Compositions – Dust suppressants for bulk materials – or processes of...
Patent
1990-10-29
1992-05-19
Clingman, A. Lionel
Compositions
Dust suppressants for bulk materials, or processes of...
252 87, 252 875, 252 88, 252 89, 25217423, 25217424, D06M 1008
Patent
active
051146002
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to fabric conditioning formulations. Most domestic detergents use the thickening properties of the surfactant ingredients and/or added salts to achieve the rheology desired for a particular application, preferably to avoid extra costs. However in many cases either the formulation is not stable physically or rheologically, or the rheology cannot be adjusted to that required, or, the ingredients have no rheology modifying properties over the useful range of combinations. In this case, the common practice is to use polymeric or mineral thickeners with suitable properties to build the rheological properties of the product. The most cost effective thickeners are usually chosen bearing in mind the limitations of formulating the thickener into the formulation. One particular aspect of thickening domestic detergent products is to improve product appeal to consumers. Another aspect closely related to improving product appearance is to adjust the appearance of the product by adding opacifiers.
Rinse-cycle fabric conditioners are mainly based on fatty cationic surfactants, used either alone or in combination with suitable non-ionic/fatty co-softeners, which are attracted to a fabric surface where they adsorb and impart a soft handle or feel. Minor ingredients may be added which improve stability, in addition to conventional colouring agents and perfumes. In other types of formulation, the main role of the cationic component is to render the other neutral fatty softeners as surface substantive, so they too are carried to the fabric surface to create a soft handle or feel. It is known that products with viscosities between about 100-400 cP at 20 sec-1 (25.degree. C.) are consistently preferred to products with around half the respective viscosity or less at a shear rate consistent with consumers pouring the product or observing the product flowing on inclined surfaces.
It is well known that controlling the rheology and physical stability of cationic softener formulations is difficult. This is due to the fact that cationic surfactants are disrupted and rendered ineffective by a wide range of materials. Anionic species, either dissolved or suspended may adsorb or precipitate the surfactant, causing both rheological and physical instability i.e. the product may become too thick or too thin, or phase separation of the aqueous phase may occur. Thus, unless used to form neutral fatty softening species or to deliberately thin the formulation e.g. liquid concentrates, anionic surfactants and additives are avoided by the industry. The formulations cannot therefore be thickened using anionic polymer thickeners. Mineral thickeners with exchangeable cations e.g. montmorillonite clays, usually cause instability, or do so when the surfaces become charged or polarised in aqueous dispersion.
Neutral and cationic polymers would be expected to be more stable in the presence of fatty cationic softeners. Such polymers are commercially available and, in the case of substantially water-based products in which they are soluble or dispersible, the polymers are substantially linear in structure. Such polymers are effective because they are essentially completely dissolved in the aqueous phase, where they may either structure the aqueous phase or physically interact with either other polymers and/or the surfactant phase. These polymers suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages: the dispersed cationic softener, and may flocculate or precipitate the softener and co-softeners. "Dissolved" in this context means that the polymer at user concentration forms clear or slightly hazy solutions. formulation. Thus dilute fabric conditioners may require additional opacifiers. This is a significant added cost to the formulation. nonionic
eutral polymers int he longer term, presumably because the dissolved polymer behaves partly as an electrolyte, thereby causing osmotic and electrostatic instability int he cationic disperse phase. non-linear over the concentration range where perceivable thickening occurs. Beyond certain
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Biggin Ian S.
Cartwright Peter S.
Farrar David
Hawe Malcolm
Paget Walter E.
BP Chemicals Limited
Clingman A. Lionel
Parks William S.
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