Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Processes – Carbon removal
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-26
2003-01-14
Delcotto, Gregory (Department: 1751)
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Processes
Carbon removal
C510S222000, C510S223000, C510S225000, C510S228000, C510S229000, C510S466000, C510S506000, C510S422000, C510S424000, C134S025200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06506261
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to cleaning compositions and formulations that can be used neat or can be readily diluted and applied to a variety of substrates including fabric, ware, soiled metal, wood or other hard surfaces. The compositions are suitable for combination with a fully formulated cleaner to provide grease removal and similar soil removal properties. The compositions are suitable for application to soiled surfaces for a sufficient period of time to loosen and remove any organic or greasy soil deposits from hard surfaces. The common target soil comprises combined organic/inorganic soils having a large organic component such as oils, fats, and other substantially aqueous insoluble organic media. Such soils can often contain a substantial proportion of an inorganic component suspended or dispersed within the organic component. Such inorganic materials can include common ordinary dirt or clays or other inorganic particulate such as lubricants, clays, pigments, fillers, etc. Such complex soils can also include fatty materials, silicone semi-solid and liquid materials, formulated lubricants, grease blends, high pressure greases and other liquid or semi-solid functional materials having a substantially solid or semi-liquid organic base with dispersed inorganic solids.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Removal of thickened liquid, semi-solid or solid organic soils, from a variety of substrates including porous surfaces such as fabric or hard surfaces, has been a problem posed to formulators of cleaners generally and aqueous cleaning materials for many years. A large variety of cleaning materials have been used to attempt removal of such complex organic/inorganic soils from hard surfaces. Cleaning compositions can include straight solvent based materials that simply remove soils on a solvent/solute basis. Such solvents include low boiling aliphatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents, organic aromatic solvents, etc.
Typical solvents used in the formulations are aqueous soluble, miscible or immiscible. Solvents can include aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, alcohols, ether compounds, fluorocarbon compounds, and other similar low molecular weight generally volatile liquid materials. In this sense water is not a solvent but when used acts as a diluent or as a dispersing medium for the active materials. These materials can be used in solution or as a miscible mixture or as a dispersion of the solvent in the aqueous liquid. A solvent or cosolvent can be used to enhance certain soil removal properties of this invention. Preferred cosolvents are alcohols and the mono and di-alkyl ethers of alkylene glycols, dialkylene glycols, trialkylene glycols, etc. Alcohols which are useful as cosolvents in this invention include methanol, ethanol, propanol and isopropanol. Particularly useful in this invention are the mono and dialkyl ethers of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, which have acquired trivial names such as polyglymes, cellosolves, and carbitols. Representative examples of this class of cosolvent include methyl cellosolves, butyl carbitol, dibutyl carbitol, diglyme, triglyme, etc. Nonaqueous liquid solvents can be used for varying compositions of the present invention. These include the higher glycols, polyglycols, polyoxides and glycol ethers. Suitable substances are propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, diethylene glycol monopropyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, propylene glycol methyl ether (PM), dipropylene glycol methyl ether (DPM), propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA), dipropylene glycol methyl ether acetate (CPMA), ethylene glycol n-butyl ether and ethylene glycol n-propyl ether. Other useful solvents are ethylene oxide/propylene oxide, liquid random copolymer such as Synalox® solvent series from Dow Chemical (e.g., Synalox® 50-50B). Other suitable solvents are propylene glycol ethers such as PnB, DPnB and TPnB (propylene glycol mono n-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol and tripropylene glycol mono n-butyl ethers sold by Dow Chemical under the trade name Dowanol®). Also tripropylene glycol mono methyl ether “Dowanol TPM®” from Dow Chemical is suitable.
Preferred solvents to be used with this invention are non VOCs or low VOCs including DPNB, PnB, D-limonene, n-methyl pyrrolidone, propylene glycol phenyl ether, ethylene glycol phenyl ether, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, and the like.
Solvent based cleaners simply remove such complex organic soils by dissolving the organic soil in a large proportion of solvent. Such methods can damage the substrate, can be dangerous due to solvent flammability, can involve exposure to toxic substances and can be expensive or time consuming. Aqueous cleaners for such soils can comprise an aqueous formulation of a variety of ingredients or can comprise high pressure steam, etc. A number of aqueous cleaner compositions have been developed, however, many aqueous cleaners are simply not capable of substantial cleaning capacity when faced with heavy deposits of complex organic/inorganic soils on hard surfaces. The use of high temperature steam cleaners also poses risks of contact with steam resulting in personal injury.
Further, the type of substrate also has an effect on soil removability. Fabric substrates common in uniforms used in automotive, mechanical, food processing, rendering and other activities can acquire or accumulate large quantities of hydrophobic or greasy, thickened or semi-solid, organic soils. Such soils are difficult to remove from porous woven and non-woven fabrics common in uniforms, shop rags, towels and other fabrics useful in such activities. Cleaning such complex organic or greasy soils from such woven or non-woven fabrics has been a challenge for cleaning processes for many years.
The prior art discloses certain compositions that comprise aqueous formulations of a variety of functional materials in a cleaning regimen. Dubief, U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,920 discloses a cleaning composition for personal use on hair and skin comprising an insoluble silicone selected from silicone gums, silicone resins and organomodified silicones, an alkylpolyglycoside and other materials to obtain a high foaming personal care cleaner material. Beauquey et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,551 teach compositions similar to that shown in Dubief, but also includes a myristate of a C
2
-C
4
polyhydric alcohol, alkanolamide/alkylethers, etc. Lentsch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,776 teach plasticware cleaning compositions using a nonionic surfactant, a fluorinated hydrocarbon surfactant and a polyalkyleneoxide modified polydimethylsiloxane. Lastly, Vesterager, GB 2 200 365 broadly discloses largely laundry detergent compositions that can be made from virtually any one of a vast spectrum of disclosed compositions.
These patents show formulations containing surfactants and other functional materials that do not effectively clean in all cleaning environments. A substantial need remains for formulation development that can adequately remove heavy deposits of complex organic/inorganic soils from hard surfaces or porous surfaces with minimal mechanical action, agitation or other energy input. In a preferred mode, the cleaning composition is directly applied to a heavy soil deposit, permitted to soften and promote soil removal. Once the composition has been permitted to enhance the removability of the soil, the cleaner and removed soil can be readily removed with a rinse step.
BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE INVENTION
The compositions and methods of the invention are uniquely capable of removing complex organic or greasy soils and inorganic soils from a variety of substrates. The compositions of the invention can be used neat (i.e., without diluent such as an aqueous diluent) or can be diluted with water or other liquid medium to form a degreasing aqueous solution. Further, the degreasing compositions of the invention can be used as an additive with other formulated cleaning compositions for cleaning substrates.
Delcotto Gregory
Ecolab Inc.
Merchant & Gould P.C.
LandOfFree
Detergent compositions for the removal of complex organic or... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Detergent compositions for the removal of complex organic or..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Detergent compositions for the removal of complex organic or... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3066930