched primary alkyl moiety of this formula (including the R, R
1
, and R
2
branching) is from 13 to 19; R, R
1
, and R
2
are each independently selected from hydrogen and C
1
-C
3
alkyl (preferably methyl), provided R, R
1
, and R
2
are not all hydrogen and, when z is 0, at least R or R
1
is not hydrogen; w is an integer from 0 to 13; x is an integer from 0 to 13; y is an integer from 0 to 13; z is an integer from 0 to 13; and w+x+y+z is from 7 to 13.
In general, for the mid-chain branched surfactant compounds of the surfactant system, certain points of branching (e.g., the location along the chain of the R, R
1
, and/or R
2
moieties in the above formula) are preferred over other points of branching along the backbone of the surfactant. The formula below illustrates the mid-chain branching range (i.e., where points of branching occur), preferred mid-chain branching range, and more preferred mid-chain branching range for mono-methyl branched alkyl A
b
moieties useful according to the present invention.
It should be noted that for the mono-methyl substituted surfactants these ranges exclude the two terminal carbon atoms of the chain and the carbon atom immediately adjacent to the —X—B group.
The formula below illustrates the mid-chain branching range, preferred mid-chain branching range, and more preferred mid-chain branching range for di-methyl substituted alkyl A
b
moieties useful according to the present invention.
Preferred are surfactant compounds wherein in the above formula the A
b
moiety does not have any quaternary substituted carbon atoms (i.e., 4 carbon atoms directly attached to one carbon atom).
The most preferred mid-chain branched surfactants compounds for use in the detergent compositions herein are mid-chain branched primary alkyl sulfonate and, even more preferably, sulfate surfactants.
Preferred mid-chain branched primary alkyl sulfate surfactants are of the formula
These surfactants have a linear primary alkyl sulfate chain backbone (i.e., the longest linear carbon chain which includes the sulfated carbon atom) which preferably comprises from 12 to 19 carbon atoms and their branched primary alkyl moieties comprise preferably a total of at least 14 and preferably no
Figueroa Francisco Ramon
Heltovics Gabor
Katsuda Rinko
Kvietok Frank Andrej
Moss Michael Alan John
Miller Steven W.
Ogden Necholus
Taffy Frank
The Procter & Gamble & Company
Zerby Kim W.
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