Esters of fatty acids with ethoxylated polyols

Details Esters of fatty acids with ethoxylated polyols Esters of fatty acids with ethoxylated polyols

1994-05-13

1996-11-19

Geist, Gary

Organic compounds -- part of the class 532-570 series

Organic compounds

Fatty compounds having an acid moiety which contains the...

554149, 554213, 554219, 252351, C07C 5900

Patent

active

055764517

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
This application is a 371 of PCT/EP92/02525 filed Nov. 4, 1992.


FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to esters of fatty acids with ethoxylated polyols, to a process for their production and to their use as thickeners for aqueous surfactant solutions.


PRIOR ART

Aqueous surfactant solutions, more particularly those used in the field of personal hygiene as hair shampoos, foam baths, shower baths, hand washing pastes and the like, generally contain anionic or amphoteric surfactants, for example of the fatty alcohol ether sulfate, alkanesulfonate, sulfosuccinate, ether carboxylic acid or betaine types, as their surfactant components. To stabilize these clear or disperse systems and to improve their flow behavior to such an extent that they are easy to dispense, thickeners are normally added to the surfactant solutions [Seifen- Ole-Fette-Wachse {Title in English: Soaps-Oils-Fats-Waxes}, 116, 60 (1990)].
Several inorganic and organic substances which are suitable for increasing the viscosity of aqueous surfactant solutions are known to the expert for this purpose.
A number of water-soluble salts, for example sodium chloride, may be used as inorganic thickeners [Seifen- Ole-Fette-Wachse, 113, 135 (1987)].
Known organic thickeners include, for example, polyethylene glycol difatty acid esters [DE 35 41 813 A1, DE 35 51 535 A1, DE 36 00 263 A1], glycerol trifatty acid esters [Cosm. Toil., 103, 99 (1988)], ethoxylated fatty alcohols [DE 37 30 179 A1, EP 0 343 463 A2], water-soluble polymers and fatty acid alkanolamides.
In most cases, the required viscosity cannot be built up in the surfactant solution simply by using anionic salts. In those cases where this is possible, the anionic salts have to be used in high concentrations. Accordingly, organic thickeners generally have to be used in addition to the inorganic salts; this involves a number of disadvantages. Thus, solutions thickened with polyethylene glycol fatty acid diesters, glycerol trifatty acid esters or fatty alcohol ethoxylates often show inadequate viscosity stability in storage, while water-soluble polymers are often poorly soluble and show unwanted, slimy flow behavior with a tendency to become stringy.
By virtue of their excellent thickening effect, particular significance has long been attributed to fatty acid alkanolamides. On account of a small production-related content of free alkanolamines, which can give rise to the formation of nitrosamines, these substances are limited in their suitability for use in cosmetic products. The same also applies to virtually all other nitrogen-containing thickeners.
Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide new thickeners for aqueous surfactant solutions which would be free from the disadvantages described above.


DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to esters of fatty acids with ethoxylated polyols, which are obtained by: polyol at elevated temperatures in the presence of basic catalysts and acid per mole of the hydroxyl groups present in the original polyol in the presence of acidic catalysts.
It has surprisingly been found that the esters according to the invention are suitable as particularly effective nitrogen-free thickeners for aqueous surfactant solutions.
Esters having particularly favorable thickening properties are derived from adducts of 90 to 150 moles of ethylene oxide with 1 mole of glycerol which have been esterified with saturated fatty acids containing 12 to 18 carbon atoms.
The present invention also relates to a process for the production of esters of fatty acids with ethoxylated polyols, characterized in that of polyol at elevated temperatures in the presence of basic catalysts and fatty acid per mole of the hydroxyl groups present in the original polyol in the presence of acidic catalysts.
In the content of the invention, polyols which may be used as starting materials for the esters according to the invention are understood to be substances which have at least three hydroxyl groups. Typical examples are glycerol, diglycero

REFERENCES:
patent: 4614622 (1986-09-01), Huettinger et al.
patent: 5034159 (1991-07-01), Tesmann et al.
patent: 5292910 (1994-03-01), Raths et al.
Seifen- Ole-Fette-Wachse 116 Jg.--Nr., Feb. 1990.
Seifen- Ole-Fette--Wachse 113 Jg.--Nr. May 1987.
Cosmetics & Toiletries, 103, Dec. 1988, pp. 99-129, Lochhead, R.
J. Falbe (ed., "Surfactants in Consumer Products", Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1986, pp. 54-85 (not available).

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